English diocesan bishops were commonly assisted by bishops who had been consecrated to sees which were "in partibus infidelium" (titular sees that had in most cases been conquered by Muslims) before the English Reformation. The separation of the English Church from Rome meant that this was no longer possible. The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 allowed for the creation of new sees to allow these assistant bishops, who were named as suffragan. Before then, the term "suffragan" referred to diocesan bishops in relation to their metropolitan.