ministerial

ministerial
    adj 1: of or relating to a minister of religion or the
           minister's office; "ministerial duties"
    2: of or relating to a government minister or ministry;
       "ministerial decree"
    

Ministerial \Min`is*te"ri*al\, a. [L. ministerialis: cf. F.
   minist['e]riel. See {Minister}, and cf. {Minstrel}.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. Of or pertaining to ministry or service; serving;
      attendant.
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            Enlightening spirits and ministerial flames.
                                                  --Prior.
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   2. Of or pertaining to the office of a minister or to the
      ministry as a body, whether civil or sacerdotal.
      "Ministerial offices." --Bacon. "A ministerial measure."
      --Junius. "Ministerial garments." --Hooker.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. Tending to advance or promote; contributive. "Ministerial
      to intellectual culture." --De Quincey.
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   {The ministerial benches}, the benches in the House of
      Commons occupied by members of the cabinet and their
      supporters; -- also, the persons occupying them. "Very
      solid and very brilliant talents distinguish the
      ministerial benches." --Burke.
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   Syn: Official; priestly; sacerdotal; ecclesiastical.
        [1913 Webster]
    

MINISTERIAL. That which is done under the authority of a superior; opposed 
to judicial; as, the sheriff is a ministerial officer bound to obey the 
judicial commands of the court. 
     2. When an officer acts in both a judicial and ministerial capacity, he 
may be compelled to perform ministerial acts in a particular way; but when 
he acts in a judicial capacity, he can only be required to proceed; the 
manner of doing so is left entirely to his judgment. See 2 Fairf. 377; Bac. 
Ab. Justices of the Peace, E; 1 Conn. 295; 3 Conn. 107; 9 Conn. 275; 12 
Conn. 464; also Judicial; Mandamus; Sheriff. 
    

67 Moby Thesaurus words for "ministerial":
      abbatial, abbatical, accessory, adjuvant, administrating,
      administrative, agential, agentival, agentive, ambassadorial,
      ancillary, archiepiscopal, assistant, assisting, auxiliary,
      bureaucratic, canonical, capitular, capitulary, churchly, clerical,
      conducive, consular, diplomatic, directing, ecclesiastic,
      employable, episcopal, episcopalian, evangelistic, executive,
      facilitating, favoring, forwarding, fostering, handy, helpful,
      helping, instrumental, intermediary, managing, mediating,
      mediatorial, ministering, ministrant, nurtural, nutricial,
      official, officiating, pastoral, plenipotentiary, prelatial,
      prelatic, presiding, priest-ridden, priestish, priestly, promoting,
      rabbinic, sacerdotal, serviceable, serving, subservient,
      subsidiary, supervisory, ultramontane, useful