[dahy-uh-sis, -seez, -sees] 
| an ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. |
| di·o·cese (dī'ə-sĭs, -sēs', -sēz') n. The district or churches under the jurisdiction of a bishop; a bishopric. [Middle English diocise, from Old French, from Late Latin diocēsis, from Latin dioecēsis, jurisdiction, from Greek dioikēsis, administration, from dioikein, to keep house, administer : dia-, intensive pref.; see dia- + oikein, to inhabit (from oikos, house; see weik-1 in Indo-European roots).] |
diocese
in some Christian churches, a territorial area administered by a bishop. The word originally referred to a governmental area in the Roman Empire, governed by an imperial vicar. The secular diocese was subdivided into provinces, each with its own governor; but, in the ecclesiastical adaptation of the system, the province became the larger territorial unit, administered by a metropolitan bishop and subdivided into dioceses.
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