Patriarch Athanasius I Of Alexandria

The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certain cases also ''popes'' – such as the Pope of Rome or Pope of Alexandria, and '' catholicoi'' – such as Catholicos Karekin II).

The word is derived from Greek πατριάρχης (''patriarchēs''), meaning "chief or father of a family", a compound of πατριά (''patria''), meaning "family", and ἄρχειν (''archein''), meaning "to rule".Online Etymological Dictionary: "patriarch"
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Originally, a ''patriarch'' was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. 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''.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are referred to as the three patriarchs of the people of Israel, and the period during which they lived is termed the Patriarchal Age. The word ''patriarch'' originally acquired its religious meaning in the Septuagint version of the Bible.

Catholic Church

Patriarchs

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.

Since the Council of Nicaea, the bishop of Rome has been recognized as the first among patriarchs. 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:
* The Bishop of Rome (Pope), as head of the Latin Catholic Church
* The Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria and head of the Coptic Catholic Church, recognised 1824
*The Maronite Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and all the East and head of the Maronite Catholic Church, recognised 685
* The Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, of Alexandria and of Jerusalem, head of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church; in his case, Antioch is the actual and sole patriarchate, Alexandria and Jerusalem are just titular (once residential) patriarchates vested in his see.
*The Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and all the East and head of the Syriac Catholic Church
*The Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans and head of the Chaldean Catholic Church, recognised 1553
*The Catholic Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians and head of the Armenian Catholic Church, recognised 1742

Major archbishoprics

Four more of the Eastern Catholic Churches are headed by a prelate known as a "Major Archbishop," a title essentially equivalent to that of Patriarch and originally created by Pope Paul VI in 1963 for Josyf Slipyj:
*The Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halych and head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
*The Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly and head of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
*The Major Archbishop of Trivandrum and head of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church
*The Major Archbishop of Făgăraş and Alba Iulia and head of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church

Within their proper ''sui iuris'' churches there is no difference between patriarchs and major archbishops. However, differences exist in the order of precedence (i.e. patriarchs take precedence over major archbishops) and in the mode of accession. Whereas the election of a major archbishop has to be confirmed by the pope before he may take office, no papal confirmation is needed for a newly elected patriarch before he takes office. Rather, a newly installed patriarch is required to petition the pope as soon as possible for the concession of what is called ecclesiastical communion. Furthermore, patriarchs who are created cardinals form part of the order of cardinal bishops, whereas major archbishops are only created cardinal priests.

Minor Latin patriarchates

Minor patriarchs do not have jurisdiction over other metropolitan bishops. The title is granted purely as an honor for various historical reasons. They take precedence after the heads of autonomous churches in full communion, whether pope, patriarch, or major archbishop.
*The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, established 1099.
*The Patriarch of the East Indies a titular patriarchal see, united to Goa and Daman, established 1886.
*The Patriarch of Lisbon, established 1716.
*The Patriarch of Venice, established 1451.

Historical Latin patriarchates

* The Patriarch of Aquileia – with rival line of succession moved to Grado – dissolved in 1752.
* The Patriarch of Grado

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