In accordance with canon law, a cathedral chapter is a body of clerics (chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy in the bishop’s seat, to govern the diocese in his stead. These councils are made up of canons and dignitaries; their creation is the purview of the pope. They can be "numbered," in which case they are provided with a fixed prebend, or "unnumbered," in which case the bishop indicates the number of canons according to the rents.

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