Eparchy (Catholic Encyclopedia article)
Adrian Fortescue · 1913
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Description
An eparchy was first a division of the Roman Empire, and this entry traces how the word passed into church use. Under Diocletian and Maximian the empire was split into four great prefectures, Gaul, Italy, Illyricum, and the East, each cut into civil dioceses and then into eparchies under governors. The Church took over this handy map for her own order.
Gaul, Italy, and Illyricum formed the Roman patriarchate, while the prefecture of the East was shared in the fourth century between Alexandria and Antioch and three exarchs. Below patriarchs and exarchs stood eparchies under metropolitans, with city bishops beneath them, and Nicaea in 325 confirmed that the metropolitan in each eparchy should appoint bishops. Later, in Eastern Christendom, the word came to mean simply a bishop's diocese, and in Russia, where it is the usual term, the Church now counts eighty-six eparchies.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Adrian Fortescue |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 1913 |
| COLLECTION | REFERENCE |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 1 KB |
| LICENSE | PUBLIC_DOMAIN |
| RIGHTS | PUBLIC DOMAIN |
| SOURCE | New Advent — Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) |