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

episcopate

9.9
The area that a bishop is in charge of
  • noun
  • /ɪˈpɪskəˌpeɪt/
  • Formal
translation icon : diócesis
  • She studied the history of the episcopate to understand the structure of the Christian Church.

Examples

  • Entry into an episcopate having a controlling ideology and group will usually require an allegiance to theological and canonical conclusions, excluding discussion and progress.

    Academic text (2003)

  • The diocese is divided into several parishes, each falling under the episcopate of a local bishop.

  • The episcopate includes not only the bishop's authority but also the community that supports it.

Synonyms

diocese
vsepiscopate
107 7.6

An area of churches and parishes that a bishop looks after

is the same district concept but uses a different traditional term
bishopric
vsepiscopate
1 9.7

An area under the control of a bishop

is the same jurisdictional area but uses a different traditional term
eparchy
vsepiscopate
9.9

A district led by a bishop in the Eastern Orthodox Church

is similar but applies across the wider Christian Church rather than only Eastern Orthodox
bishopry
vsepiscopate
  • Archaic
9.9

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

focuses on the territorial area under the bishop's authority rather than the office

How Big

archdiocese
  • Specialized
46 8.7
episcopate
  • Formal
9.9
district
∞ 1.5
parish
138 4.1

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 the Greek episkopos, built from epi- 'over' and skopos 'watcher', giving the image of someone who looks after a place. That is why episcopate can also mean the area or district a bishop watches over — the part of the church under their care.