Suffragan

Signifies an assistant; or, a relation of rendering aid to a superior. Thus a bishop is, in a general sense, a suffragan to his archbishop. But a bishop may also have an assistant or suffragan to assist him in conferring orders, and in other spiritual parts of his office within his diocese. These are especially called suffragan bishops. They must not be confounded with the coadjutors of a bishop, who are appointed in case of a bishop's infirmity to superintend his jurisdiction and temporalities. A suffragan is a titular bishop ordained to aid and assist the bishop of the diocese in his spiritual function; or one who supplieth the place instead of the bishop, by whose suffrage ecclesiastical causes or matters committed to him are to be adjudged, acted, or determined. Some writers call these suffragans by the name of subsidiary bishops.

Tomlins.

Bishops who in former times were appomtcd to supply the place of others during their absence on embassies or other busiwere anciently called chareptscopi, or bishops of the county, in contradistinction to the regular bishops of the city or see. The practice of creating suffragan bishops, after having long been discontinued, has recently been revived; and such bishops are now assistants of the bishops generally and at all times.

Brown.