deconsecrate
Strip sacred status
To deconsecrate is to remove the sacred status from a place or object, the opposite of consecrate.
Churches are deconsecrated when they're converted to secular use—becoming restaurants, apartments, or concert halls.
The ritual formally releases the building from religious function: The bishop deconsecrated the chapel before it was sold to developers.
To violate sanctity
- profaneIrreverent toward the sacred
- violateBreak a rule deliberately
- unhallowMake no longer sacred
- dishonorLoss of respect
pollute · contaminate · degrade · sacrilege · blasphemy · impiety · irreverence · vandalize
Remove clerical status
- disestablishWithdraw official status from
- secularizationReligion losing social significance
- decommissionWithdraw from operational use
- disendowStrip of endowment
convert · repurpose · transfer · decertify · disaffiliate · demystify · rationalize · modernize
Place of Christian worship
- chapelSmall worship room
- sanctuaryProtected sacred space
- altarSacred ritual table
- cemeteryPlace for interring remains
graveyard · temple · shrine · monastery · convent · cathedral · synagogue · mosque
Formal event marking occasions
- riteCeremonial act or practice
- revocationOfficial cancellation of privilege
- defrockingExpelling clergy from ministry
- ecclesiasticalRelating to church matters
canonical · liturgical · bishop · diocese · prayer · pronouncement · church law
defile
To violate sanctity
dishonor · pollute · contaminate · degrade · sacrilege · blasphemy · impiety · irreverence · vandalize · disrespect
laicize
Remove clerical status
- disestablishWithdraw official status from
- secularizationReligion losing social significance
- decommissionWithdraw from operational use
disendow · convert · repurpose · transfer · decertify · disaffiliate · demystify · rationalize · modernize · disentangle
church
Place of Christian worship
cemetery · graveyard · temple · shrine · monastery · convent · cathedral · synagogue · mosque · burial ground
ceremony
Formal event marking occasions
- riteCeremonial act or practice
- revocationOfficial cancellation of privilege
- defrockingExpelling clergy from ministry
ecclesiastical · canonical · liturgical · bishop · diocese · prayer · pronouncement · church law