Exemption

Exemption, a technical term in ecclesiastical law, denoting the transference of a person or institution from the jurisdiction of the superior nearest to them to that of one higher or special. This law is illustrated in the history of monasticism. Originally the monks were under the jurisdiction of the bishop, but in time single monasteries and then entire orders placed themselves immediately under the authority of the pope. Many bishoprics are controlled directly by the pope, and not by the archbishops, and some priests are exempt from obedience to their immediate superior.