The primary guide for worship in the Episcopal Church. The first Anglican Book of Common Prayer was written in English in 1549 by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer , drawing on material from a number of Latin books and manuals then used to conduct services. The written rules governing church policy, structure and procedure. There are national canons and each diocese has its own. A diocese's cathedral is the church where the bishop makes his headquarters.
Some dioceses have no cathedral.
Sometimes it is used with a capital C when the writer means the Roman Catholic Church. A diocese is made up of several local congregations with a bishop as its chief pastor. Since only a bishop can consecrate other bishops, ordain priests and deacons and confirm, the diocese is the basic local unit of the church. Depending on the number of Episcopalians, a state may have one or several dioceses. The legislative body of the diocese is an annual convention of clergy and lay deputies from each congregation.