diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

, also known as a bishopric, is an administrative unit under the supervision of a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, of which there are currently 8 in the Belgian Catholic Church. The 8 dioceses are divided into 1

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

and 7

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria ...

s, but also one

military ordinariate A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, of the Latin or an Eastern church, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation. Until 1986, they were called "military v ...

, which was created a

military vicariate A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, of the Latin or an Eastern church, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation. Until 1986, they were called "military v ...

in 1957, but elevated to a military ordinariate in 1986. Its seat is located at the

Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg nl, Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenbergkerk , native_name_lang = , image = Saint-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg during civil twilight (DSCF7448).jpg , imagesize = 250px , imagelink = , imagealt = , ...

. Since December 1961, following the restructuring of the Catholic dioceses in Belgium, the Archdiocese of Mechelen was renamed the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels. This newly created archdiocese is the

primatial Primate () is a title or rank bestowed on some important archbishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority (title of authority) or (usually) ceremonial precedence (ti ...

see See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

of Belgium and the centre of the ecclesiastical province governed by the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels, which covers the whole of Belgium. There are also a few former Roman Catholic dioceses in Belgium, including the Dioceses of Eupen-Malmedy and

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

, but also the

ancient Diocese of Thérouanne The former French diocese of Thérouanne (Lat. ''Moriniensis'' or ''Taruannensis'') controlled a large part of the left bank of the river Scheldt during the Middle Ages. Territorially it was part of the county of Artois which belonged to the count ...

. The latter was split between the Dioceses of Saint-Omer,

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

and Ypres after the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italian Peninsula, Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation ...

's reform of sees. In Belgium, most dioceses coincide with a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

, but there are a few exceptions.

List of Roman Catholic dioceses in Belgium

Ecclesiastical Province of Mechelen-Brussels

External links

Catholic-Hierarchy entry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Roman Catholic Dioceses In Belgium *

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Catholic dioceses

List of Roman Catholic dioceses in Belgium

Ecclesiastical Province of Mechelen-Brussels

See also

External links

References