A group of parishes formed a diocese, over which a bishop
presided. It was his business to look after the property belonging to the
diocese, to hold the ecclesiastical courts, to visit the clergy, and to see
that they did their duty. The bishop alone could administer the sacraments of
Confirmation and Ordination. He also performed the ceremonies at the
consecration of a new church edifice or shrine. Since the Church held vast
estates on feudal tenure, the bishop was usually a territorial lord, owing a
vassal's obligations to the king or to some powerful noble for his land and
himself ruling over vassals in different parts of the country. As symbols of
his power and dignity the bishop wore on his head the miter and carried the
pastoral staff, or crosier.
ARCHBISHOPS
Above the bishop in rank stood the archbishop. In England,
for example, there were two archbishops, one residing at York and the other at
Canterbury. The latter, as "primate of all England," was the highest
ecclesiastical dignitary in the land. An archbishop's distinctive vestment
consisted of the pallium, a narrow band of white wool, worn around the
neck. The pope alone could confer the right to wear the pallium.
THE CATHEDRAL
The church which contained the official seat or throne
[19] of a bishop or archbishop was called a cathedral. It was ordinarily the
largest and most magnificent church in the diocese.
