In English criminal law . Larceny from a church. 4 Steph. Comm. 164. The crime of breaking a church or chapel, and stealing therein. 1 Russ. Crimes, S43. In old English law . The desecration of anything considered holy; the alienation to lay-men or to profane or common purposes of what was given to religious persons and to pious uses. Cowell.
Black’s Law Online Dictionary
