deconsecration
Removing sacred status
Deconsecration is the formal removal of sacred status from a place or object, the opposite of consecration.
A church that closes may undergo deconsecration before being sold for secular use: After deconsecration, the old cathedral became a concert hall.
The term applies mainly to religious buildings, though it can extend to any ritually sanctified space or item.
Removal of sacred status
- profanationViolation of sanctity
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
- riteCeremonial act or practice
- liturgyFormal worship structure
decommissioning · reversion · defrocking · ecclesiastical · canonical · bishop · clergy · pronouncement
Removal of sacred status
- abandonmentAct of leaving permanently
- defilementAct of corrupting purity
- profanationViolation of sanctity
- sacrilegeViolation of the hallowed
irreverence · dishonor · degradation · decay · neglect · closure · demolition · vandalism
Withdrawal of official status
- profanationViolation of sanctity
- secularismSeparation of faith, state
- irreligionAbsence of faith
- disaffiliationFormal separation from organization
worldliness · mundanity · temporal · neutralization · privatization · modernization · rationalism · pluralism
Act of changing states
- redevelopmentRebuilding an existing area
- renovationRestoring to good condition
- reassignmentShifting to new duties
- reconfigurationChanging arrangement of parts
remodeling · transformation · nave · spire · preservation · heritage · landmark · architectural
desanctification
Removal of sacred status
- profanationViolation of sanctity
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
- riteCeremonial act or practice
liturgy · decommissioning · reversion · defrocking · ecclesiastical · canonical · bishop · clergy · pronouncement · procession
desanctification
Removal of sacred status
- abandonmentAct of leaving permanently
- defilementAct of corrupting purity
- profanationViolation of sanctity
sacrilege · irreverence · dishonor · degradation · decay · neglect · closure · demolition · vandalism · emptiness
disestablishment
Withdrawal of official status
- profanationViolation of sanctity
- secularismSeparation of faith, state
- irreligionAbsence of faith
disaffiliation · worldliness · mundanity · temporal · neutralization · privatization · modernization · rationalism · pluralism · institutional
conversion
Act of changing states
- redevelopmentRebuilding an existing area
- renovationRestoring to good condition
- reassignmentShifting to new duties
reconfiguration · remodeling · transformation · nave · spire · preservation · heritage · landmark · architectural
- burial lawburial plots, burial grounds, burial records, disinterment, home burial
- secularizationsecularization, dechristianization, disaffiliation, church closures, church-state separation
- church propertychurch building, abbey, rectory, manse, glebe
deconsecrationconsecration
Dedicating to sacred purpose
sanctification · hallowing · blessing · sacralization · dedication
deconsecrationblessing
Prayer seeking divine favor
benediction · invocation · sanctifying · holy orders · laying on of hands
consecrate, desecrate, consecration, desecration, unconsecrated, deconsecrated, deconsecrate, reconsecrated