canonical obedience

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

The obedience due by the inferior to the superior clergy.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “canonical obedience” mean?

The obedience due by the inferior to the superior clergy.

Is “canonical obedience” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.