METROCOMIA (from μήτηρ, mother, and πόλις, town or village), a term in the ancient church-history, signifying "a borough or village that had other villages under its jurisdiction."—What a metropolis was among cities, a metracomia was among country towns. The ancient metracomia had each its choriepiscopus or rural dean, and here was his see or residence. See METROPOLIS and CHORIEPISCOPUS.
METROCOMIA
article · 390 chars · lineage ↗ · page image at NLS ↗