In
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worsh ...
s, an archbishop is a
bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the
Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an
ecclesiastical province in addition to their own
archdiocese
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
(
with some exceptions), or are otherwise granted a
titular archbishopric. In others, such as the
Lutheran Church of Sweden and the
Church of England, the title is borne by the leader of the denomination.
Etymology
The word archbishop () comes via the
Latin ''archiepiscopus.'' This in turn comes from the
Greek , which has as components the etymons -, meaning 'chief', , 'over', and , 'seer'.
Early history
The earliest appearance of neither the title nor the role can be traced. The title of "metropolitan" was apparently well known by the 4th century, when there are references in the canons of the
First Council of Nicæa
The First Council of Nicaea (; grc, Νίκαια ) was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325.
This ecumenical council was the first effort ...
of 325 and
Council of Antioch of 341, though the term seems to be used generally for all higher ranks of bishop, including patriarchs. The term "archbishop" does not appear in the modern sense until the 6th century, although the role, above ordinary bishops but below patriarchs, seems to be established for metropolitans by the 5th century.
Western Christianity
Metropolitan archbishops
Episcopal sees are generally arranged in groups in which one see's bishop has certain powers and duties of oversight over the others. He is known as the metropolitan archbishop of that see. In the
Catholic Churchcanon 436 of the Code of Canon Lawindicates what these powers and duties are for a
Latin Church metropolitan archbishop, while those of the head of an autonomous (''
sui iuris
''Sui iuris'' ( or ) also spelled ''sui juris'', is a Latin phrase that literally means "of one's own right". It is used in both secular law and the Catholic Church's canon law. The term church ''sui iuris'' is used in the Catholic ''Code of Can ...
'')
Eastern Catholic Churches are indicated i
canon 157of the
Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. All Catholic metropolitans are archbishops, but not all archbishops are metropolitans, though most are.
Non-metropolitan archiepiscopal sees
![Miguel de Poblete y Casasola](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Miguel_de_Poblete_y_Casasola.jpg)
As well as the much more numerous metropolitan sees, there are 77 Catholic sees that have archiepiscopal rank.
In some cases, such a see is the only one in a country, such as
Luxembourg or
Monaco,
too small to be divided into several dioceses so as to form an ecclesiastical province. In others, the title of archdiocese is for historical reasons attributed to a see that was once of greater importance.
Some of these archdioceses are
suffragans
A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations.
In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...
of a metropolitan archdiocese; examples are the
Archdiocese of Avignon, which is a suffragan of the
Archdiocese of Marseille, and the
Archdiocese of Trnava,
Slovakia. Others are immediately subject to the Holy See and not to any metropolitan archdiocese. These are usually "aggregated" to an ecclesiastical province. An example is the
Archdiocese of Hobart in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, with the Metropolitan
ecclesiastical province of Melbourne, but not of it.
The ordinary of such an archdiocese is an archbishop.
In the
Anglican Communion, non-metropolitan archiepiscopal sees are much less common. The
Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem
The Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem ( ar, أبرشية القدس الأنغليكانية) is the Anglican jurisdiction for Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. It is a part of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Mi ...
, established in 1841, was raised to the status of a non-metropolitan archiepiscopal see in 1957, but reduced to the status of an ordinary bishopric again in 1976. In 2014 it was again elevated to the status of non-metropolitan archbishopric, with its ordinary bearing the title "Archbishop in Jerusalem", despite having no ex officio right to be the metropolitan of the province.
Coadjutor archbishops
Until 1970, a coadjutor archbishop, one who has special faculties and the right to succeed to the leadership of a see on the death or resignation of the incumbent, was assigned also to a
titular see, which he held until the moment of succession. Since then, the title of Coadjutor Archbishop of the see is considered sufficient and more appropriate.
Archbishops ''ad personam''
The rank of archbishop is conferred on some bishops who are not ordinaries of an archdiocese. They hold the rank not because of the see that they head but because it has been granted to them personally (''ad personam''). Such a grant can be given when someone who already holds the rank of archbishop is transferred to a see that, though its present-day importance may be greater than the person's former see, is not archiepiscopal. The bishop transferred is then known as the Archbishop-Bishop of his new see. An example is
Gianfranco Gardin
Gianfranco Agostino Gardin (born 15 March 1944) is Archbishop-Bishop of Treviso.
Gardin was born at San Polo di Piave, in the Province of Treviso, Italy. In 1946, when he was about two years old, his family moved to Venice, where he grew up.
He ...
, appointed Archbishop-Bishop of
Treviso on 21 December 2009. The title borne by the successor of such an archbishop-bishop is merely that of Bishop of the see, unless he also is granted the personal title of Archbishop. Another example is
Arthur Roche, who was
Bishop of Leeds until his appointment as
Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Roche remained a bishop by virtue of his position as Bishop Emeritus of Leeds – rather than being transferred to a different titular archbishopric, he was appointed as an Archbishop ''ad personam''.
Titular archiepiscopal sees
The distinction between metropolitan sees and non-metropolitan archiepiscopal sees exists for
titular sees as well as for residential ones. The ''
Annuario Pontificio'' marks titular sees of the former class with the abbreviation ''Metr.'' and the others with ''Arciv.''
Many of the titular sees to which
nuncio
An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international or ...
s and heads of departments of the Roman Curia who are not cardinals are assigned are not of archiepiscopal rank. In that case the person who is appointed to such a position is given the personal title of archbishop (''ad personam''). They are usually referred to as Archbishop of the see, not as its Archbishop-Bishop.
Archbishops emeriti
If an archbishop resigns his see without being transferred to another, as in the case of retirement or assignment to head a department of the
Roman Curia, the word ''
emeritus
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
'' is added to his former title, and he is called archbishop emeritus of his former see. Until 1970, such archbishops were transferred to a titular see.
There can be several archbishops emeriti of the same see: the 2008 ''Annuario Pontificio'' listed three living archbishops emeriti of
Taipei.
There is no archbishop emeritus of a titular see: an archbishop who holds a titular see keeps it until death or until transferred to another see.
In the
Anglican Communion, retired archbishops formally revert to being addressed as "bishop" and styled "The Right Reverend", although they may be appointed "archbishop emeritus" by their province on retirement, in which case they retain the title "archbishop" and the style "The Most Reverend", as a right. Archbishop
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...
was a prominent example, as Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town. Former archbishops who have not received the status of archbishop emeritus may still be informally addressed as "archbishop" as a courtesy, unless they are subsequently appointed to a bishopric (not an bishopric), in which case the courtesy ceases.
Privileges of archbishops
While there is no difference between the official dress of archbishops, as such, and that of other bishops, Roman Catholic metropolitan archbishops are distinguished by the use in liturgical ceremonies of the
pallium, but only within the province over which they have oversight.
Roman Catholic bishops and archbishops are styled "The Most Reverend" and addressed as "Your Excellency" in most cases. In
English-speaking countries (except the United States), a Catholic archbishop is addressed as "Your Grace", while a Catholic bishop is addressed as "Your Lordship". Before December 12, 1930, the title "Most Reverend" was only for archbishops, while bishops were styled as "Right Reverend". This practice is still followed by Catholic bishops in the
United Kingdom to mirror that of the
Church of England.
In Roman Catholic
heraldry
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...
, an archbishop has an ecclesiastical hat called a
galero with ten tassels on each side of his
coat of arms, while a bishop has only six. The archiepiscopal cross behind the shield has two bars instead of one. Such a cross may be borne before him in liturgical processions.
In processions and other occasions where strict protocol is observed, archbishops are ranked higher than
diocesan bishops in the
order of precedence.
In the
Anglican Communion, archbishops are styled "The Most Reverend" and addressed as "Your Grace", while bishops are styled "The Right Reverend" and addressed as "My Lord" or "Your Lordship". (In some countries, this usage is followed also by the Roman Catholic Church, but in others no distinction is made and "The Most Reverend" and "Your Excellency" are used for archbishops and bishops alike.) Anglican archbishops are entitled to be preceded by a server carrying an archiepiscopal processional cross (with two bars instead of one) in liturgical processions. The
archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
's metropolitical processional cross is always carried before him by a priest-chaplain, and (like other archbishops) is a two-barred processional cross. However, the archbishop of Canterbury is also entitled to be preceded by the ancient primatial cross of Canterbury (still in ceremonial use) which is of an ornate historical design, made of precious metal, and with precious stones inserted, but unlike his metropolitical cross (or those of other archbishops) it is not double-barred.
Eastern Christianity
![Archbishop Christodoulos Greece](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Archbishop_Christodoulos_Greece.jpg)
Archbishops exist in all traditional denominations of the
Eastern Christianity
Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...
, including
Eastern Orthodox Church,
Oriental Orthodox Churches,
Eastern Catholic Churches and others.
Eastern Orthodox Church
In the
Eastern Orthodox Churches
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
, the office and title of archbishop can be traced from the 4th and 5th century. Historically, the title was used variously, in terms of rank and jurisdiction.
In some Eastern Orthodox Churches, archbishops are ranked above
metropolitans in
precedence
Precedence may refer to:
* Message precedence of military communications traffic
* Order of precedence, the ceremonial hierarchy within a nation or state
* Order of operations, in mathematics and computer programming
* Precedence Entertainment, a ...
, while in others that order is reversed. Primates of
autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches below
patriarchal rank are generally designated as archbishops. In the
Greek Orthodox Church, archbishops are ranked above metropolitans in
precedence
Precedence may refer to:
* Message precedence of military communications traffic
* Order of precedence, the ceremonial hierarchy within a nation or state
* Order of operations, in mathematics and computer programming
* Precedence Entertainment, a ...
. The reverse is true for some Slavic Orthodox Churches (
Russian Orthodox,
Bulgarian Orthodox) and also for
Romanian Orthodox Church, where metropolitans rank above archbishops.
In terms of jurisdiction, there are two basic types of archbishops in the Eastern Orthodox Church: real archbishops, and honorary archbishops. Real archbishops are primates of autocephalous or autonomous (regional) churches, and they have actual jurisdiction over other bishops, while honorary archbishops are in fact just
diocesan bishops with honorary titles of archbishops and no jurisdiction outside their own diocese. The honorary title is usually conferred to bishops of historically important
sees. For example, in the
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches.
The majori ...
, both types were represented: head of the autonomous
Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric is styled ''Archbishop of Ohrid'' and invested with regional jurisdiction over all diocesan bishops in
North Macedonia, while former diocesan bishop (late
Amfilohije Radović) of the
Eparchy of Montenegro and the Littoral, with seat in
Cetinje
Cetinje (, ) is a town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital (''prijestonica'' / приjестоница) of Montenegro and is the location of several national institutions, including the official residence of the president of Montenegro ...
, was personally given only the honorary title ''Archbishop of Cetinje'', but without any jurisdiction over other diocesan bishops in
Montenegro.
Historically, within the
Patriarchate of Constantinople, honorary archiepiscopal titles were also granted to those diocesan bishops who were exempt from jurisdictions of local metropolitans, and transferred to the direct jurisdiction of the patriarchal throne. Such titular hierarchs were contentiously styled as "''autocephalous archbishops''" (self-headed, just in terms of not having a metropolitan, but without connotations to real
autocephaly
Autocephaly (; from el, αὐτοκεφαλία, meaning "property of being self-headed") is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern O ...
). For example, until the end of the 8th century, bishop of
Amorium was under the jurisdiction of metropolitan of
Pessinus, but he was later exempt and placed under direct patriarchal jurisdiction. On that occasion, he was given an honorary title of an ''autocephalous archbishop'', but with no jurisdiction over other bishops. Sometime later (), metropolitan province of Amorium was created, and local archbishop finally gained regional jurisdiction as a metropolitan.
Oriental Orthodox Churches
The
Oriental Orthodox
The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent o ...
custom generally agrees with the Slavic rather than the Greek with respect to the archbishop/metropolitan distinction.
Eastern Catholic Churches
Instead of the term ''archbishop'',
Eastern Catholic Churches sometimes use the word ''archeparch'' by analogy with ''eparch'', the term used for a diocesan (or eparchial) bishop. However, the word ''archeparch'' is not found in the
Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.
See also
*
Apostolic succession
Apostolic succession is the method whereby the ministry of the Christian Church is held to be derived from the apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been associated with a claim that the succession is through a series of bish ...
*
Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops
References
Sources
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{{Authority control
Anglican episcopal offices
Bishops by type
Catholic ecclesiastical titles
Eastern Christian ecclesiastical offices
Ecclesiastical titles
Episcopacy in Eastern Orthodoxy
Episcopacy in the Catholic Church