An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...

''. The word ''see'' is derived from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

''sedes'', which in its original or proper sense denotes the seat or chair that, in the case of a bishop, is the earliest symbol of the bishop's authority. This symbolic chair is also known as the bishop's '' cathedra''. The church in which it is placed is for that reason called the bishop's

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

, from Latin ''ecclesia cathedralis'', meaning the church of the ''cathedra''. The word ''throne'' is also used, especially in the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

, both for the chair and for the area of ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The term "see" is also used of the town where the cathedral or the bishop's residence is located.

Catholic Church

Within Catholicism, each diocese is considered to be a see unto itself with a certain allegiance to the See of Rome. The idea of a see as a sovereign entity is somewhat complicated due to the existence of the 23 Particular Churches of the Catholic Church. The Western Church and its Eastern Catholic counterparts all reserve some level of autonomy, yet each also is subdivided into smaller sees (dioceses and archdioceses). The episcopal see of the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, the Bishop of Rome, is known as "the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

" or "the

Apostolic See An apostolic see is an episcopal see whose foundation is attributed to one or more of the apostles of Jesus or to one of their close associates. In Catholicism the phrase, preceded by the definite article and usually capitalized, refers to the ...

", claiming papal supremacy.

Eastern Orthodox Church

The

views all bishops as sacramentally equal, and in principle holding equal authority, each over his own see. Certain bishops may be granted additional administrative duties over wider regions (as in the idea of the Pentarchy), but these powers are limited and never extend over the entire Church. Thus, the Eastern Orthodox oppose the idea of papal supremacy or any similar supremacy by any one bishop.

United Methodist Church

The United Methodist Church is divided into Annual Conferences, each one of which is presided over by a resident bishop, who is

of a named Episcopal Area, or See city. This is usually the Annual Conference's largest, or sometimes most centrally located, city. Annual Conferences are the regional bodies which are the fundamental basic bodies of which the United Methodist Global Connection is composed. Annual Conferences are responsible for many matters, including the approval, election and ordination of clergy, who then become members of the Annual Conference in which they are elected and ordained and – with some exceptions – serve within the bounds of for the tenure of their ministries. United Methodist Bishops are elected in larger regional conclaves every four years which are known as

Jurisdictional Conferences The Jurisdictional Conferences are a collection of Annual Conferences of The United Methodist Church located inside the United States. The constitution of The United Methodist Church established five jurisdictions within the United States and i ...

. These super-regional Jurisdictional Conferences comprise an equal number of lay and clergy delegates from each Annual Conference, each delegation determined by the size of the Annual Conference, within the Jurisdiction, and new bishops are elected and consecrated from among the clergy of the Jurisdiction's Annual Conferences. These bishops who are elected for life, are then sent to lead the various Annual Conferences of the Jurisdiction. Episcopal candidates are usually – although not always – the first clergy delegate elected from a particular Annual Conference. Each bishop is assigned to and leads for four year terms an Episcopal area, or see, of each Annual Conference. An Episcopal area can also comprise more than one Annual Conference when two smaller Annual Conferences agree to share a bishop.The United Methodist Book of Discipline, 2018 (special session)

References

External links

* {{Christianity footer Christian terminology Dioceses (ecclesiastical)

Catholic Church

Eastern Orthodox Church

United Methodist Church

See also

References

External links