Dispensation

(-sā'shǎn.) [From L. dispensatio.] (Theol.) A system of rites and principles enjoined by divine authority; as, the Mosaic D., or the Levitical law and ritual. Sometimes the term is applied to those extraordinary manifestations of God's will or providence, which have been foreshadowed in the gospels.-(Eccl.) In the Roman Catholic Church, a release, by papal ordination, from an oath, vow, or obligation; or the granting of a license to do what is forbidden by laws or canons of the Church, or to omit the performance of something which is therein commanded to be done. In the Church of England, the term is applied to a special license i ued by an archbishop for the solemnization of a marriage; and also to the instrument by which a dignitary is authorized to hold a plurality of benefices. [s. 292]