| This article forms part of the series Clergy (Christian) | |
| |
| Major orders | |
| Bishop - Priest - Deacon | |
| Minor orders | |
| Subdeacon - Reader Cantor - Acolyte | |
| Other orders | |
| Chorepiscopos - Exorcist Doorkeeper - Deaconess | |
| Episcopal titles | |
| Pope - Patriarch - Cardinal - Catholicos Archbishop - Metropolitan Auxiliary bishop - | |
| Priestly titles | |
| Archimandrite - Protopresbyter Archpriest - Protosyngellos Economos | |
| Diaconal titles | |
| Archdeacon - Protodeacon - Hierodeacon | |
| Minor titles | |
| Lampadarios | |
| Monastic titles | |
| Abbot - Igumen | |
| Related | |
| Ordination - Vestments Presbeia - Honorifics Clergy awards - Exarch Proistamenos - Vicar | |
A chorepiscopos, or chorbishop, is a rare office of clergy in the Church. The name is taken from the Greek Χωρεπίσκοπος, meaning "country bishop." It is still present in the Church of Romania.citation needed
History[]
Chorepiscopi are first mentioned by the ecclesiastical historian Eusebius in the second century.[1] In the days of the very Early Church, chorepiscopi seemed to have authority in rural districts, but in the second half of the third century they were subject to the urban episcopate, or metropolitans. The Synod of Ancyra (314) forbade them to ordain deacons and priests.
The Council of Sardica in 343 decreed that chorepiscopi should not be consecrated where a priest would suffice,[2] and gradually their numbers declined. In some dioceses, the title chorbishop is sometimes used as an alternative title for an auxiliary bishop. However, it should be noted that the functions of an auxiliary usually differ from this specific office.
The modern Arabic word for a priest, khoury, is etymologically taken from the Greek chorepiscopos.
References[]
- ↑ Ott, Michael T. (1913). "Chorepiscopi." Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company
- ↑ Canon 6 of the Council of Sardica. (Note there is a lacuna in the text as translated and presented in The Rudder. The essential word not has been omitted in the main body of the text, although the sense and the commentary make it clear it should have been included.)
External link[]
- Letter LIII. To the Chorepiscopi. by St. Basil the Great (Christian Classics Ethereal Library), cf. footnote 2193.