benefit of clergy: Meaning and Definition of

ben'efit of cler'gy

1. the rites or sanctions of a church.
2. formal marriage: living together withoutbenefit of clergy.
3. the privilege claimed by church authorities to try and punish, by an ecclesiastical court, any member of the clergy accused of a serious crime. The privilege was abolished in the U.S. in 1790 and in England in 1827.