A college is a variety of the corporation, literally a "body" (Latin: corpus, corporis) created by a legal fiction with its own legal personality, able to act largely as a natural person as regards the law of contract. Thus it can enter into contracts for sale, purchase and employment and can sue and be sued in a court of law, and can own real estate.
The word "college" is contracted from the Latin compound word cum-lego, from the verb lego, legere, legi, lectum, "to collect, gather together, pick", plus the preposition cum, "with", [1] thus meaning "selected together". Thus "colleagues" are fellow members of a college, literally "persons who have been selected together". In ancient Rome a collegium was a "body, guild, corporation united in colleagueship; of magistrates, praetors, tribunes, priests, augurs; a political club or trade guild". [2]
The following are all groups of persons "selected in common" to perform a specified function and appointed by a monarch, founder or other person in authority:
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering vocational education, or a secondary school.
A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the current pope and typically hold the title for life. Collectively, they constitute the College of Cardinals.
In Christianity, an episcopus vagans is a person consecrated, in a "clandestine or irregular way", as a bishop outside the structures and canon law of the established churches; a person regularly consecrated but later excommunicated, and not in communion with any generally recognized diocese; or a person who has in communion with them small groups that appear to exist solely for the bishop's sake.
Sedevacantism is a doctrinal position within traditionalist Catholicism, which holds that the present occupier of the Holy See is not a valid pope due to his espousal of one or more heresies and that, for lack of a valid pope, the See of Rome is vacant.
An ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain courts having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. In the Middle Ages, these courts had much wider powers in many areas of Europe than before the development of nation states. They were experts in interpreting canon law, a basis of which was the Corpus Juris Civilis of Justinian, which is considered the source of the civil law legal tradition.
Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title or status to a person or corporation. Letters patent can be used for the creation of corporations or government offices, or for granting city status or a coat of arms. Letters patent are issued for the appointment of representatives of the Crown, such as governors and governors-general of Commonwealth realms, as well as appointing a Royal Commission. In the United Kingdom, they are also issued for the creation of peers of the realm.
Edward Michael Egan was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport in Connecticut from 1988 to 2000 and as archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York in New York City from 2000 to 2009. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 2001.
The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. As of 26 April 2023, its membership is 222, of whom 122 are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appointed by the pope for life. Changes in life expectancy partly account for the increases in the size of the college.
A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church.
A canon is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule.
A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings:
The hierarchy of the Catholic Church consists of its bishops, priests, and deacons. In the ecclesiological sense of the term, "hierarchy" strictly means the "holy ordering" of the church, the Body of Christ, so to respect the diversity of gifts and ministries necessary for genuine unity.
A dean, in an ecclesiastical context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, and many Lutheran denominations. A dean's assistant is called a sub-dean.
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teaching doctrine, governing Catholics in his jurisdiction, sanctifying the world and representing the Church. Catholics trace the origins of the office of bishop to the apostles, who it is believed were endowed with a special charism and office by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Catholics believe this special charism and office has been transmitted through an unbroken succession of bishops by the laying on of hands in the sacrament of holy orders.
Bernard William Griffin was an English cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1943 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1946 by Pope Pius XII.
A collegium, or college, was any association in ancient Rome that acted as a legal entity. Following the passage of the Lex Julia during the reign of Julius Caesar as Consul and Dictator of the Roman Republic, and their reaffirmation during the reign of Caesar Augustus as Princeps senatus and Imperator of the Roman Army, collegia required the approval of the Roman Senate or the Emperor in order to be authorized as legal bodies. Such associations could be civil or religious. The word collegium literally means "society", from collega (‘colleague’). They functioned as social clubs or religious collectives whose members worked towards their shared interests. These shared interests encompassed a wide range of the various aspects of urban life; including political interests, cult practices, professions, trade, and civic services. The social connections fostered by collegia contributed to their influence on politics and the economy; acting as lobbying groups and representative groups for traders and merchants. Some collegia were linked to participating in political violence and social unrest, which resulted in the suppression of social associations by the Roman government.
In nomine Domini is a papal bull written by Pope Nicholas II. The bull was issued on 13 April 1059 and caused major reforms in the system of papal election, most notably establishing the cardinal-bishops as the sole electors of the pope, with the consent of minor clergy.
A Catholic funeral is carried out in accordance with the prescribed rites of the Catholic Church. Such funerals are referred to in Catholic canon law as "ecclesiastical funerals" and are dealt with in canons 1176–1185 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, and in canons 874–879 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. In Catholic funerals, the Church "seeks spiritual support for the deceased, honors their bodies, and at the same time brings the solace of hope to the living." The Second Vatican Council in its Constitution on the Liturgy decreed: "The rite for the burial of the dead should express more clearly the paschal character of Christian death, and should correspond more closely to the circumstances and traditions found in various regions."
A college, in the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church, is a collection of persons united together for a common object so as to form one body. The members are consequently said to be incorporated, or to form a corporation.
Precedence signifies the right to enjoy a prerogative of honor before other persons; for example, to have the most distinguished place in a procession, a ceremony, or an assembly, to have the right to express an opinion, cast a vote, or append a signature before others, to perform the most honorable offices.