sˈɪns mˈæɹid bˈɪʃəps wɜː mˈoːɹ kˈɑːmən ɪn lˈeɪt æntˈɪkwᵻɾi ænd ðɪ ˈɜːli mˈɪdəl ˈeɪdʒᵻz ðɐn ɪn lˈeɪɾɚ sˈɛntʃɚɹiz pɹˈiːstli sˈɛlɪbəsi wʌz ˈoʊnli ɛnfˈoːɹst ɪnðə kˈæθlɪk tʃˈɜːtʃ ˈæftɚ ðə ɡɹˈeɪt skˈɪzəm ʌv wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd fˈɪfti fˈoːɹ, ðə tˈaɪɾəl ᵻpɪskˈoʊpə mˈeɪ ɹᵻfˈɜː tə ðə wˈaɪf ɔːɹ wˈɪdoʊ əvə bˈɪʃəp, æz wˈɛl æz ðə mˈʌðɚɹ ʌv ˌɛni bˈɪʃəp, sˈʌtʃ ɐz ðˈæt ʌv
Since married bishops were more common in late antiquity and the early middle ages than in later centuries (priestly celibacy was only enforced in the Catholic Church after the Great Schism of 1054), the title Episcopa may refer to the wife or widow of a bishop, as well as the mother of any bishop, such as that of