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👥 Group of bishops ⛪ Bishop's office ⏳ Time as bishop 🗺️ Bishop's area
episcopate

episcopate

9.9
The position and authority of a bishop in a church
  • noun
  • /ɪˈpɪskəˌpeɪt/
  • Formal
translation icon : episcopado
  • Throughout history, the episcopate has been responsible for overseeing the administration of the church.

Examples

  • The episcopate plays a crucial role in maintaining the traditions of the Christian Church.

  • The Constitution on Divine Revelation speaks of the episcopate having received "the sure charism of truth" by which the Holy Spirit "helps" and "leads" believers to the full truth of revelation.

    Academic text (2003)

  • As far as I'm concerned, once a priest has been assigned to a parish (after his curacy), there are only four reasons why he should be moved: (a) he does something monumentally stupid, e.g., have an affair with a parishioner; (b) is laicized for whatever reason; (c) is kicked upstairs to the Episcopate; or (d) is found dead on Monday morning having

    Blog text (16)

  • Many believe that the episcopate should guide its members in spiritual matters.

Synonyms

episcopacy
vsepiscopate
  • Formal
1 9.9

A group of bishops who lead a church and the way they run it

is a single official's office rather than a group or governing system
prelature
vsepiscopate
  • Jargon
1 9.9

An office, rank, or group of senior church leaders in the Catholic Church

is the single official's office rather than a group covering many church leaders
bishopry
vsepiscopate
  • Archaic
9.9

The job and area a senior church leader is in charge of

is the same office expressed by a different traditional term
prelacy
vsepiscopate
  • Formal
9.9

A system where bishops and senior leaders lead the church

focuses on one official's authority rather than a wider governing system

Surface Forms

episcopate singular
episcopates plural

Morphology

episcopate = bishop (opaque) = episcop + ate

The transformation from 'bishop' to 'episcopate' involves a significant semantic shift that is not transparent to learners.

Etymology

Episcopate comes from an old Greek word episkopos, made from epi- 'over' and skopos 'watcher', and it is the same root as bishop and like scope it has to do with watching. So the episcopate means the office or authority of a bishop, because a bishop is the church 'overseer'.