Character indelebilis
Character indelebilis ( Latin indelible stamp ) means in the Christian doctrine of the sacraments that certain sacraments indelibly and irrevocably “shape” the person who has received them, like the picture stamp on a coin (so the original meaning of ancient Greek χαρακτήρ charaktér ).
Baptism , Confirmation and the Sacrament of Orders , which are irrevocable and unrepeatable, give such a stamp .
With the doctrine of the character indelebilis , the Church professes God's faithfulness to the covenant, which has found its final and irrevocable expression in Christ: "If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself." ( 2 Tim 2, 13 EU ).
In connection with the sacrament of Holy Orders in the three stages diaconate , priesthood , episcopate , the term means that the consecrated this will remain for life, even if he does not hold any ecclesiastical office more, even if his practice of the respective functions of prohibited disciplinary or doctrinal reasons or he was even released from the clergy through laicization . Even then, he can still validly donate the sacraments, albeit mostly without permission, under certain circumstances, for example in danger of death, but also with explicit canonical permission. In the case of bishops, this can lead to “unauthorized but valid” ordinations. According to Roman Catholic doctrine, these result in automatic excommunication , for example in the case of Marcel Lefebvre .
Individual evidence
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 698 .
- ↑ can. 290 CIC
- ↑ can. 1335 CIC "Suspension of the prohibition of the administration of the sacraments in case of danger of death"
- ↑ can. 976 CIC "Absolution (sacrament of penance) in danger of death"
- ↑ Thomas Jansen: Unauthorized, but valid , domradio.de, June 27, 2009, accessed on March 14, 2013