Patriarch

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The highest-ranking

Catholicos Karekin II, and Baselios Thomas I Catholicos of the East).[1]

The word is derived from Greek πατριάρχης (patriarchēs),[2] meaning "chief or father of a family",[3] a compound of πατριά (patria),[4] meaning "family", and ἄρχειν (archein),[5] meaning "to rule".[3][6][7][8]

Originally, a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family.[9] The system of such rule of families by senior males is termed patriarchy. Historically, a patriarch has often been the logical choice to act as ethnarch of the community identified with his religious confession within a state or empire of a different creed (such as Christians within the Ottoman Empire). The term developed an ecclesiastical meaning within Christianity. The office and the ecclesiastical circumscription of a Christian patriarch is termed a patriarchate.

Patriarchal Age. The word patriarch originally acquired its religious meaning in the Septuagint version of the Bible.[10]

Catholic Church

cardinal
) coat of arms

Patriarchs

Map of Justinian's Pentarchy
Patriarch of Alexandria Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak wearing a distinctive clothing of a patriarch

In the Catholic Church, the bishop who is head of a particular autonomous church, known in canon law as a church sui iuris, is ordinarily a patriarch, though this responsibility can be entrusted to a major archbishop, metropolitan, or other prelate for a number of reasons.[11]

Since the Council of Nicaea, the bishop of Rome has been recognized as the first among patriarchs.[12] That council designated three bishops with this 'supra-Metropolitan' title: Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch. In the Pentarchy formulated by Justinian I (527–565), the emperor assigned as a patriarchate to the Bishop of Rome the whole of Christianized Europe (including almost all of modern Greece), except for the region of Thrace, the areas near Constantinople, and along the coast of the Black Sea. He included in this patriarchate also the western part of North Africa. The jurisdictions of the other patriarchates extended over Roman Asia, and the rest of Africa. Justinian's system was given formal ecclesiastical recognition by the Quinisext Council of 692, which the see of Rome has, however, not recognized.

There were at the time bishops of other apostolic sees that operated with patriarchal authority beyond the borders of the Roman Empire, such as the

Catholicos of Selucia-Ctesephon
.

Today, the patriarchal heads of Catholic autonomous churches are:[13]

Four more of the

Major Archbishop,"[15] a title essentially equivalent to that of Patriarch and originally created by Pope Paul VI in 1963 for Josyf Slipyj.[16]

Minor Latin patriarchates

Minor patriarchs do not have jurisdiction over other metropolitan bishops. The title is granted purely as an honour for various historical reasons. They take precedence after the heads of autonomous churches in full communion, whether pope, patriarch, or major archbishop.

Historical Latin patriarchates

  • The Patriarch of Aquileia – with rival line of succession moved to Grado – dissolved in 1752.
  • The Patriarch of Grado – in 1451 merged with the Bishopric of Castello and Venice to form the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Venice (later a residential Patriarchate itself).
  • The
    Patriarch of the West Indies
    – a titular patriarchal see, vacant since 1963.
  • The
    Latin Patriarch of Antioch
    – title abolished in 1964.
  • The titular
    Latin Patriarch of Alexandria
    – title abolished in 1964.
  • The
    Latin Patriarch of Constantinople
    – title abolished in 1964.
  • The Latin Patriarchate of Ethiopia – 1555 to 1663, never effective, only held by Iberian Jesuits

Patriarch as title ad personam

The pope can confer the rank of patriarch without any see, upon an individual archbishop, as happened on 24 February 1676 to

Latin Titular Patriarch of Alexandria
(19 January 1671 – retired 27 May 1675), who nevertheless resigned the title on 9 January 1682.

"Patriarch of the West"

In theological and other scholarly literature of the

Latin: Patriarcha Occidentis; Greek: Πατριάρχης τῆς Δύσεως) was mainly used as designation for the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome over the Latin Church
in the West.

The title was not included in the 2006 Annuario Pontificio. On 22 March 2006, the

Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity offered an explanation for the decision to remove the title. It stated that the title "Patriarch of the West" had become "obsolete and practically unusable" when the term the West comprises Australia, New Zealand and North America in addition to Western Europe, and that it was "pointless to insist on maintaining it" given that, since the Second Vatican Council, the Latin Church, for which "the West" is an equivalent, has been organized as a number of episcopal conferences and their international groupings.[17] The title was reintroduced in the 2024 edition of Annuario Pontificio. No explanation was provided for its reintroduction.[18]

As the "Patriarch of the West", the pope issues the Code of Canon Law for the Latin Church. During the

Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, though he was present at the same synod.[19]

Current and historical Catholic patriarchates

Current and historical Catholic patriarchates
Type Church Patriarchate Patriarch
Patriarchs
of autonomous
particular churches
Latin Rome Pope Francis
Coptic
Alexandria
Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak
Syrian
Antioch
Ignatius Joseph III Younan
Maronite
Antioch
Bechara Boutros al-Rahi
Greek-Melkite
Antioch
Youssef Absi
Armenian
Cilicia
Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian
Chaldean Baghdad Louis Raphaël I Sako
Titular
Latin Church
patriarchs
Latin Aquileia suppressed in 1751
Latin Grado suppressed in 1451
Latin
Jerusalem
Pierbattista Pizzaballa
Latin Lisbon Rui Valério
Latin Venice Francesco Moraglia
Latin
Alexandria
suppressed in 1964
Latin
Antioch
suppressed in 1964
Latin
Constantinople
suppressed in 1964
Latin
East Indies
Filipe Neri Ferrão
Latin West Indies vacant since 1963

Eastern Christianity

Eastern Orthodox

The five ancient Patriarchates, the Pentarchy
Title Church Recognition / Additional notes
Patriarch of Rome the Pope of Rome Originally "
the Great Schism in 1054
.
Patriarch of Constantinople the chief of the
Orthodox Church of Constantinople
The "
post-Schism Eastern Orthodoxy, recognized in 451 by Council of Chalcedon.[20]
Patriarch of Alexandria
the Pope of All Africa and the chief of the
Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria
Recognized in 325 by First Council of Nicaea.
Patriarch of Antioch
the head of the
Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and All the East
in the Near East
Recognized in 325 by First Council of Nicaea.
Patriarch of Jerusalem the chief of the
Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem
in Israel, Palestine, Jordan and All Arabia
Recognized in 451 by Council of Chalcedon.
  • The five junior Patriarchates created after the consolidation of the Pentarchy, in chronological order of their recognition as Patriarchates by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople:
The five junior Patriarchates created after the consolidation of the Pentarchy
Title Church Recognition / Additional notes
Patriarch of All Bulgaria the chief of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Bulgaria Recognized as a Patriarchate in 918-919/927[21]
Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia the chief of the Georgian Orthodox Church in Georgia Recognized as a Catholicate (Patriarchate) in 1008[22]
Serbian Patriarch the chief of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Serbia (and the former Yugoslavia) Recognized as a Patriarchate in 1375[23]
Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
the chief of the Russian Orthodox Church in Russia Recognized as a Patriarchate in 1593[24][25]
Patriarch of All Romania the chief of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Romania Recognized as a Patriarchate in 1925[26]

Patriarchs outside the Eastern Orthodox Communion

Patriarchs outside the Eastern Orthodox Communion
Title Church
Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia The chief of the Russian Old-Orthodox Church.
The Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus-Ukraine The chief of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church Canonical.
Patriarch of the Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate

Oriental Orthodox Churches

Oriental Orthodox leaders
Church Title Authority Additional notes
Coptic Orthodox Church
Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All Africa
The chief of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria in Egypt and All Africa The Spiritual Leader of
Oriental Orthodoxy
.
Ethiopian Orthodox Church
Archbishop of Axum and Patriarch Catholicos of All Ethiopia
Chief of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Ethiopia
Eritrean Orthodox Church
Archbishop of Asmara and Patriarch of All Eritrea
Chief of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Eritrea
Syriac Orthodox Church
Patriarch of Antioch
Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch Supreme Leader of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church.
Catholicos of India Maphrian, the second highest ecclesiastical authority in the Syriac Orthodox Church The local head of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church
Indian Orthodox Church
Catholicos of the East
.
Holds the additional title of Malankara Metropolitan The supreme leader of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
Armenian Orthodox Church
Catholicos of Etchmiadzin, Armenia and of All Armenians
Supreme leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church Supreme Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church
Catholicos of Cilicia
Chief of the Armenian Apostolic Church of the Great House of Cilicia Chief of Diasporan Armenians of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Headquartered in Antelias, Lebanon
---
Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople
Chief of the Armenians in Turkey.
---
Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem and of Holy Zion
Chief of
Armenians in Jerusalem
, Israel, Palestine, Jordan and the Persian Gulf

Church of the East

Seleucia-Ctesiphon
, since AD. 280.

It refers to

Patriarchs of the Church of the East
, primate (Catholicos-Patriarch) of the Church of the East now divided into:

  • Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East
    .
  • Catholicos-Patriarchs of the Ancient Church of the East
    (since 1964)

Other Christian denominations

The title of "Patriarch" is assumed also by the leaders of certain

Christian denominations
, who are seldom in communion with none of the historic Christian Churches. Many, but not necessarily all such patriarchs are church leaders of the following Churches:

Hussite
Independent Catholic
Independent Eastern Catholic
Independent Eastern Orthodox
Independent Oriental Orthodox
Protestant
Latter Day Saint movement

In the

stake
and possess the title for life.

Manichaeism

The term patriarch has also been used for the leader of the extinct Manichaean religion, initially based at Ctesiphon (near modern-day Baghdad) and later at Samarkand.


See also

References

  1. ^ a b Hill, Don (7 November 2001). "Czech Republic: Hussite Church History Mirrors That Of Nation". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  2. ^ πατριάρχης, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  3. ^ a b Online Etymological Dictionary: "patriarch"
  4. ^ πατριά, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  5. ^ ἄρχω, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  6. ^ Merriam-Webster: "patriarch"
  7. ^ American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: "patriarch"
  8. ^ Oxford Dictionaries: "patriarch"
  9. ^ "The Roman Empire: in the First Century. The Roman Empire. Life In Roman Times. Family Life". PBS. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  10. ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Patriarch" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  11. ^ Code of Canons of Eastern Churches. 1990. pp. 58–59.
  12. ^ "DOCUMENTS FROM THE FIRST COUNCIL OF NICEA". History Sourcebooks Project. Fordham university. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  13. ^ "Patriarchs". GCCatholic.org. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  14. .
  15. ^ Code of Canons of Eastern Churches. Catholic Church. 1990. pp. 151–154.
  16. ^ "CCEO: text - IntraText CT". Intratext.com. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
  17. ^ "Communiqué on title 'Patriarch of the West'". Zenit. 22 March 2006. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  18. ^ "Why is Pope Francis embracing the patriarchy (of the West)?". The Pillar. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  19. ^ "Meeting of the Eastern Catholic Patriarchs and Major Archbishops with Pope Benedict XVI". Society of St. John Chrysostom. 20 September 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  20. ^ "Правило 28 - IV Вселенский Собор – Халкидонский (451г.) - Церковное право". azbyka.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  21. ^ Catholic Near East Welfare Association, a Papal agency for humanitarian and pastoral assistance Archived 2009-01-15 at the Wayback Machine (ID: 20).
  22. ^ Catholic Near East Welfare Association, a Papal agency for humanitarian and pastoral support Archived 2009-01-15 at the Wayback Machine (ID: 21).
  23. ^ Catholic Near East Welfare Association, a Papal agency for humanitarian and pastoral assistance Archived 2009-01-15 at the Wayback Machine (ID: 18).
  24. ^ Catholic Near East Welfare Association, a Papal agency for humanitarian and pastoral assistance Archived 2009-01-15 at the Wayback Machine (ID: 17).
  25. ^ "КОНСТАНТИНОПОЛЬСКИЙ СОБОР 1593 - Древо". drevo-info.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  26. ^ Catholic Near East Welfare Association, a Papal agency for humanitarian and pastoral assistance Archived 2009-01-15 at the Wayback Machine (ID: 19).
  27. on 2010-07-05. Retrieved 2010-03-18.

Further reading

External links