A Catholicate or Catholicosate is the area of responsibility (territorial or otherwise) of a catholicos, a leader within any of the several churches of Eastern Christianity, especially those regarded as Oriental Orthodoxy. The word is derived from the Greek Καθολικος, meaning "wholeness." While some traditions favor the English language spelling "catholicate" and others favor "catholicosate" there is a degree of inconsistency in this regard. Others spellings, including "catholicossate", are seen as well.