What does concordat mean?
A concordat is a formal agreement or compact, used most specifically to describe treaties concluded between the Pope or the Holy See and the government of a country. Such agreements typically settle questions touching both civil and ecclesiastical authority — the legal status of the church, control over schools and appointments, or financial arrangements. The word carries a distinctly formal, diplomatic flavor: it is rarely heard in everyday conversation but appears regularly in histories of church–state relations and in discussions of international diplomacy. By extension, writers sometimes apply it to any solemn accord between rival powers or factions, lending the arrangement an air of gravity and permanence. Famous examples include the Lateran agreements of 1929, which settled the long-standing dispute between Italy and the papacy. For readers of history or current affairs involving religion and politics, concordat is a precise, authoritative term worth knowing.
nounA formal agreement, especially one between the Pope and a government concerning the regulation of church affairs. More generally, any compact or accord between parties.
- A formal agreement between the Pope (or the Holy See) and a secular government regulating matters of mutual concern, such as the church's legal status, education, or appointments.
- (By extension) Any formal compact or accord between two parties or states.
"The Vatican and the government signed a concordat guaranteeing the church's role in public education."
"Under the new concordat, religious instruction became compulsory in state schools."
"The two rival factions reached a concordat that ended years of bitter infighting."
Standard regular plural; used when discussing multiple such agreements across countries or periods.
"Several European nations renegotiated their concordats after the Second World War."
The most famous concordat in history — the 1929 Lateran Treaty between the Vatican and Mussolini's Italy — created the world's smallest sovereign state.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of concordat
Concordat comes from the French concordat, adopted in the early 17th century, which derives from the medieval Latin concordatum, meaning 'something agreed upon' — a noun use of the neuter past participle of concordare, 'to agree'. That verb stems from Latin con- ('together') plus cor, cordis ('heart'), so the underlying image is of hearts brought together. It shares this root with concord, concordance, and accord.
How concordat is actually used
Formal register. The word is used chiefly in historical, diplomatic, and ecclesiastical contexts; its extended use for any formal accord is relatively rare and often deliberately elevated in tone. The term is strongly associated with agreements between the Holy See and nation-states.
Easily confused with concordat
A concordat is a specific formal agreement or treaty, while concord means general harmony or agreement between people or groups.
A concordance is an alphabetical index of words in a text (or a state of agreement), whereas a concordat is a formal compact between authorities.