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Deconsecration
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<h2 id="judaism">Judaism</h2> <p>Jewish legalistic discourse surrounding both abstract and physical objects – such as sacrifices for the <a href="/facts/Temple_in_Jerusalem/WHsJ2e2Y">Temple in Jerusalem</a>, coinage, and nature<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> – often describes consecration as dependent on the circumstance by which those objects are used. The term <i>"consecration"</i> may be used to describe the neutral, unadulterated, innate state of a thing, where <i>"deconsecration"</i> is a consequence of a particular action that renders that object unfit for certain ceremonial, religious, or moral uses. For instance, <a href="/facts/Silver/xXe41BGg">silver</a> or <a href="/facts/Coin/lgpMPxrB">coinage</a> circulated under a previous occupying ruler of <a href="/facts/Palestine_(region)/HxMSPazK">Palestine</a>, it can be considered deconsecrated for the sake of, i.e., <a href="/facts/Tzedakah/fwku94p2">Tzedakah</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> As common in almost all Talmudic discourse, there is dissenting opinion.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p> <h3>Synagogues</h3> <p>Jewish legalistic tradition generally does not consider synagogues to be holy structures on their own, but rather holy through the congregation or minyan that uses it. Thus, there are no formal procedures for the consecration or deconsecration of a synagogue (Hebrew: בית הכנסת [Beit haKnesset]).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> This also allows any space habitually used to support a <i><a href="/facts/Minyan/QwU8tc9X">minyan</a></i> (quorum of ten Jews above the age of <a href="/facts/Bar_and_bat_mitzvah/yIqrEE83">bar mitzvah</a>) to be considered a synagogue, as long as it contains a <i><a href="/facts/Torah_ark/qS5z9jl3">torah ark</a></i> (Hebrew: ארון קודש [Aron Kodesh]), and <i><a href="/facts/Bema/EtHBmHSB">bimah</a></i> or platform from which the Torah can be observed and read.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> There are provisions, however,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> concerning what can be done with the building that constituted a synagogue after it has been sold, when a synagogue <i>must</i> be deconstructed,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> what purpose a building that is be converted into a synagogue may have had immediately prior, to whom a synagogue can be sold,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> and what can be done with the financial proceeds gained through the sale of a synagogue.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> For instance, a synagogue may be converted into a hall of learning (such as a <a href="/facts/Yeshiva/E8yTb98u">Yeshiva</a>), but a hall of learning cannot be converted into a synagogue, as a hall of learning is considered holier than a synagogue.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="roman-catholicism">Roman Catholicism</h2> <p>According to the <a href="/facts/Canon_law/hW0Qt10A">canon law</a> of the <a href="/facts/Roman_Catholic/rJ4F4gqH">Roman Catholic</a> church, an <a href="/facts/Altar/x765TWyq">altar</a>, chapel, or shrine may be deconsecrated if it can no longer be used for divine worship and cannot be restored or if other reasons suggest that it is no longer suitable for its prior purpose. </p><p>For the bishop to issue a decree declaring the church relegated to a "Secular but not unbecoming purpose", he must consult the presbyteral council of the diocese, obtain the consent of those who may have legal rights, and ensure that the good of Souls will not be harmed.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> Accordingly, and similarly to in Judaism, no formal deconsecration rite is needed.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> </p><p>Altars automatically lose their consecration if they are significantly damaged, one of their anointed corners has been broken or removed, or they have been permanently relegated to secular usage, either <i>de facto</i> or by a decree of the bishop.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Desacralization_of_knowledge/dJdpYsHw">Desacralization of knowledge</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Desecration/ftwDbWte">Desecration</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Donald S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum (2000). "Secularizing a Consecrated Building". An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church. The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society. This service is used to deconsecrate and secularize a consecrated building that is to be taken down or used for other purposes. <a href="https://www.episcopalchurch.org/glossary/secularizing-a-consecrated-building/" target="_blank">https://www.episcopalchurch.org/glossary/secularizing-a-consecrated-building/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"Deconsecration of a London Church". The New York Times. November 3, 1876. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1876/11/03/archives/deconsecration-of-a-london-church.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/1876/11/03/archives/deconsecration-of-a-london-church.html</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"Judaism's Life Changing Ideas; A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible, Miketz; Jews and Economics 13". