Bishops in the Catholic Church

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Pope Cardinal Cardinal Vicar Crown Prince Protector Moderator of the curia Chaplain of His Holiness Papal legate Papal majordomo Apostolic nuncio Apostolic delegate Apostolic Syndic Apostolic visitor Vicar apostolic Apostolic exarch Apostolic prefect Assistant to the papal throne Eparch Metropolitan Patriarch Catholicos Bishop Archbishop Bishop emeritus Diocesan bishop Major archbishop Primate Suffragan bishop Titular bishop Coadjutor bishop Auxiliary bishop Prelate Provost Pontiff Territorial prelate Territorial abbot
Liturgical titles Acolyte Consecrator Lector Subdeacon
Administrative and pastoral titles Auditor Brother Chancellor Chaplain Military chaplain Military ordinary Coarb Confessor Consultor Curate Deacon Archdeacon Defender of the bond Definitor Devil's advocate Diocesan administrator Ecclesiastical judge Exorcist Laity Lay abbot Abthain Commendatory Lay cardinal Minister Major orders Minor orders Missionary Monsignor Officialis Ostiarius Pastor Assistant pastor Palatinus Personal prelate Preacher Prefect Presbyter Elder Priest Principal Protonotary apostolic Reverend Saint Servant of God Blessed Venerable Seminarian Vicar Judicial vicar Vicar general Vicar forane Sub-dean
Consecrated and professed titles Abbess Abbot Consecrated virgin Corrector Custos Friar Dean Grand master Hermit Master of novices Monk Novice Nun Postulant Oblate Prior Provincial superior Rector Religious Superior general
Additional titles Almoner Altar server Archimandrite Archpriest Archdeacon Canon Captain General of the Church Chorbishop Coarb Commissary Apostolic Datarius Gonfalonier of the Church Honorary Prelate Minor canon Notarius Ostiarius Peritus Postulator Prebendary Precentor Prince-bishop Prince-abbot Prince-primate Prince-provost Promotor Fidei Protopriest Protodeacon Protosyncellus Regionarius Sacristan
Organization titles Grand master Knights Hospitaller Order of the Holy Sepulchre Teutonic Knights Inquisitor Grand Inquisitor Preceptor
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Bishops are always men.[9] In addition, canon 180 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches requires that a candidate for the Eastern episcopacy should (canon 378 § 1 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law states almost the same requirements):

1. demonstrate solid faith, good morals, piety, zeal for souls and prudence;
2. enjoy a good reputation;
3. not be bound by a matrimonial bond;
4. be at least thirty-five years old;
5. ordained a presbyter for at least five years;
6. possess a doctorate or licentiate in some sacred science or at least be an expert in it.

Diocesan or eparchial bishops

The traditional role of a bishop is to act as head of a diocese or eparchy. Dioceses vary considerably in geographical size and population. A wide variety of dioceses around the Mediterranean Sea which received the Christian faith early are rather compact in size, while those in areas more recently evangelized, as in some parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, South America and the Far East, tend to be much larger and more populous. Within his own diocese a Latin Church bishop may use pontifical vestments and regalia, but may not do so in another diocese without, at least, the presumed consent of the appropriate ordinary.^[10]

Appointment

See: Appointment of Catholic bishops

Resignation at 75

Since the

Roles

The examples and perspective in this section are skewed towards a single field (i.e. the Latin part of the Catholic Church) and do not represent a full view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (August 2022)

A "diocesan bishop"

Because of their function as teachers of the faith, it is customary in some English-speaking countries to add to the names of bishops the postnominal title of "D.D." (Doctor of Divinity) and to refer to and address them as "Doctor".

Only a bishop has authority to confer the sacrament of holy orders. In the Latin Church the minor orders were abolished after the Second Vatican Council. In Eastern Catholic Churches, a monastic archimandrite may tonsure and institute his subjects to minor orders; however, the tonsure and minor orders are not considered to be part of the sacrament of holy orders.^[23]

The sacrament of Confirmation is normally administered by a bishop in the Latin Church, but a bishop may delegate the administration to a priest. In the case of receiving an adult into full communion with the Catholic Church the presiding priest will administer Confirmation.^[24] In the Eastern Catholic Churches, Confirmation (called Chrismation) is normally administered by priests as it is given at the same time as baptism. It is only within the power of the diocesan or eparchial bishop to bless churches and altars, although he may delegate another bishop, or even a priest, to perform the ceremony.^[25]

On

Only a bishop or other ordinary may grant nihil obstats for theological books, certifying that they are free from doctrinal or moral error; this is an expression of the teaching authority, and education responsibility of the bishop.

Prior to the

Canonical authority

In both Western and Eastern Catholic churches, any priest can celebrate the

To preside at matrimony ceremonies, Latin Church priests and deacons must have appropriate jurisdiction or delegation from a competent authority. In the Latin branch of the Catholic Church, the teaching is that it is the couple themselves who administer the graces of the sacrament; thus, although it is normally an ordained person who officiates at a marriage ceremony, a bishop may delegate a lay person to be present for the exchange of vows; this would be done only in extreme cases such as in mission territories. In the Eastern tradition, the clergy not only witness the exchange of vows but must impart a blessing for a valid marriage to have taken place.[29]

Unless a particular bishop has forbidden it, any bishop may preach throughout the Catholic Church^[30] and any priest or deacon may also preach anywhere (presuming the permission of local pastor) unless his faculty to preach has been restricted or removed.^[31]

The cathedral of a diocese contains a special chair, called a cathedra, sometimes referred to as a throne, set aside in the sanctuary for the exclusive use of its Ordinary; it symbolizes his spiritual and ecclesiastical authority.

