Definition
Dimissory letters (also rendered as *litteræ dimissoriae*) are formal written instruments issued by a bishop in the Church of England authorizing a candidate for holy orders, who holds a title of ordination within that bishop's diocese, to be ordained by the bishop of a different diocese. Because ordination is canonically tied to the diocese where a candidate's title resides, the bishop of that diocese must formally release — or "dismiss" — the candidate to another bishop's jurisdiction before that second bishop may lawfully confer holy orders. Dimissory letters are the instrument by which that canonical permission is conveyed.
The letters serve a gatekeeping function: they confirm the candidate's standing in the home diocese, authorize the receiving bishop to proceed with ordination, and maintain the accountability of each diocese over those presenting for holy orders within its jurisdiction.
Common Language
This is pure ecclesiastical and legal jargon with no meaningful counterpart in ordinary English. The word "dimissory" does not appear in standard modern usage and is not found as a standalone entry in general dictionaries. Omitted accordingly.
Why It Matters in Research
Dimissory letters occupy a narrow but distinct corner of English ecclesiastical law, and researchers are most likely to encounter the term in one of three contexts:
**Ecclesiastical law treatises and canon law sources.** The term appears consistently in works dealing with the ordering of the Church of England — particularly in Phillimore's *Ecclesiastical Law* (cited by Rapalje & Lawrence at 121 et seq.) and Cowell's legal dictionary. A researcher working through 18th- or 19th-century ecclesiastical law materials should expect to encounter dimissory letters in chapters dealing with ordination procedure, diocesan administration, and episcopal authority.
**Historical dictionary sources.** All three historical dictionary sources consulted agree precisely on the definition, which signals that the term was stable and uncontested across the relevant period. There is no documented evolution in meaning, no jurisdictional split among English dioceses on the basic concept, and no recorded confusion with other instruments.
**Relationship to apostles (letters).** Rapalje & Lawrence cross-references *see APOSTLES*, which in ecclesiastical and admiralty law denotes a related class of letters used to transmit a record or permit appeal. Researchers should not conflate the two: apostles concern appellate transmission of records, while dimissory letters concern the transfer of canonical jurisdiction over an ordination candidate.
**Practical research trap.** The spelling variation — "dimissory" versus "dismissory" — may cause indexing gaps in older digitized sources. Search both spellings when working through ecclesiastical court records, episcopal registers, or canonical treatises. The Latin form *litteræ dimissoriae* may also appear in older primary sources without translation.
**American relevance.** Dimissory letters as defined here are a creature of English canon law and the established church system. They have no direct counterpart in American civil law. However, Episcopal and Anglican church records in the United States may contain the term in an ecclesiastical (non-legal) context, where it carries essentially the same meaning transferred into a voluntary religious organization rather than a state-established church. Researchers examining 19th-century American denominational records should be alert to this usage.
Historical Dictionary Support
The three sources — Black's (1st Ed.), Black's (2nd Ed.), and Rapalje & Lawrence — are in complete agreement, and all three trace directly to Holthouse's legal glossary and to Cowell, with Rapalje & Lawrence additionally citing Phillimore's *Ecclesiastical Law*. The consistency across editions of Black's signals that no significant doctrinal change occurred between the first and second editions (1891 and 1910 respectively) that warranted substantive revision.
What the historical dictionaries do not address: they say nothing about the form, content, or formulaic requirements of the letters themselves; they do not discuss what happens when dimissory letters are defective or refused; and they do not address the relationship between dimissory letters and civil law consequences (e.g., whether a clergyman ordained without proper dimissory letters held valid legal status under English law affecting livings, tithes, or benefices). Researchers with questions in those areas will need to go beyond the dictionary sources to Phillimore directly, or to ecclesiastical court reports.
Jurisdictional Note
Dimissory letters as a legal instrument are specific to the Church of England and the canonical structure of English ecclesiastical law. They presuppose a diocesan system operating under episcopal authority recognized by the state. The concept does not translate into American civil law, though the term may appear in records of Episcopal, Anglican, and other hierarchical denominations in the United States in an internal ecclesiastical governance context.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
No Law Mind Encyclopedia entry closely matches this term. The matched entries (constitutional privileges, IRS deficiency notices, letters of intent) address unrelated subject matter and are not cross-referenced here.