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved April 4, 2025. <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Judaism's_Life_Changing_Ideas;_A_Weekly_Reading_of_the_Jewish_Bible,_Miketz;_Jews_and_Economics.13?ven=english%7CThe_Rabbi_Sacks_Legacy,_OU_Press_and_Maggid_Books,_2020&lang=bi" target="_blank">https://www.sefaria.org/Judaism's_Life_Changing_Ideas;_A_Weekly_Reading_of_the_Jewish_Bible,_Miketz;_Jews_and_Economics.13?ven=english%7CThe_Rabbi_Sacks_Legacy,_OU_Press_and_Maggid_Books,_2020&lang=bi</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Tosefta Maaser Sheni (Lieberman) 3:13". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved April 4, 2025. <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Tosefta_Maaser_Sheni_(Lieberman).3.13?ven=english%7CSefaria_Community_Translation&lang=bi" target="_blank">https://www.sefaria.org/Tosefta_Maaser_Sheni_(Lieberman).3.13?ven=english%7CSefaria_Community_Translation&lang=bi</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Tosefta Maaser Sheni (Lieberman) 1:6". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved April 4, 2025. <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Tosefta_Maaser_Sheni_(Lieberman).1.6?ven=english%7CSefaria_Community_Translation&lang=bi" target="_blank">https://www.sefaria.org/Tosefta_Maaser_Sheni_(Lieberman).1.6?ven=english%7CSefaria_Community_Translation&lang=bi</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Tosefta Maaser Sheni (Lieberman) 1:1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved April 4, 2025. <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Tosefta_Maaser_Sheni_(Lieberman).1.1?ven=english%7CSefaria_Community_Translation&lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en" target="_blank">https://www.sefaria.org/Tosefta_Maaser_Sheni_(Lieberman).1.1?ven=english%7CSefaria_Community_Translation&lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"Tosefta Maaser Sheni (Lieberman) 2:10". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved April 4, 2025. <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Tosefta_Maaser_Sheni_(Lieberman).2.10?ven=english%7CSefaria_Community_Translation&lang=bi" target="_blank">https://www.sefaria.org/Tosefta_Maaser_Sheni_(Lieberman).2.10?ven=english%7CSefaria_Community_Translation&lang=bi</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Temple B'nai Israel to conduct last service in synagogue Sunday, By KATE DAY SAGER Olean Times Herald Dec 9, 2020 <a href="https://www.oleantimesherald.com/news/temple-b-nai-israel-to-conduct-last-service-in-synagogue-sunday/article_e2f6a755-fad7-5933-b41d-e8eb51bacda1.html" target="_blank">https://www.oleantimesherald.com/news/temple-b-nai-israel-to-conduct-last-service-in-synagogue-sunday/article_e2f6a755-fad7-5933-b41d-e8eb51bacda1.html</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1144404/jewish/Synagogue-Architecture.htm Chabad: Synagogue Architecture <a href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1144404/jewish/Synagogue-Architecture.htm" target="_blank">https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1144404/jewish/Synagogue-Architecture.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Laws of the Synagogue | Texts & Source Sheets from Torah, Talmud and Sefaria's library of Jewish sources". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved April 4, 2025. <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/topics/laws-of-the-synagogue?sort=Relevance&tab=sources" target="_blank">https://www.sefaria.org/topics/laws-of-the-synagogue?sort=Relevance&tab=sources</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"Bava Batra 3b:12". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved April 4, 2025. <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Bava_Batra.3b.12?lang=bi" target="_blank">https://www.sefaria.org/Bava_Batra.3b.12?lang=bi</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"Megillah 27b:5". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved April 4, 2025. <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Megillah.27b.5?lang=bi" target="_blank">https://www.sefaria.org/Megillah.27b.5?lang=bi</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>"Megillah 26a:17". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved April 4, 2025. <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Megillah.26a.17?lang=bi" target="_blank">https://www.sefaria.org/Megillah.26a.17?lang=bi</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>"Megillah 26b:17". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved April 4, 2025. <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Megillah.26b.17?lang=bi" target="_blank">https://www.sefaria.org/Megillah.26b.17?lang=bi</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Canon 1222 §1 <a href="https://canonlaw.ninja/?nums=1222" target="_blank">https://canonlaw.ninja/?nums=1222</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>de Wildt, Kim (2020). "Ritual Void or Ritual Muddle? Deconsecration Rites of Roman Catholic Church Buildings". Religions. 11 (10). Switzerland: 517. doi:10.3390/rel11100517. ISSN 2077-1444. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Frel11100517" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.3390%2Frel11100517</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>Canon 1212 <a href="https://canonlaw.ninja/?nums=1212" target="_blank">https://canonlaw.ninja/?nums=1212</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>