bishopric

noun

bish·​op·​ric ˈbi-shə-(ˌ)prik 

1

: diocese

2

: the office of bishop

3

: the administrative body of a Mormon ward consisting of a bishop and two high priests as counselors

Examples of bishopric in a Sentence

He was elected to the bishopric at the turn of the century.

Recent Examples on the Web

Much of its portfolio is controlled by Ensign Peak Advisers, a nonprofit investment manager overseen by ecclesiastical leaders known as its presiding bishopric. —CBS News, 21 Feb. 2023

Furthermore, that printing press was owned by the bishopric, which in turn determined what could be printed for the next two centuries. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 21 Feb. 2022

The bishopric would not have been particularly interested in romances and heroic narratives, so these works survived in the form of manuscripts that regular Icelanders copied by hand. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 21 Feb. 2022

Timothy reminded a bishop who sought comfortable retirement in Baghdad that his colleagues were on the road to China and India, and that Timothy had just founded yet another bishopric for Tibet! —Peter Brown, The New York Review of Books, 7 Oct. 2021

Then the first letter arrived at the Ghent bishopric, demanding 1 million francs, a vast sum at the time, for the panel's safe return, and threatening to destroy the work if authorities didn't cooperate. —Raf Casert, Star Tribune, 26 Mar. 2021

As a land developer himself, former member of the county’s Planning Commission and an ecclesiastical leader in the bishopric of his Latter-day Saint congregation, some say his opinions carried weight. —The Salt Lake Tribune, 28 Feb. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Middle English bisshopriche, from Old English bisceoprīce, from bisceop + rīce kingdom — more at rich

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

bishopric

noun

bish·​op·​ric ˈbish-ə-(ˌ)prik 

1

: diocese

2

: the position of bishop