A titular bishop in various churches is a
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
who is not in charge of a
diocese
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 associat ...
.
By definition, a
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
,
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canoni ...
and
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 ...
churches is that he be ordained for a specific place. There are more bishops than there are functioning dioceses. Therefore, a priest appointed not to head a diocese as its diocesan bishop but to be an
auxiliary bishop, a papal diplomat, or an official of the
Roman Curia is appointed to a
titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbis ...
.
Catholic Church
In the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, a titular bishop is a
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
who is not in charge of a
diocese
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 associat ...
. Examples of bishops belonging to this category are
coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "c ...
s,
auxiliary bishops, bishops
emeriti,
vicars apostolic,
nuncios, superiors of departments in the
Roman Curia, and
cardinal bishops of
suburbicarian diocese The seven suburbicarian dioceses are Roman Catholic dioceses located in the vicinity of Rome, whose ( titular) bishops are the (now six) ordinary members of the highest-ranking order of cardinals, the cardinal bishops (to which the cardinal-patriar ...
s (since they are not in charge of the suburbicarian dioceses). Most titular bishops hold the title to a
titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbis ...
. Assigning titular sees serves two purposes. Since part of being a bishop means being the head of a
Christian church
In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a synonym f ...
, titular sees serve that purpose for bishops without a diocese. At the same time, the office of titular bishop memorializes ancient Churches, most of which were suppressed because they fell into the hands of non-Christian conquerors. For this reason the former terminology was not "titular bishop" but "bishop in infidel regions" (''in partibus infidelium''). In recent times the names of titular sees are drawn also in numerous cases from those of former dioceses which were absorbed into other dioceses or expanded and hence moved to larger towns and cities.
Since 1970, there are two more exceptions. Diocesan bishops who resign their see or are transferred to a non-diocesan appointment are no longer habitually transferred to a titular see. Instead, they take the title ''Bishop'' (or ''Archbishop'') ''
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 ...
'' of the last see. Also,
coadjutors are no longer named to titular sees, instead taking the title ''Coadjutor Bishop'' (or ''Coadjutor Archbishop'') of the see they will inherit. In other cases titular bishops still take a titular see.
Beginning in 2019, titular sees are no longer being assigned to new Vicars Apostolic.
When
Francis Green was named Coadjutor Bishop of
Tucson
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
, Arizona, in 1960, his official title remained "Titular Bishop of Serra" until he succeeded
Daniel James Gercke
Daniel James Gercke (October 9, 1874 – March 19, 1964) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Tucson in Arizona from 1923 to 1960.
Biography
Early life
Daniel Gercke was born in t ...
later that same year. However, when
Gerald Kicanas
Gerald Frederick Kicanas (born August 18, 1941) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Tucson in Arizona from 2002 to 2017. He served as the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Las Cruc ...
became Coadjutor Bishop of Tucson in 2001, he ceased being Titular Bishop of Bela. He remained a titular bishop until he succeeded Manuel Moreno in 2003, but his official title changed from "Titular Bishop of Bela" to "Coadjutor Bishop of Tucson."
Cardinal Bishops of
suburbicarian diocese The seven suburbicarian dioceses are Roman Catholic dioceses located in the vicinity of Rome, whose ( titular) bishops are the (now six) ordinary members of the highest-ranking order of cardinals, the cardinal bishops (to which the cardinal-patriar ...
s are also titular bishops, but unlike others, they hold titles to existing dioceses, namely one or more of the suburbicarian sees near Rome. While they do not govern their see, they are obliged to give it their patronage.
Angelo Sodano
Angelo Raffaele Sodano, GCC (23 November 1927 – 27 May 2022) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and from 1991 on a cardinal. He was the Dean of the College of Cardinals from 2005 to 2019 and Cardinal Secretary of State from 1991 ...
, as Cardinal
Bishop of Albano, is titular bishop of the see, while Bishop Marcello Semeraro is its actual diocesan bishop. The Cardinal Dean is by tradition
Cardinal Bishop of Ostia
The Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Ostia is an ecclesiastical territory located within the Metropolitan City of Rome in Italy. It is one of the seven suburbicarian dioceses. The incumbent Bishop is cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. Since ...
, in addition to the suburbicarian see he previously held.
Occasionally, the transfer of a diocesan bishop to a titular see has been used by the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
to strip of responsibilities a bishop whose behavior was disapproved. For instance, in 1995,
Jacques Gaillot, known for his activism on Catholic-sensitive social and political topics (such as support for contraception and
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
), was transferred from the
see of Évreux in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
to
Partenia, a titular see in
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, religi ...
, instead of becoming Bishop Emeritus of Évreux.
Eastern Orthodox Church
Titular bishops and titular metropolitans are often appointed in the
Eastern Orthodox Church
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 vi ...
. In
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...
, titular bishops and metropolitans are usually appointed with titles of former dioceses in the regions of Thrace, Asia Minor and Pontus (now
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
), that were often active until the
Greek-Turkish population exchange of 1923. In
Serbian Orthodox Church, titular bishops are usually appointed to serve as auxiliary bishops, assisting diocesan bishops in various fields of diocesan administration.
Constitution of the Serbian Orthodox Church
/ref>
See also
*Catholic Church hierarchy
The hierarchy of the Catholic Church consists of its bishops, priests, and deacons. In the ecclesiological sense of the term, "hierarchy" strictly means the "holy ordering" of the Church, the Body of Christ, so to respect the diversity of gif ...
*Titular archbishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.
By definition, a bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In ...
* List of Catholic titular sees
References
Literature
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Titular Bishop
Episcopacy in the Catholic Church
Episcopacy in Eastern Orthodoxy
Bishops by type