noun

dispensation

A religious system or period believed to be established by God.

The theologian described a new dispensation in sacred history.

Etymology

The Latin noun concerns administration or ordering. Religious use applies it to the way divine authority is understood to organize a system or period of human affairs.

More examples

  • The text contrasts the earlier dispensation with the later covenant.
  • Believers understood the event as the beginning of a divine dispensation.
  • The lecture examined the rules associated with that religious dispensation.

Forms

dispensation · dispensations

Similar words

covenant
A covenant is a sacred agreement; a dispensation can encompass an entire religious order or period.
era
Era is any historical period; dispensation here implies a divinely ordered religious arrangement.