Episcopacy in Oriental Orthodoxy

The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy , the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certain cases also popes – such as the pope of Rome or pope of Alexandria).

thumb|Diocesan synod in Kraków in 1643 presided by Bishop [[Piotr Gembicki]]

ecclesiastical office, archbishop at the head of a metropolitan archdiocese

Eparchy ( eparchía "overlordship") is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an eparch, who is a bishop. Depending on the administrative structure of a specific Eastern Church, an eparchy can belong to an ecclesiastical province (usually a metropolis), but it can also be exempt. Each eparchy is divided into parishes, in the same manner as a diocese in Western Churches. Historical development of eparchies in various Eastern Churches was marked by local distinctions that can be observed in modern ecclesias

administrator of a non-metropolitan diocese in some Christian denominations

form of church governance consisting of a hierarchy of bishops

one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province

diocese headed by an archbishop and having suffragan dioceses under its jurisdiction