monepiscopacyn.
/ˌmɒnᵻˈpɪskəpəsi/, U.S. /ˌmɑnəˈpɪskəpəsi/, /ˌmɑniˈpɪskəpəsi/ Christian Church.
A system of Church government in which a diocese (in the early Church, a local congregation) is overseen by a single bishop; the exclusive authority of the bishop in governing a diocese under this system.
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society > faith > church government > kinds of church government > episcopacy > [noun] > led by bishops with monarchical authority
monepiscopacy1889
1889 C. Gore Ministry Christian Church ii. 73 No one..can maintain that the existence of what may be called, for lack of a distinctive term, monepiscopacy is essential to the continuity of the Church.
1903 Dublin Rev. Jan. 84 St. Peter is commonly said by the Fathers to be the type of monepiscopacy.
1929 B. H. Streeter Primitive Church v. 177 Clement's letter..was capable of being interpreted as if mon-episcopacy had been immemorial at Rome.
1980 Church Times 25 Apr. 9/2 It would..be putting the clock back to the period before mon-episcopacy had emerged.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1889