dispensation

noun

1. an act or instance of dispensing; distribution.
2. something that is distributed or given out.
3. a certain order, system, or arrangement; administration or management.
4. Theology.
   1. the divine ordering of the affairs of the world.
   2. an appointment, arrangement, or favor, as by God.
   3. a divinely appointed order or age: the old Mosaic, or Jewish, dispensation; the new gospel, or Christian, dispensation.
5. a dispensing with, doing away with, or doing without something.
6. Roman Catholic Church.
   1. a relaxation of law in a particular case granted by a competent superior or the superior’s delegate in laws that the superior has the power to make and enforce: a dispensation regarding the Lenten fast.
   2. an official document authorizing such a relaxation of law.

noun

1. the act of distributing or dispensing
2. something distributed or dispensed
3. a system or plan of administering or dispensing
4. mainly RC Church
   1. permission to dispense with an obligation of church law
   2. the document authorizing such permission
5. any exemption from a rule or obligation
6. Christianity
   1. the ordering of life and events by God
   2. a divine decree affecting an individual or group
   3. a religious system or code of prescriptions for life and conduct regarded as of divine origin