diocese

American  

[dahy-uh-sis, -seez, -sees] / ˈdaɪ ə sɪs, -ˌsiz, -ˌsis /

noun

1. an ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.

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diocese British  

/ ˈdaɪəsɪs /

noun

1. the district under the jurisdiction of a bishop

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Etymology

Origin of diocese

1300–50; Middle English diocise, diocese < Anglo-French < Late Latin diocēsis, variant of Late Latin, Latin dioecēsis, < Greek dioíkēsis housekeeping, administration, province, diocese, equivalent to dioikē-, variant stem of dioikeîn to keep house, administer, govern ( di- di- ³ + oikeîn to dwell, occupy, manage, derivative of oîkos house) + -sis -sis

Explanation

The group of churches that a bishop supervises is known as a diocese. Typically, a diocese is divided into parishes that are each overseen by a priest. The original dioceses, in ancient Rome, were political rather than religious. Rome was divided into dioceses, each of which was made up of many provinces. After Christianity became the Roman Empire's official religion in the 4th century, the term gradually came to refer to religious districts. The Catholic Church has almost 3,000 dioceses. The Greek root of diocese is dioikesis, "government, administration, or province."

Example Sentences

The Diocese of Rome, meanwhile, said it knew about the restoration but that it had been told nothing would be added or changed.

From BBC • Feb. 3, 2026

“It seemed as if we took a step back as a society,” Joseph Brennan, the Bishop of the Diocese of Fresno, wrote in an early 2025 op-ed in The Fresno Bee.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026

He was joined this week by Diocese of Baton Rouge Bishop Michael Duca as la migra now roams Louisiana.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2025

The Scottish Episcopal Church said grounds for a risk assessment were fully considered and acknowledged the "deep wounds that exist within the Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney".

From BBC • Dec. 9, 2025

The Bishop of Freisingen and Ratisbon spends more of his Time at Munich than in his Diocese.

From The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume I Being the Observations He Made in His Late Travels from Prussia thro' Germany, Italy, France, Flanders, Holland, England, &C. in Letters to His Friend. Discovering Not Only the Present State of the Chief Cities and Towns; but the Characters of the Principal Persons at the Several Courts. by P?llnitz, Karl Ludwig von

Related Words

• district