as in presbytery
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Recent Examples of episcopate
The diaconate represents the Church’s third degree of holy orders, below the presbyterate, or priests, and episcopate, or bishops.
—
Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 5 Dec. 2025
Vatican observers have long speculated that Francis saw Prevost as a potential successor, especially given his rapid rise and central role in shaping the modern episcopate.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 May 2025
The selection of Bishop McElroy, whose diocese has never been led by a cardinal, sends a message about the pope’s wish for a more liberal orientation for the U.S. episcopate.
—Francis X. Rocca, WSJ, 29 May 2022
The Curia is also seriously underfunded and understaffed for the duties it is supposed to carry out, including the selection, vetting, appointment, and supervision of an episcopate that today consists of more than 5,000 Catholic bishops around the world.
—Massimo Faggioli, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2018
Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 5 Dec. 2025
Vatican observers have long speculated that Francis saw Prevost as a potential successor, especially given his rapid rise and central role in shaping the modern episcopate.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 May 2025
The selection of Bishop McElroy, whose diocese has never been led by a cardinal, sends a message about the pope’s wish for a more liberal orientation for the U.S. episcopate.
—Francis X. Rocca, WSJ, 29 May 2022
The Curia is also seriously underfunded and understaffed for the duties it is supposed to carry out, including the selection, vetting, appointment, and supervision of an episcopate that today consists of more than 5,000 Catholic bishops around the world.
—Massimo Faggioli, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for episcopate
Noun
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Casa Carolina Hotel What was originally the presbytery of the Santa Catalina de Alejandría Cathedral is now one of Cartagena's newest boutique hotels, Casa Carolina.—
Carley Rojas Avila,
Travel + Leisure,
2 Jan. 2026
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Inside Brixworth Church The choir, or presbytery—the heart of the church—is separated from the nave by a large arch.—
David Nikel,
Forbes,
29 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
The diaconate represents the Church’s third degree of holy orders, below the presbyterate, or priests, and episcopate, or bishops.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
5 Dec. 2025
-
Two commissions studying the question of women in the diaconate, keeping discernment alive even without doctrinal change.—
Ed Gaskin,
Boston Herald,
30 Nov. 2025
Noun
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In the series’ hierarchy of importance, love comes before work, but friendship, as the Spice Girls sang, is the real prize.—
Television Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
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That requires a sophisticated understanding of organizational hierarchy.—
Jerry Shu,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Noun
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Shaped by the anticlerical violence of the country’s 1936-1939 civil war, the church has dealt more recently with a credibility crisis over revelations of decades of clergy abuse and cover-up.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 June 2026
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Others are subsidiaries of conglomerates, known as bonyads, that answer to the clergy.—
Bozorgmehr Sharafedin,
The Atlantic,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Episcopate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/episcopate. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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