Investiture, from the Latin (preposition in and verb vestire, 'dress' from vestis 'robe') is a rather general term for the formal installation of an incumbent (heir, elect of nominee) in public office, especially by taking possession of its insignia. The term is normally reserved for formal offices of state, aristocracy and church. The incumbent, in politics, is the current holder of a political office. ... ... A state is an organized political community occupying a definite territory, having an organized government, and possessing internal and external sovereignty. ... -1... A church building (or simply church) is a building used in Christian worship. ...

In the feudal system investiture was the ceremonial transfer of a fief by an overlord to a vassal. The lord invested the vassal with a fiefdom, by giving a symbol of the land or office conveyed in return for an oath of fealty. From feudal times up to the present, the term has been used in ecclesiastical law to refer to a cleric receiving the symbols of spiritual office, such as the pastoral ring, mitre and staff, signifying transfer of the office. Feudalism comes from the Late Latin word feudum, itself borrowed from a Germanic root *fehu, a commonly used term in the Middle Ages which means fief, or land held under certain obligations by feodati. ... Under the system of feudalism, a fiefdom, fief, feud or fee, consisted of heritable lands or revenue-producing property granted by a liege lord in return for a vassal knights service (usually fealty, military service, and security). ... In feudalism, an overlord is a supreme lord; one who is the lord of other lords. ... A vassal or liege, in the terminology that both preceded and accompanied the feudalism of medieval Europe, is one who enters into mutual obligations with a lord, usually of military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain guarantees, which came to include the terrain held as a fief. ... This article should be transwikied to wiktionary Ecclesiastical means pertaining to the Church (especially Christianity) as an organized body of believers and clergy, with a stress on its juridical and institutional structure. ... A cleric is: A member of the clergy of a religion, especially one that has trained or ordained priests, preachers, or other religious professionals; or A member of a character class in Dungeons & Dragons and similar fantasy role-playing games. ... MITRE is a US not-for-profit corporation that manages three federally-funded research and development centers whose main activities are applying computer-based automation to large and complex tasks. ... A staff of office is a staff and carrying it often denotes social rank or prestige. ...

As the insignia can include the formal dress and adornment (robes of state, headdress etcetera) the etymology refers to, but also other regalia in the widest sense, such as a throne or other seat of office, the word is a convenient generic term, also for such more specific cases as coronation (see that article and regalia for more on such ceremonies) and enthronement, though these are also used (rather imprecisely, by analogy) in such extended sense. A coronation is a ceremony marking the investment of a monarch with regal power through, amongst other symbolic acts, the placement of a crown upon his or her head. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Pope John Paul I s enthronement as Pope on 3rd September 1978. ...

Secular usage

The term is used to describe the installation of individuals in institutions that usually have been extant from feudal times. For example, the installation of heads of state and various other state functions with ceremonial roles are invested with office. Usually the investiture involves ceremonial transfer of the symbols of the particular office.

Judges in many countries, including justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, are invested with their office. American justices typically take two oaths: one to uphold the Constitution of the United States, and the other to apply the principle of Equal Protection to the rich and the poor (source: [1]). Likewise, university presidents, rectors and chancellors are invested with office. The Supreme Court of the United States is the supreme court in the United States. ... Page I of the Constitution of the United States of America Page II of the United States Constitution Page III of the United States Constitution Page IV of the United States Constitution The Syng inkstand, with which the Constitution was signed The Constitution of the United States is the supreme... The Equal Protection Clause is a part of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, providing that no state shall make or enforce any law which shall. ...

Ecclesiatical usage

Lay investiture was the appointment of bishops, abbots, and other church officials by feudal lords and vassals. The secular ruler usually invested the elect/appointee with the insignia of his ecclestiastic office, while the Pope crowned the Holy Roman Emperor (elected by the German Electoral Princes). A bishop is an ordained member of the Christian clergy who, in certain Christian churches, holds a position of authority. ... Abbots coat of arms The word abbot, meaning father, has been used as a Christian clerical title in various, mainly monastic, meanings. ... Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste. ...

The question who should invest (or more to the point, appoint) whom was the subject of an epic conflict between the Catholic church (mainly papacy) and state (mainly the Holy Roman Empire) in the Middle Ages during the so-called Investiture Controversy (see that article). The Investiture Controversy was the most significant conflict between secular and religious powers in medieval Europe. ...