NOTE (CATHEDRA NOT CATHEDRAL)
The installation of a bishop is the moment when the bishop is formally placed in the cathedra (Latin: “chair”), the symbolic seat of teaching and authority.
A church becomes a cathedral because it contains this chair.
My people, let me explain this matter in a very simple way, the way our Anglican tradition has always understood it.
1. The Dean Is the One Who Installs the Bishop
From the early Church to medieval Christianity and even in today’s Anglican Communion, it is the Dean of the Cathedral who installs the bishop in his cathedra.
Why?
Because when the diocese has no bishop, the cathedral is under the Dean and Chapter.
They are the custodians of the cathedral.
They are the ones holding the “keys of the house.”
So when the new bishop arrives, the Dean who represents the Cathedral Chapter welcomes him, recognizes him, and installs him in the bishop’s chair.
Remember:
A bishop does not install himself. The Church installs him.
2. A Bishop Cannot Install Another Bishop
I want to make this part very clear:
A bishop of another diocese cannot install another bishop.
Liturgically wrong.
Traditionally wrong.
Ecclesiologically wrong.
Why?
Because:
- A bishop is the head of his own see.
- The head of one see cannot exercise authority inside another.
- Every cathedral has its own corporate body called the Cathedral Chapter.
- Only those who belong to that Chapter have the right to participate in installing their bishop.
Here is the key point:
A bishop from another diocese has not taken the oath of loyalty and responsibility to that cathedral.
Every bishop, before assuming office in his own diocese, takes:
- An oath to the constitution of that diocese,
- An oath to uphold the liturgy, canons, and customs of that cathedral,
- And becomes a member of the Cathedral Chapter of his see.
But a bishop from another diocese has not taken that oath
and is not a member of the Cathedral Chapter of the diocese he is asked to enthrone a bishop in.
And in Anglican tradition:
If you are not part of the Cathedral Chapter, you cannot install the head of that diocese in his cathedra.
That authority belongs to the Dean and the Chapter alone.
A bishop from another diocese may preside over the service, preach, pray, or bless but the act of installation is not his role.
3. Why I Do Not Support the Idea of One Bishop Supervising Another Diocese
This connects directly to what we see today — the idea that a bishop of one diocese can fully “oversee” or “run” another diocese.
This is not our Anglican practice.
A. Every Diocese Is Autonomous
Each diocese has its own:
Bishop
Cathedral
Clergy
Constitution
Synod
No external bishop can simply take on the full authority of another diocese.
B. What the Church Actually Does
When a bishop retires or the see becomes vacant:
- The Dean and Chapter hold the fort.
- A priest may serve as Vicar General.
- If necessary, there may be external supervision
but never a full handover of diocesan authority to another bishop already ruling his own flock.
“External supervision” means guidance, not governance.
C. Why This Matters
The Church made dioceses autonomous for clear reasons:
- Proper pastoral oversight
- Balanced authority
- Avoiding over-centralization
- Respecting the integrity of each cathedral
- Maintaining the ancient order of the Church
When a bishop rules two dioceses, confusion enters, tradition breaks down, and the rights of the local church become endangered.
4. Summary in the Simplest Words
Let me put everything together:
The Dean installs the bishop because he is the custodian of the cathedral and a member of the Cathedral Chapter.
A bishop from another diocese cannot install a bishop because he has not taken the oath to that cathedral, is not part of its Chapter, and has no jurisdiction there.
And this is why every Anglican diocese stands autonomous with only temporary supervision, not full control, when the see is vacant.
Even the Pope is installed in his cathedral by the Archpriest of the Lateran Basilica, together with the Lateran Cathedral Chapter.
After the installation of the Bishop, the Dean is then installed by the Bishop, and every priest in the diocese is also instituted and inducted by the Bishop. This is how the Church has ordered it, and this is the tradition we follow.
David Nwanekpe
11/27/25
Happy Thanksgiving All
