suffragan

English

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman, Old French suffragam, from (the stem of) Latin suffrāgium (“suffrage”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsʌfɹəɡən/

Noun

suffragan (plural suffragans)

1. A bishop seen in relation to his archbishop or metropolitan province (which may summon him for support, to attend synods etc.).
   • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “xiiij”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XII (in Middle English):

     Now take your hors said sir Tristram And as ye say / soo hit shal be / and alle thyn euylle wil god forgyue it yow and I doo / And here within this myle is the suffrecan of Carleil that shalle gyue yow the sacrament of baptym

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. An auxiliary bishop.
   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter III, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     One saint's day in mid-term a certain newly appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.”

   • 2015, GR Evans, Edward Hicks: Pacifist Bishop at War:

     A suffragan could share the tasks which were special to bishops; for example, by conducting confirmations.

See also

• coadjutor bishop
• suburbicarian