Additional titles, status and roles

Bishops may fill additional roles in the Catholic Church, including the following:

Bishop-elect

A priest who has been appointed a bishop, but has not been consecrated yet.

Titular bishop

A

Suffragan bishop

A suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese.^[32]

Auxiliary bishop

An auxiliary bishop is a full-time assistant to a diocesan bishop. Auxiliaries are titular bishops without the right of succession, who assist the diocesan bishop in a variety of ways and are usually appointed as vicars general or episcopal vicars of the diocese in which they serve.^[33]

Coadjutor bishop

A coadjutor bishop is a bishop who is given almost equal authority to that of the diocesan bishop; he has special faculties and the right to succeed the incumbent diocesan bishop.^[34] The appointment of coadjutors is seen as a means of providing for continuity of church leadership. Until recent times, there was the possibility of a coadjutor bishop not having the right of succession.

Bishop-prelate

A bishop who holds an office that does not require episcopal ordination, notably either the Prelate of a personal prelature^[35] or a territorial prelature.^[36]

Emeritus bishop

When a diocesan bishop or auxiliary bishop retires, he is given the honorary title of "

Traditionally, bishops appointed ordinaries or auxiliaries served for life. When the rare resignation occurred, the bishop was assigned a titular see. The status of "emeritus" emerged after the Second Vatican Council when bishops were at first encouraged and then required to submit their resignations at the age of 75. On 31 October 1970, Pope Paul VI decreed that "diocesan bishops of the Latin rite who resign are no longer transferred to a titular church, but instead continue to be identified by the name of the see they have resigned."^[38][39][40]

Cardinal

A

An archbishop is the head of an archdiocese, or a bishop assigned a titular see which is an archdiocese.

Metropolitan archbishop

A metropolitan bishop is an archbishop with minor jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province; in practice this amounts to presiding at meetings and overseeing a diocese which has no bishop.^[41]

In Eastern Catholicism a metropolitan may also be the head of an

Pope

The pope is the Bishop of Rome. The Catholic Church holds that the College of Bishops as a group is the successor of the College of Apostles. The Church also holds that uniquely among the apostles, Saint Peter, the first Bishop of Rome, was granted a role of leadership and authority, giving the pope the right to govern the Church together with the bishops.^[42] Hence, the Church holds that the Bishop of Rome, as successor of Peter, possesses the role, uniquely among bishops, of speaking for the whole Church, appointing other bishops, and managing the Church's central administration, the Roman Curia. Papal pronouncements which meet the requirements of the decree on papal infallibility of the First Vatican Council are infallible.

Pope emeritus

On his resignation as pope (Bishop of Rome) on 28 February 2013, Benedict XVI became Supreme Pontiff Emeritus (or, colloquially, Pope Emeritus). The sole holder of the title to date, he held the title until his death in December 2022.

Patriarch

The title of patriarch in the Catholic Church is applied to either the patriarch of an Eastern Church sui iuris or to a minor Latin patriarch. The patriarch of an Eastern Church sui iuris heads an autonomous Church, is elected by the synod of that Church, and exercises authority within his patriarchal territory and on eparchies and parishes outside his territory. A minor Latin patriarch is an honorific title above archbishop given to some Latin dioceses for historical reasons.

Catholicos

Some Eastern Catholic Churches style their heads as catholicoi, a historic title for the head of a Church. The Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, and the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church all style their heads as such.

Major archbishop

Major archbishops are the heads of a major archiepiscopal church. The major archbishops' authority within their respective sui juris churches is equal to that of a patriarch, but they receive fewer ceremonial honors and their election must be confirmed by the Holy See.

Primate

In the Catholic Church, a primate is usually the bishop of the oldest diocese and/or the capital of a (present or former) nation; the title is one of honor.

Public office

Since the publication of the new Code of Canon Law in 1983 by Pope John Paul II, all members of the Catholic clergy are forbidden to hold public office without the express permission of the Holy See.^[43]

Ordination of bishops

The appointment of bishops in the Catholic Church is a complicated process that requires the participation of several officials. In the Latin Church, the local synod, the papal nuncio (or apostolic delegate), various dicasteries of the Roman Curia, and the Pope all take a part; since the 1970s it has become common practice for the nuncio to solicit input from clergy and laity within the vacant diocese. In patriarchal and major archiepiscopal Eastern Churches, the permanent synod, the holy synod, and the patriarch or major archbishop also play a role in the selection of bishops.

Apostolic succession and other churches

The Catholic Church has always taught that bishops are descended from a continuous line of bishops since the days of the

To remove, then, all shadow of doubt, this holy Council solemnly declares that the Churches of the East, while remembering the necessary unity of the whole Church, have the power to govern themselves according to the disciplines proper to them, since these are better suited to the character of their faithful, and more for the good of their souls.[45]

Dress and vestments

Latin Church

The everyday dress of Latin Church bishops may consist of a black (or, in tropical countries, white) cassock with amaranth trim and purple

The everyday dress of Eastern Catholic bishops is often the same as their Latin Church counterparts: black clerical suit with pectoral cross or panagia.

Byzantine Rite Catholic

Traditionally, bishops are monks and so their everyday dress is the monastic habit with a panagia and, depending on rank, also a pectoral cross and a second panagia.

When attending liturgical functions at which he does not celebrate, a bishop may wear a

References

External links

Look up bishop, episcopal, or episcopus in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• List of Catholic bishops worldwide