Definition of "penitential" [pen•i•ten•tial]

• Of, relating to, or expressing penitence. (adjective)
• Of or relating to penance. (adjective)
• A book or set of church rules concerning the sacrament of penance. (noun)
• A penitent. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Folded chasubles were not used, but in penitential times, deacon and subdeacon merely wear their proper vestments, minus the outer vestments of dalmatic and tunicle."
• "The Bragan rite also mentions the use of the folded chasuble in penitential seasons, including upon Good Friday."
• "Practices deemed as immoral were physically debilitating; failure to participate in penitential ritual could be punished with disease."