Diocese

A diocese is an area of land under the charge of a bishop. He looks after the religious needs of the Christians who live there. The bishop organises the work of the Church in the area, and is responsible for all the ministers (priests) in his area. Another word for diocese is see, or even 'episcopal see'.

The diocese is the key geographical unit of religious authority in the church. Archbishops have an archdiocese. Inside each diocese are a number of parishes. Each parish is the area supervised by a local priest, and is part of the diocese.