From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Diocese
Diocese
A diocese also may be referred to as a bishopric or epis-
copal see, though strictly the term episcopal see refers to
the domain of ecclesiastical authority officially held by
the bishop, and the term bishopric to the post of being
bishop.
The bishops, Greek: Episkopos, elders or overseers, of
the long-established churches claim Apostolic
succession, a direct historical lineage dating back
to the original Twelve Apostles.
The word diocese is from the Greek term διοίκησις,
meaning "administration".
Sankt Laurentii kyrka
Catholic Church
Diocese of Linköping, Söderköpings kommun, Sweden As of January 2009 there are 630 Catholic archdioceses
(including 13 patriarchates, two catholicates, 536 metro-
politan archdioceses, 79 single archdioceses) and 2,167
dioceses in the world.
Eastern Catholic churches
In the Eastern Catholic Churches (which recognize papal
authority and are a part of the larger Catholic Church),
the equivalent unit is called an eparchy;
Pope Pius XI blesses Bishop Stephen Alencastre as fifth Apos-
tolic Vicar of the Hawaiian Islands in a Cathedral of Our Lady
of Peace window. In Roman Catholicism, the pope is the bishop
of the Diocese of Rome. He creates the other dioceses through-
out the world and chooses their bishops.
St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh
Cathedral of the Diocese of Armagh and Metropolitan Cathe-
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a
dral of the United Provinces of Armagh and Tuam,
bishop. It is divided into parishes.
Church of Ireland
An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An Anglican Communion
archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see
may have or had importance due to size or historical
significance. The archbishop may have metropolitan au- Eastern Orthodox Church
thority over any other (then ’suffragan’) bishops and
The Eastern Orthodox Church calls dioceses metropoleis
their dioceses within his ecclesiastical province.
in the Greek tradition or eparchies in the Slavic tradition.
This structure of church governance is known as
episcopal polity.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Diocese
Church of England and Angli- Churches that have neither
can Communion dioceses nor bishops
After the Reformation, the Church of England retained
the existing diocesan structure which remains through- Methodism
out the Anglican Communion. In the Methodist Church (covering Great Britain and Ire-
land), churches are grouped together in sections. Sec-
United Methodist Church of tions are grouped together to form Circuits. Circuits are
grouped together to form Districts. All of these, com-
USA bined with the local membership of the Church, are re-
ferred to as the ’Connexion’. This 18th century term, en-
In the United Methodist Church (USA) a bishop is given
dorsed by John Wesley who remained within the Church
oversight over a geographical area called an Episcopal
of England, describes how people serving in different ge-
Area. Each episcopal area contains one or more annual
ographical centres are ’connected’ to each other. The
conferences, which is how the churches and clergy under
Methodist Church has an annual president. Each District
the bishop’s supervision are organized. Thus, the use of
is headed by a ’Chair’ who oversees its functioning. Each
the term "diocese" referring to geography is the most
Circuit is governed by a superintendent minister. The
equivalent in the United Methodist Church, whereas
geographical regions covered by circuits and dioceses
each annual conference is part of one episcopal area
rarely overlap.
(though that area may contain more than one confer-
ence). The African Methodist Episcopal Church has a sim-
Baptists
ilar structure to the United Methodist Church, also using
the Episcopal Area. Most Baptists hold that no church or ecclesiastical or-
ganization has inherent authority over a Baptist church.
Churches can properly relate to each other under this
Lutheranism polity only through voluntary cooperation, never by any
sort of coercion. Furthermore, this Baptist polity calls for
Poland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, freedom from governmental control.[6] Most Baptists be-
Iceland, Sweden, Finland lieve in "Two offices of the church"—pastor-elder and
deacon—based on certain scriptures (1 Timothy 3:1–13;
Certain Lutheran denominations such as the Church of
Titus 1–2).
Sweden do have individual dioceses similar to Roman
Exceptions to this local form of local governance in-
Catholics. These dioceses and archdioceses are under the
clude a few churches that submit to the leadership of a
government of a bishop (see Archbishop of Uppsala).[1]
body of elders, as well as the Episcopal Baptists that have
Other Lutheran bodies and synods that have dioceses and
an Episcopal system.
bishops include the Church of Denmark, the Evangelical
Lutheran Church of Finland, the Evangelical Church in
Germany, and the Church of Norway.[2] History
Lutheranism in USA
Some American Lutheran synods such as the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America do have a bishop acting as
the head of the synod,[3] but the synod does not have
dioceses and archdioceses as the churches listed above.
