COREPISCOPO. – The c. (or bishop of the countryside, from γάρα = district and ἐπίσκοπος = bishop) originally governed in the East an ecclesiastical district in the countryside, under the authority of the city bishop.
I. IN THE EAST
The first mention of c. is made by canon 13 of the Council of Ancyra in Galatia (c. 314), which forbids them to ordain priests and deacons, whether of the countryside or, even less, of the city, without prior written authorization from the bishop. The Council of Neocaesarea in Pontus, held shortly afterward (between 314 and 325), and attended by two c. from Cappadocia (cf. Mansi, II, 548), compares them to the seventy disciples of the Lord (canon 14).The first Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (325), in which no fewer than fourteen c. were also present, wishing in canon 8 to regularize the position of the catharoi bishops who wished to return to Catholic unity, recommends that the Catholic bishop of the place grant them either the mere honorary title of bishop or, better still, find them a place as c., so that there may not be two bishops in the same city. The opposition to c., which already manifested itself at the beginning of the 4th century, reaches its peak in the Council of Antioch in Si
There has been much ancient discussion as to whether c. were true bishops. Gradually, however, writers have come to recognize in them a true episcopal character. It may be said that in the East, throughout the period during which the institution existed, c. enjoyed true episcopal power, though increasingly limited in its exercise by the interference of the city bishop.
II. IN THE WEST
The first traces of c. are encountered toward the middle of the 5th century (Council of Riez, in 439). They are, however, rare cases, exceptional expedients that do not seem to have had any relation to the corepiscopate of the 8th century.
Contrary to what happened in the East, the c. in the West, from their very appearance, was not a bishop of the countryside but an auxiliary of the titular bishop of the diocese. The first c. of this type are those assumed by St. Willibrord, bishop of Utrecht, and St. Boniface (735–38), as an aid in their missionary work. In 747, Pope Zachary, in a letter to Pepin the Short (MGH, Epist. III, p. 481), mentions them and considers them true bishops, based on the decisions of the Councils of Antioch and Neocaesarea. The golden age of Western c. is the 9th century: they are numerous, often govern dioceses alone, and attend councils with a deliberative vote. But already many assemblies attempt to limit their powers. Indeed, the validity of the ordinations they performed begins to be questioned. Although Rabanus Maurus wrote a treatise, *De chorepiscopis* (MGH, Epist., V, pp. 431–39), to uphold their episcopal character, the councils, especially the Council of Meaux in 845, forbid them to confer Orders without the bishop’s permission and threaten canonical penalties for the bishop who dared delegate his powers to his c. (MGH, Capitul., II, p. 409). A more violent, if not more honorable, struggle against c. was waged relentlessly by the pseudo-reformers (847–52), with the aim of restoring the prestige of bishops and, even more, of preventing them from delegating their powers to their c. so as to live a life of great lords. Through interpolations and forgeries it was asserted that c. were merely priests. The false capitularies and false decretals acted in the same direction. Nevertheless, Pope Nicholas I still maintained in 864, in a letter to Rodulf, archbishop of Bourges, that c. are true bishops. But the thesis of the false decretals was to prevail.
By the 10th century c. were already rare. They persisted in Ireland until the 13th century. In certain dioceses, such as Trier and Cologne, the corepiscopate remained for a long time an honorary title. The institution of c. had a particular Salisbury (v.). Geographically, the corepiscopate in the West was confined to Germany and the Frankish lands; less frequently, it is also found in England and Ireland. It seems to have remained unknown in Italy, Spain, and North Africa.
III. IN THE EASTERN CATHOLIC CHURCHES
In those in which the corepiscopate still exists, c. whose functions tend to coincide with those of a vicar general rather than a Western rural dean, are no longer vested with episcopal character. The Chaldeans preserve the ancient tradition of appointing only one c. for each diocese, whom they deny the power to ordain readers and subdeacons. Among the Maronites, c., ordained by the patriarch alone or by his mandate with the laying on of hands, have the power to administer confirmation, consecrate baptisteries and dedicate churches and altars, and, with the patriarch’s prior license, to confer minor Orders. Among the Syrian Catholics, the c., the sole dignity in the diocese, is the first dignity in the clergy. Among the Melkites, on the other hand, the corepiscopate is currently the lowest of honorary titles.In the dissident Greek Churches, the title of c. is conferred upon the rectors of certain large parishes and the deans of a group of parishes. In Russia, bishops who were auxiliaries were called c. The Greek canonical collection of the two monks Agapios Leonardos and Nicodemos Agiorita, known under the title *Pedalion* (ed. Athens 1908, p. 140), maliciously observes that “today, the so-called c. have a very high name, but no power at all.”