Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ecclesial The Reforming Popes of the 11th and 12th centuries, beginning with Leo IX and culminating with Innocent III, addressed the ecclesial crises of their day. Case Thorp, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 May 2025 Others suggest that any sort of ecclesial peace that had reigned was over and that Francis is now more exposed to critics, deprived of the moderating influence Benedict played in keeping the conservative Catholic fringe at bay. Nicole Winfield, BostonGlobe.com, 25 Jan. 2023 His ecclesial service was without parallel in Australia. Raymond J. De Souza, WSJ, 12 Jan. 2023 In addition to that, one of the goals the synodal reform is to change completely the ecclesial structures of the Church in Germany and elsewhere. Fr. Goran Jovicic, National Review, 13 June 2021 And yet, in the process of fleeing broken ecclesial institutions, didn’t the new contemplatives also constitute a body politic? Fred Bahnson, Harpers Magazine, 5 Jan. 2021 During the latter half of the century, the Brazilian Catholic church shifted its approach from one that centered on elites and favored the status quo to one that promoted social justice and ecclesial and political action on behalf of the poor. Chayenne Polimédio, Foreign Affairs, 7 Mar. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ecclesial
Adjective
  • The Rooms Laid out over three floors—each with soaring, ecclesiastical cross-vault ceilings—rooms are spacious and chic, each with a varying but superb vistas.
    Nicole Trilivas, Travel + Leisure, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Because the actual date of the spring equinox can differ by a day or two, the Catholic Church created a fixed date of March 21 to define it, known as the ecclesiastical equinox.
    Kaycee Sloan, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
Adjective
  • Forbidden passion fueled the plot of The Thorn Birds in which the late Richard Chamberlain, played the priest Ralph de Bricassart, a heartthrob in ecclesiastic wear.
    Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 2 Apr. 2025
  • America has no aristocracy or ecclesiastic master class.
    Brian T. Allen, National Review, 12 Feb. 2022
Adjective
  • How the courts and legislatures balance the rights of the majority and minority in these disputes over the place of the Ten Commandments in public life may go a long way toward shaping the future of religious freedom in American public education.
    Lydia Artz, The Conversation, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Families in Florida can also seek temporary or permanent exemptions for medical or religious reasons.
    Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Ecclesial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ecclesial. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

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