Episcopal office

An episcopal office is an office of a diocese .

This name has become historical through the history of the Roman Catholic Church in the Soviet Zone and GDR . The West German bishops each appointed an episcopal commissioner to administer their areas there , whose office and district were each referred to as the “episcopal office” (initially with the exception of Schwerin, which was called the commissioner ). The episcopal commissioners were consecrated bishops and were appointed apostolic administrators by the Pope , so that they performed all episcopal functions. However, every episcopal commissioner had to be formally appointed by the bishopric of origin.

An upgrade to apostolic administrations did not take place against the will of the GDR government. The Holy See did not want to cement the German division, which was generally regarded as permanent, but was still a temporary measure under international law, in the circumscription .

In detail there were the following episcopal offices:

1. Episcopal Office Erfurt: to Fulda
2. Episcopal Office Magdeburg: to Paderborn
3. Episcopal Office Meiningen: to Würzburg
4. Episcopal commissariat, later office Schwerin: to Osnabrück

Erfurt and Meiningen were run in Realunion as the Episcopal Office of Erfurt-Meiningen .

After German reunification , the Episcopal Office of Erfurt-Meiningen was elevated to the Diocese of Erfurt , the Episcopal Office of Magdeburg to the Diocese of Magdeburg , while the Episcopal Office of Schwerin today forms part of the Archdiocese of Hamburg .