suffragan

1. Subordinate to an archbishop or metropolitan.

   a suffragan bishop

   Synonyms: suffraganean, suffraganeous

plural suffragans

1. A bishop seen in relation to his archbishop or metropolitan province (which may summon him for support, to attend synods etc.).

   Now take your hors said sir Tristram And as ye say / soo hit shal be / and alle thyn euylle wil god forgyue it yow and I doo / And here within this myle is the suffrecan of Carleil that shalle gyue yow the sacrament of baptym

   “Now take your horse,” said Sir Tristram, “And as you say, so it shall be and God will forgive you all your evil and I do, too. And less than a mile from here is the suffragan [bishop] of Carlisle who shall give you the sacrament of baptism.“

   1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “xiiij”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XII

2. An auxiliary bishop.

   A suffragan could share the tasks which were special to bishops; for example, by conducting confirmations.

   2015, GR Evans, Edward Hicks: Pacifist Bishop at War

   1 more example

   One saint's day in mid-term a certain newly appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.”

   1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter III, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC