Episcopal Area

An Episcopal Area in the United Methodist Church (UMC) is a basic unit of this denomination. It is a region presided over by a resident bishop that is similar to a diocese in other Christian denominations. Each annual conference in the UMC is within a single episcopal area; some episcopal areas include more than one annual conference. Episcopal areas are found in the United States as well as internationally. In some cases, such as the Western Jurisdiction of the U.S. as well as some places internationally, an episcopal area covers a very large territory (several U.S. states or countries, respectively).

Beginnings

In the early histories of the denominations which formed the UMC, bishops were elected at-large, not having specific "residential responsibilities," but expected to exercise episcopal supervision throughout the denomination (including internationally), traveling throughout "the connection." Beginning with the General Conference of 1872, the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) designated certain cities as proper locations for episcopal residences. The objective was to secure for each part of the Church more certain and constant episcopal supervision. Each bishop was therefore assigned to one of these residences by his colleagues.