Simony ( or ) is the act of selling church offices and roles. The practice is named after
Simon Magus, who is described in the
Acts of the Apostles 8:9–24 as having offered two disciples of
Jesus,
Peter and
John, payment in exchange for their empowering him to impart the power of the
Holy Spirit to anyone on whom he would
place his hands. The term also extends to other forms of trafficking for money in "spiritual things". Simony was also one of the important issues during the
Investiture Controversy.