Concise Dictionary of Religion | ||
EXCOMMUNICATE:
to exclude or expel. Originally a form of discipline within the CHRISTIAN CHURCH whereby persistent offenders against CHRISTIAN ETHICAL standards or people who rejected ORTHODOX THEOLOGY were disfellowshiped from the CONGREGATION and publicly censured by the CLERGY. Excommunication involved the denial of the SACRAMENTS and by implication the loss of SALVATION.
Concise Dictionary of Religion | ||