abbacies
n. C1 Advanced ab·ba·cies
n. the positions or offices of an abbot or abbess. It refers to the leadership roles in a religious community.
n. the offices or positions held by an abbot or abbess. Often used in the plural to refer to the collective leadership of a monastic order.
The abbacies were passed down through the family for generations.
Historians are still studying the various abbacies that governed the region during the medieval period.
The transition of power between the various abbacies was a formal and public event, attended by local nobility and clergy to ensure the legitimacy of the new leader.