The jurisdiction, territory, or office controlled by an archdeacon; a subdivision of a diocese administered by a chief deacon.
From archdeacon + -ry (Middle English suffix indicating place or jurisdiction). The archdeaconry was an administrative division created to help manage large dioceses.
Medieval archdeaconries were the original 'jurisdictions'—archdeacons literally governed territories, held courts, and could fine or suspend priests, making them almost as powerful as bishops in their domains!
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