episcopacy
noun
- hierarchical organization of the Church, with the highest local authority exercised by a bishop
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ɪˈpɪskəpəsi/
noun
Etymology: From episcopa(te) + -cy and/or episcopa(l) + -cy.
- The office of bishop and the governance of a church (a religious denomination) by bishops.
“Near-synonyms: bishopric, bishopry, bishopdom, bishopship, bishophood, archbishopric, archbishopry, archbishopdom, archbishopship, archbishophood”
“Further religious division occurred during the post-Restoration decades in the reign of Charles II, when strenuous and violent efforts were made by the Government to impose an episcopacy on the Scottish Church.”
- Bishops collectively: Synonym of episcopate.
“Near-synonyms: bishopric, bishopry, bishopdom, bishopship, archbishopric, archbishopry, archbishopdom, archbishopship”