(Redirected from Suffragan)A 'suffragan bishop' is a
bishop subordinate to a
metropolitan bishop.
Catholic Church
::''Main article:
Bishop (Catholic Church)''
In the
Catholic Church this term is applied to all non-metropolitan
bishops (that is, diocesan bishops of
dioceses within a metropolitan's province, and
auxiliary bishops).
Anglican Churches
In the
Anglican Churches, the term applies to a bishop who is a full-time assistant to a
diocesan bishop, for example, the
Bishop of Jarrow is suffragan to the
Bishop of Durham (the diocesan). Some Anglican suffragans are given the responsibility for a geographical area within the diocese (for example, the
Bishop of Selby is an ''area bishop'' within the
Diocese of York). The practice of appointing such bishops can be traced to the
Suffragan Bishops Act 1534.
The
Church of Ireland has no Suffragan Bishops, not even in the geographically large dioceses or in the two archdioceses.
In the
Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Suffragan Bishops are fairly common in larger dioceses, but usually have no specific region of responsibility within a diocese, and so are not given the title of a particular city. Thus
Barbara Clementine Harris was titled simply "Suffragan Bishop of
Massachusetts".
See also
★
Chorbishop