Altarage

Altarage is a term once commonly used in the Roman Catholic Church. From the low Latin altaragium — which signified the revenue reserved for the chaplain (altarist or altar-thane) in contradistinction to the income of the parish priest — it came to signify the fees received by a priest from the laity when discharging any function for them, e.g., at marriages, baptisms, and funerals. It is also known as an honorarium, stipend, or stole-fee. It may also refer to the offering made upon an altar or the endowments for Masses for the deceased.

References

Attribution

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Altarage". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton.