Christian Cyclopedia

(from Lat. interdicere, “forbid”). RC censure or penalty by which divine services and sacred rites are suspended. Interdicts may be personal or local, and each of these may be particular or gen.; a particular personal interdict is imposed on a person or persons specifically mentioned; a gen. personal interdict is imposed on persons mentioned only as a group; a particular local interdict is imposed on a specific individual place; a gen. local interdict is imposed on a larger area (e.g., diocese, province, state, or nation). Gen. interdicts may be imposed only by the Roman see. Interdicts have often been used effectively against recalcitrants since the 6th c. See also Western Christianity 500–1500, 8.