prelacy

Prelacy refers to the office, jurisdiction, and authority exercised by prelates within a Christian church. A prelate is a high-ranking cleric, such as a bishop or archbishop, and prelacy denotes the system or governance led by such figures. The term derives from Latin prælatus, via medieval Latin prelatus, with the English suffix -cy indicating a state or condition.

Usage and scope: In many Christian traditions—most notably the Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican Churches—prelacy denotes episcopal governance, in which bishops oversee ordination, sacraments, diocesan administration, and provincial or national church structures. Prelacy thus encompasses both the office of individual prelates and the collective hierarchy of bishops within a diocese, province, or patriarchate. Some Protestant bodies employ episcopal polity, a form of prelacy, while others grounded in Presbyterian or congregational polities reject it.

Historical and political dimensions: The term is often used in historical or polemical contexts to describe the power and influence of bishops, sometimes in tension with congregational or presbyterian models or with civil authorities. In certain periods prelacy included temporal or civil authority exercised by church leaders within prince-bishoprics or church-state arrangements, though this varied by region and era.

Etymology and related terms: Prelacy is related to prelate and episcopacy; it should not be confused with papacy, which denotes the office and jurisdiction of the Pope.

See also: episcopal polity, prelate, bishop, archbishop, diocese, episcopate, church governance.