Definition of episcopate in English:
episcopate
noun ɪˈpɪskəpətɛˈpɪskəpət
1The office of a bishop.
Example sentencesExamples
- A person is ordained into the historic episcopate, but does not ‘receive’ it.
- If the episcopate * as an office * is the problem then what are we saying?
- The Church Society rejected any suggestion the episcopate should be open to women, and said their ordination had damaged the Anglican Church.
- By his death, Theodore had built up the episcopate and created an organized, united church under Canterbury.
- Instead it called for ‘further theological study on the episcopate, focusing on the issues that need to be addressed in preparation for the debate on women in the episcopate of the Church of England’.
- 1.1the episcopate The bishops of a church or region collectively.
Example sentencesExamples
- For him, conciliarism was essentially a teaching about the shared responsibility of the whole episcopate, whether gathered in council or scattered in the dioceses.
- Furthermore, no single policy emanated from the government because of the individualism of licensors, and of divisions within the episcopate, and between James and the leading churchmen.
Origin
Mid 17th century: from ecclesiastical Latin episcopatus 'made a bishop', from episcopus 'bishop', from Greek episkopos 'overseer' (see bishop).