Deposition

1) In canon law, a deposition is a sentence that removes or deposes a bishop, priest, or deacon from the ordained ministry. A member of the clergy who is deposed is entirely banned from the sacred ministry, and not merely changed from one order to another. For example, a deposed bishop could not serve as a priest or a deacon. A sentence of deposition may be imposed after final conviction by an ecclesiastical trial court; after an accused presbyter or deacon confesses the truth of the charges made, waives in writing the right to a trial, and submits to disciplinary action; after a renunciation of the ministry when there may be a question of prior misconduct or irregularity by the member of the clergy; or after an abandonment of the communion of the church by the member of the clergy. 2) In terms of Christian history, the Deposition refers to the taking down of Jesus' body from the cross. The Deposition also indicates an artistic representation of this event.