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Glite Dictionary
⛪ Church district 🏛️ A province
eparchy

eparchy

9.9
A district led by a bishop in the Eastern Orthodox Church
  • noun
  • /ˈɛpɑrki/
translation icon : eparquía
  • The bishop announced plans to visit each eparchy to strengthen the ties with local congregations.
  • eparchy and diocese

Examples

  • In the Eastern Orthodox Church, an eparchy functions similarly to a diocese, providing pastoral guidance.

  • At the first level of the diocese/eparchy, the East and the West are at one in theory and in practice.

    Academic text (2010)

  • The eparchy is responsible for overseeing the spiritual needs of the community within its boundaries.

Synonyms

diocese
vseparchy
107 7.6

An area of churches and parishes that a bishop looks after

is specific to the Eastern Orthodox tradition rather than general Christian usage
episcopate
vseparchy
  • Formal
9.9

The area that a bishop is in charge of

focuses on pastoral care and local church role rather than formal authority
exarchate
vseparchy
  • Specialized
9.9

A church area ruled by a senior bishop in the Eastern Orthodox Church

is led by a local bishop rather than a senior regional leader

Surface Forms

eparchy singular
eparchies plural

Morphology

eparchy = eparch (opaque) = eparch + y

Although formally eparchy is formed from 'eparch' + '-y', the base 'eparch' is rare and specialized, so learners are unlikely to infer the meaning from components.

Etymology

Eparchy comes from the Greek parts epi- 'over' and archē 'rule', and you can see the same 'arch' in monarchy and anarchy. So an eparchy is a district 'overseen' by a leader, which is why it now means a bishop's district in the Eastern Orthodox Church.