Legal Definitions - episcopalia

Episcopalia refers to traditional and customary financial contributions made by clergy members (such as priests or ministers) within a specific geographical church region, known as a diocese, to their supervising bishop.

These payments are typically established by long-standing practice or church law and are often collected by an intermediate church official, such as a rural dean or archdeacon, before being forwarded to the bishop. The funds generated from episcopalia are used to support the bishop's administrative office, diocesan operations, and various church-wide initiatives.

• Example 1: Father Thomas, the rector of St. Michael's Parish, annually allocates a portion of his parish's budget as a contribution to the diocesan office. This payment is a long-standing tradition within their church structure, intended to help cover the administrative costs of the bishop's staff and the central services provided to all parishes in the diocese.

  This illustrates episcopalia because it is a customary financial contribution (an annual payment) made by a local clergy member (Father Thomas, representing his parish) to his diocesan bishop, supporting the broader church administration.

• Example 2: In a historical context, a village priest in medieval England would regularly submit a specific sum derived from the local tithes (a tenth of agricultural produce or earnings) to the archdeacon. The archdeacon would then consolidate these payments from various parishes and forward them to the Bishop of the diocese, contributing to the upkeep of the cathedral and the bishop's charitable endeavors.

  This demonstrates episcopalia as it involves customary payments (from tithes) from local clergy (the village priest) to their bishop, collected through an intermediary (the archdeacon), for the support of diocesan functions.

• Example 3: The canons (church laws) of the "Eastern Diocese" mandate that each parish contribute a small, fixed percentage of its annual unrestricted income on a quarterly basis. These funds are gathered by regional deans and then transferred to the central diocesan treasury, which is managed under the bishop's authority. The money is used to finance programs such as clergy continuing education, youth ministry outreach, and financial assistance for smaller, struggling parishes across the diocese.

  This is an example of episcopalia because it describes mandatory, regular financial contributions (quarterly payments) from clergy (parishes' unrestricted income) to their bishop (via the diocesan treasury), collected by an intermediary (regional deans), for the benefit of the wider diocese.