Rather, it is divided into a middle judicatory.[4] The
Lutheran Church-International, based in Springfield, Illi-
nois, presently uses a traditional diocesan structure, with
four dioceses in North America. Its current president is
Archbishop Robert W. Hotes.[5]
Dioceses
of the Roman Empire
400 AD
See also: Bishops and civil government
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Diocese
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the in- United States
creasingly subdivided provinces were administratively of America
associated in a larger unit, the diocese (Latin dioecesis, • List of
from the Greek term διοίκησις, meaning "administra- Lutheran
tion"). dioceses and
With the adoption of Christianity as the Empire’s of- archdioceses
ficial religion in the 4th century, the clergy assumed of- • List of the
ficial positions of authority alongside the civil governors. dioceses of the
A formal church hierarchy was set up, parallel to the civil Orthodox
administration, whose areas of responsibility often coin- Church in
cided. America
With the collapse of the Western Empire in the 5th • List of Roman
century, the bishops in Western Europe assumed a large Catholic
part of the role of the former Roman governors. A sim- archdioceses
ilar, though less pronounced, development occurred in • List of Roman
the East, where the Roman administrative apparatus was Catholic
largely retained by the Byzantine Empire. In modern dioceses
times, many diocese, though later subdivided, have pre-
served the boundaries of a long-vanished Roman admin-
istrative division. For Gaul, Bruce Eagles has observed Notes
that "it has long been an academic commonplace in [1] Adam of Bremen, Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae
France that the medieval dioceses, and their constituent pontificum, online text in Latin; scholia 94.
pagi, were the direct territorial successors of the Roman [2] see List of Lutheran dioceses and archdioceses.
civitates.[7] [3] Office of the Presiding Bishop on ELCA.org.
Modern usage of ’diocese’ tends to refer to the sphere Retrieved 2010-16-04.
of a bishop’s jurisdiction. This became commonplace dur- [4] LERNing newsletter from July 2005 at ELCA.org.
ing the self-conscious "classicizing" structural evolution Retrieved 2010-16-04.
of the Carolingian empire in the 9th century, but this [5] [1]
usage had itself been evolving from the much earlier [6] Pinson, William M., Jr.. Trends in Baptist Polity.
parochia ("parish"), dating from the increasingly for- Baptist History and Heritage Society.
malised Christian authority structure in the 4th century http://www.baptisthistory.org/contissues/
(see EB 1911). pinson.htm.
[7] Bruce Eagles, "Britons and Saxons on the Eastern
See also Boundary of the Civitas Durotrigum" Britannia 35
(2004:234–240) p 234, noting for instance E.M.
• List of Eastern • List of the Roman Catholic Wightman, Gallia Belgica (London) 1985:26.
Orthodox dioceses of the United States
dioceses and • Eparchy, a term in Eastern
archdioceses Catholicism, Eastern
Sources and external links
• List of Anglican Orthodoxy, Oriental • Definition from 1911 Britannica
dioceses Orthodoxy, and the Assyrian • Complete list of Catholic dioceses worldwide by Giga-
• List of Anglican Church of the East Catholic Information
Church of • List of Bishops • Virtually complete list of current and historical
Canada • Notitia dignitatum Catholic dioceses worldwide
dioceses • Particular Church • Another such list, in English and Norwegian
• List of Church • Ecclesiastical Latin • List of current Anglican/Episcopalian dioceses
of England • Catholic Church in Great • "Diocese". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert
dioceses Britain Appleton Company. 1913.
• List of Church • Structure of the Church of http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05001a.htm.
of Ireland England • Indian Orthodox Church Diocese Portal
dioceses • Global organisation of the • Coats of Bishops and of Dioceses
• Dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church
Episcopal
Church in the
External links
• Ligação externa Diocese de Santo Anselmo - Brasil
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Diocese
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Diocese&oldid=474004735"
Categories:
• Christian group structuring
• Episcopacy in Anglicanism
• Episcopacy in Roman Catholicism
• Dioceses
• Christian terms
• Greek loanwords
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