Episcopal see Episcopal see An episcopal see is, in the usual meaning of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with "diocese". The word "see" is derived from Latin "sedes", which in its original or proper sense denotes the seat or chair that, in the case of a bishop, is the earliest symbol of the bishop's authority. This symbolic chair is also known as the bishop's "cathedra", and is placed in the diocese principal church, which for that
Episcopal conference the conference must achieve a two-thirds majority and seek the "recognitio", that is, recognition of approval, of the Holy See, which they will not receive if the majority "is not substantial". In the 2013 apostolic exhortation, "Evangelii Gaudium", Pope Francis expressed his concern that the intent of the Second Vatican Council, which would give episcopal conferences "genuine doctrinal authority, has not yet been sufficiently elaborated." On September 9, 2017, Pope Francis modified canon law, granting episcopal conferences specific authority "to faithfully prepare … approve and publish the liturgical books for the regions for which they are responsible after the confirmation