archbishop
n. countablen. a high-ranking priest who is in charge of several other bishops and a large area of the church. They are the most important leaders in certain Christian groups.
n. a bishop of the highest rank who presides over an ecclesiastical province or archdiocese. Often serves as a metropolitan leader within the hierarchy of Anglican, Catholic, or Orthodox churches.
The archbishop led the special service at the cathedral.
After years of service in smaller parishes, he was appointed as the archbishop of the country's largest city.
The coronation ceremony required the presence of the archbishop to perform the traditional anointing, a ritual that has remained largely unchanged for several centuries.
From Middle English erchebischop, archebischop, from Old English arċebisċop (“archbishop”), from Late Latin or Ecclesiastical Latin archiepiscopus, from Ancient Greek ἀρχιεπίσκοπος (arkhiepískopos), from ἀρχι- (arkhi-, “first, chief”) + ἐπίσκοπος (epískopos, “overseer”), from ἐπισκοπέω (episkopéō, “to watch over”), from ἐπί (epí, “over”) + σκοπέω (skopéō, “to examine”), equivalent to arch- + bishop.
Often used as a title before a name, in which case it is capitalized.