Titular see
A titular see in various churches is an
Titular sees are dioceses that no longer functionally exist, often because the territory was
Catholic Church
During the Muslim conquests of the Middle East and North Africa, some bishops fled to Christian-ruled areas. Even if they did not return and the Christian population of their dioceses dispersed, were killed or abandoned the Catholic faith, they continued to be seen as the bishops of those dioceses, who could give rise, even after long interruption (exile and/or vacancy), to a 'restored' line of apostolic succession on each see.
The
There are practical advantages in certain circumstances in not establishing a permanent diocese in a given territory, for reasons of the limited size of the Catholic population, its lack of permanence, the likelihood of having to divide the jurisdiction in the near future, and so on. In these circumstances the Catholic Church establishes sometimes not a diocese but a canonical jurisdiction of another kind. This may be, for example, a Mission sui iuris, an Apostolic Administration (permanently constituted), an Ordinariate, a Prefecture Apostolic, a territorial Abbey, a Vicariate Apostolic, or a Prelature. The ecclesiastic placed in charge of one of these jurisdictions has a corresponding title, such as Superior of a Mission sui iuris, Apostolic Administrator, Ordinary, Prefect Apostolic, territorial Abbot, Vicar Apostolic, or Prelate. The ecclesiastic may be in priestly or episcopal orders. In recent practice an Apostolic Administrator, Vicar Apostolic, or Prelate (in this precise sense) is often appointed (and consecrated) a bishop. If that happens he is assigned a titular see, in addition to his status as head of the territorial jurisdiction. the appointment as bishop is less likely in the case of a Superior of a Mission sui iuris, or a Prefect Apostolic, but may happen, especially when a man who is already a bishop governing a particular jurisdiction is appointed cumulatively to govern one of these others. A particular territory may have its canonical status changed more than once, or may be united to a neighbouring territory or subdivided, according to developing circumstances. An example might be the uniting on November 30, 1987, of two Egyptian
After a name change, an abandoned name may be 'restored' as a titular see, even though a residential successor see exist(ed). Furthermore, the Catholic Church may create more than one titular see named after a single city, by creating one or more lines of apostolic succession assigned to the Latin and/or one or more Eastern Catholic rites, which are not necessarily of the same rank.
It was formerly the practice to add the term in partibus infidelium, often shortened to in partibus or i.p.i., meaning "in the lands of the unbelievers", to the name of the see conferred on titular (non-diocesan) Latin Church bishops. Formerly, when bishops fled from invading Muslims, they were welcomed by other churches, while preserving their titles and their rights to their own dioceses. They were entrusted with the administration of vacant sees of other dioceses, or with assisting in such government of a see which already had a residential bishop. In later days it was deemed fitting to preserve the memory of ancient Christian churches which no longer existed; this was done by giving their names to auxiliary bishops or bishops in missionary countries.[2] These bishops did not reside in the sees whose titles they bore, nor could they exercise any power over them,[3] and are not entrusted with their care.[4] They are therefore called titular bishops, as opposed to diocesan bishops, and the sees themselves are called titular sees, as opposed to residential sees.
The regular appointment of titular bishops is said to date back to the time of the
Although the normal constitution of the hierarchy has always been built on the idea of local jurisdiction of the bishops, there are indications, in the early history of the Church, of many who did not enjoy what is usually called ordinary jurisdiction. Besides those who were endowed with the episcopal character, in order to assist the local bishops there were those who had been driven from their dioceses by
The foundation of the
Only about 1850, was any attempt made to compile a list of such sees. Gaetano Moroni had already, in 1840, began publication of his 103 volume Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica with a separate six volume index.[6][7] Moroni acknowledged the great difficulties in compiling this work, even after he thoroughly examined all the sources available to him.[5]
In 1851, the Annuario Pontificio began to have such a list, but it did not purport to be complete. On the contrary, it contained only those that were in general use. Names of dioceses disappeared and were listed again when the titles were actually assigned.[5]
Until 1882, these titles were given as in partibus infidelium. According to Corrigan, the story goes that King
The Annuaire Pontifical Catholique published a very complete list of the titular sees and titular bishops.[8] Although it did not claim to be perfect, it contained the names of the sees and the bishops who had held the titles as far back, in some cases, as the 14th century.[5]
Titular sees, according to Corrigan in 1920, were conferred on
- Cardinals, who, being only priests, were promoted in Curia to be bishops.[5]
- Nuncios, apostolic delegates and other dignitaries of the Curia, unless they were already diocesan bishops, and under the 1920 custom they were, in that case, translated to titular archbishoprics.[5]
- Coadjutors and Auxiliary bishops.[5]
- Apostolic vicars and, sometimes, on Apostolic prefects in missionary countries.[5]
- Bishops who resign their dioceses, although this was not always done. Sometimes the Holy See refused to do so, and sometimes the bishops did not want it.[5]
In the context of improved relations with the
Previously, titular sees were routinely (yet not always) assigned not only to auxiliary bishops, similar pseudo-diocesan offices and pre-diocesan
In 1995, when
Crusader see-in-exile titles
The crusading
The Roman Catholic Archbishopric of Nazareth first had two centuries of Metropolitan Archbishops of Nazareth in Barletta (southern Italy), and gave rise in the 19th century to two separately 'restored' titular successor sees: a Latin titular archbishopric of Nazareth and a Maronite (Antiochian Rite) titular (Arch)bishopric of Nazareth, both suppressed only in the early 20th century.
Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy
The granting of titular sees is occasionally practised in the Eastern and other Orthodox churches.[12]
See also
References
- ISSN 0005-4313.
- ^ a b c This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Boudinhon, Auguste (1910). "In Partibus Infidelium". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ "Code of Canon Law". IntraText CT (in Latin). 1917.
Canon 348: Episcopi titulares nullam possunt exercere potestatem in sua dioecesi, cuius nec possessionem capiunt. Decet ex caritate, citra tamen obligationem, ut aliquando Missae sacrificium pro sua dioecesi applicent.
- ^ "Code of Canon Law". The Vatican. 1983.
Canon 376: Bishops to whom the care of some diocese is entrusted are called diocesan; others are called titular.
- ^ ISSN 0008-8080.
- OCLC 669675130.
- OCLC 679335771.
- OCLC 682872343.
- ^ Maillard, Sébastien (31 August 2015). "Mgr Jacques Gaillot à Rome : miséricorde jusqu'à Partenia". La Croix (in French). Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ISBN 9781900639170.
- ^ Soultrait, Georges de, ed. (1865). "Bethléem, Faubourg de Clamecy". Dictionnaire topographique du département de la Nièvre : comprenant les noms de lieu anciens et modernes. Dictionnaire Topographique de la France (in French). Paris: Imprimerie Impériale. p. 14.
- ^ Kiminas 2009, pp. 6, 26–28, 49–50, 93, 140–143, 153, 163, 167, 172, 193, 215.
Literature
- Kiminas, Demetrius (2009). The Ecumenical Patriarchate: A History of Its Metropolitanates with Annotated Hierarch Catalogs. Wildside Press LLC. ISBN 9781434458766.
External links
- List of all titular sees by GCatholic.org [self-published]