English · Idiom Historical

the power of the keys

Preserved but no longer current.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

The supreme ecclesi- astical authority claimed by the pope as successor of St. Peter. The phrase is derived from St. Man.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

thẩm quyền giáo hội tối cao được tuyên bố bởi giáo hoàng như người kế vị của Thánh Peter

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

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.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “the power of the keys” mean?

The supreme ecclesi- astical authority claimed by the pope as successor of St. Peter. The phrase is derived from St. Man.

Is “the power of the keys” formal or informal?

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

👁 Views 0 today 0 past 7 days 0 this month 0 all time