An Episcopium is the Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 word for an episcopal

Episcopal polity

Episcopal polity is a form of church governance that is hierarchical in structure with the chief authority over a local Christian church resting in a bishop...

 palace. It is a broad term used to signify an ecclesiastical figure and their administration. Episcopium emphasizes “an essential unity between his [the bishop’s] person, power and place.” In medieval Italy Episcopium were frequently part of a complex connected to the Baptistery

Baptistery

In Christian architecture the baptistry or baptistery is the separate centrally-planned structure surrounding the baptismal font. The baptistry may be incorporated within the body of a church or cathedral and be provided with an altar as a chapel...

 and Cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

.

In Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 the Basilica of St. John Lateran

Basilica of St. John Lateran

The Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran , commonly known as St. John Lateran's Archbasilica and St. John Lateran's Basilica, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope...

 housed the Lateran Palace

Lateran Palace

The Lateran Palace , formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran , is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main Papal residence....

. This was the principal Episcopium of medieval Rome. Although Pope John VII

Pope John VII

Pope John VII was pope from 705 to 707. The successor of John VI, he was of Greek ancestry. He is one of the popes of the Byzantine captivity.-Biography:...

 (705-07) built an Episcopium upon the Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

The Palatine Hill is the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city...

.