Ecclesial Authority

OLS does not make software the authority over the liturgy. It records who reviewed content, what it may be used for, and what remains restricted.

Authority Object

{
  "authority": {
    "status": "educational-only",
    "jurisdiction": "eotc",
    "approvingBody": null,
    "reviewedBy": [
      {
        "person": "person-priest-001",
        "role": "priest",
        "date": "2026-06-29",
        "scope": "terminology-and-pastoral-review"
      }
    ],
    "allowedUse": ["education", "private-study", "parish-handout"],
    "restrictedUse": ["altar-use", "sacramental-celebration"],
    "requiresClergyReview": true,
    "notes": {
      "en": "For teaching and study only unless reviewed by competent ecclesial authority."
    }
  }
}

Authority Status

Status	Use
draft	May contain errors. Not for public teaching without review.
needs-review	Awaiting clergy, liturgical, language, or scholarly review.
educational-only	Approved only as teaching material.
parish-reviewed	Reviewed for a specific parish context.
diocesan-approved	Approved by a diocesan authority.
synodal-approved	Approved by a synodal or official ecclesial body.
historical-only	Preserved for history; not current practice.
deprecated	Should not be used in new materials.

Evaluate Use, Not Just Status

status summarizes review maturity. allowedUse and restrictedUse answer the separate question of what a consumer may do with the content. Applications should evaluate all three controls:

1. Confirm that the intended use appears in allowedUse.
2. Reject the use if it appears in restrictedUse.
3. Require the declared review when requiresClergyReview is true.

An educational-only item may be technically valid and suitable for a classroom while remaining prohibited for altar use. Schema validation must never be presented as ecclesial approval.

Package-level authority acts as a default. Entity-level authority may narrow that default or record a more specific approval, but implementations should preserve the review trail and never infer approval from a missing field.

”Hold fast the traditions which you were taught.”

2 Thessalonians 2:15