What does deconsecrating mean?
To deconsecrate something is to formally strip it of its sacred or religious status, most often applied to churches, chapels, and other consecrated buildings that are being closed, sold, or converted to secular purposes such as housing, offices, or performance venues. The word also extends to objects that had been ritually blessed or dedicated to worship. Deconsecration is usually an official act carried out by church authorities, frequently accompanied by a formal service, and it carries no negative connotation: unlike "desecration", which implies violation or contempt for the sacred, deconsecrating is an orderly, administrative procedure. The term derives from Latin roots meaning to remove from what has been made sacred, combining the privative prefix "de-" with "consecrate". It appears mainly in formal, legal, and ecclesiastical writing, and is useful precisely because it names a specific institutional act for which everyday English otherwise has no single word.
verb (present participle and gerund of "deconsecrate")The act of officially removing the sacred or religious status from a church, building, or object; formally divesting something of its consecrated character.
- To officially remove sacred status from a church, chapel, or religious building, typically so it can be put to secular use.
- (By extension) to divest an object previously blessed or dedicated to religious use of its sacred character.
"The diocese is deconsecrating the Victorian chapel before its conversion into a community arts centre."
"Before the nave was converted into a concert hall, the bishop presided over the service deconsecrating the building."
"The parish council debated for months before finally deconsecrating the disused burial ground."
When a church is sold to become a pub, flats, or a skate park, it must first be formally 'deconsecrated' — legally speaking, God moves out.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of deconsecrating
"Deconsecrate" combines the prefix "de-" (indicating removal or reversal) with "consecrate", which comes from the Latin "consecrare", formed from "com-/con-" (together) and "sacer" (sacred). English borrowed "consecrate" from Latin via Old French in late Middle English, and "deconsecrate" arose later as a derived form, first appearing in English around the 17th century as ecclesiastical and legal needs grew for a term describing the reversal of consecration. It shares the root "sacer" with words such as "sacred", "sacrifice", and "sacrilege".
Related word forms
How deconsecrating is actually used
A formal, chiefly ecclesiastical term used in legal and church-administrative contexts. Unlike "desecrate", it carries no negative connotation — deconsecration is typically an official, orderly procedure rather than an act of vandalism.
Easily confused with deconsecrating
"Deconsecrating" is a formal, often lawful ecclesiastical act of removing sacred status, whereas "desecrating" implies violating or treating something sacred with disrespect or contempt.