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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, wors ...
s, an archbishop 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 ca ...
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 An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of sever ...
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 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 archbish ...
. In others, such as the Lutheran
Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in 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 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 Church
canon 436 of the Code of Canon Law
indicates what these powers and duties are for a
Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...
metropolitan archbishop, while those of the head of an autonomous ('' sui iuris'')
Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of th ...
are indicated i
canon 157
of the
Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches The ''Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches'' (CCEC; la, Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium, abbreviated CCEO) is the title of the 1990 codification of the common portions of the canon law for the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches in the Catholic ...
. All Catholic metropolitans are archbishops, but not all archbishops are metropolitans, though most are.


Non-metropolitan archiepiscopal sees

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 The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Avignon ( Latin: ''Archidioecesis Avenionensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse d'Avignon'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese exercises jurisdiction over the ...
, which is a suffragan of the
Archdiocese of Marseille The Archdiocese of Marseille ( Latin: ''Archidioecesis Massiliensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Marseille'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France.
, and the
Archdiocese of Trnava The Archdiocese of Trnava ( sk, Trnavská arcidiecéza, la, Archidioecesis Tyrnaviensis) is a Latin Catholic archdiocese in western Slovakia including bigger part of the Trnava, and parts of Nitra and Trenčín regions. It has its seat in ...
, 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 The Archdiocese of Hobart is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Australia located in Hobart and covering Tasmania, Australia. Immediately exempt to the Holy See, the area covered was initially ...
in Australia, with the Metropolitan ecclesiastical province of Melbourne, but not of it. The ordinary of such an archdiocese is an archbishop. In the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
, 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 Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...
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 Arthur Roche (born 6 March 1950) is an English cardinal of the Catholic Church who has served as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship since 2021. He previously served as secretary of the congregation from 2012 to 2021. Prior to his s ...
, 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 The ''Annuario Pontificio'' (Italian for ''Pontifical Yearbook'') is the annual directory of the Holy See of the Catholic Church. It lists the popes in chronological order and all officials of the Holy See's departments. It also provides name ...
'' marks titular sees of the former class with the abbreviation ''Metr.'' and the others with ''Arciv.'' Many of the titular sees to which nuncios 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'' 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 The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
, 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 Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic dis ...
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 Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the ''Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest language ...
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, 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 The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
, 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 Jus ...
'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

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 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 ...
,
Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of th ...
and others.


Eastern Orthodox Church

In the Eastern Orthodox Churches, 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, ...
, while in others that order is reversed. Primates of
autocephalous 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 ...
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, ...
. The reverse is true for some Slavic Orthodox Churches (
Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most C ...
,
Bulgarian Orthodox The Bulgarian Orthodox Church ( bg, Българска православна църква, translit=Balgarska pravoslavna tsarkva), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria ( bg, Българска патриаршия, links=no, translit=Balgarsk ...
) and also for
Romanian Orthodox Church The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates ...
, 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, both types were represented: head of the autonomous
Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric The Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric (OOA; Serbian and mk, Православна охридска архиепископија (ПОА), ''Pravoslavna ohridska arhiepiskopija'' (POA)) is an autonomous Eastern Orthodox archbishopric of the Serbian ...
is styled ''Archbishop of Ohrid'' and invested with regional jurisdiction over all diocesan bishops in North Macedonia, while former diocesan bishop (late
Amfilohije Radović Amfilohije ( sr-Cyrl, Амфилохије; , English: Amphilochius; born Risto Radović, 7 January 193830 October 2020) was a bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church, theologian, university professor, author and translator. He was first the bisho ...
) of the
Eparchy of Montenegro and the Littoral The Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral of the Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr, Митрополија црногорско-приморска Српске православне цркве, Mitropolija crnogorsko-primorska Srpske pravoslav ...
, 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 Ort ...
). For example, until the end of the 8th century, bishop of
Amorium Amorium was a city in Phrygia, Asia Minor which was founded in the Hellenistic period, flourished under the Byzantine Empire, and declined after the Arab sack of 838. It was situated on the Byzantine military road from Constantinople to Cilici ...
was under the jurisdiction of metropolitan of
Pessinus Pessinus ( el, Πεσσινούς or Πισσινούς) was an Ancient city and archbishopric in Asia Minor, a geographical area roughly covering modern Anatolia (Asian Turkey). The site of the city is now the modern Turkish village of Ballıhisa ...
, 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 The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of th ...
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 The ''Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches'' (CCEC; la, Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium, abbreviated CCEO) is the title of the 1990 codification of the common portions of the canon law for the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches in the Catholic ...
.


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 This is a directory of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops across various Christian denominations. To find an individual who was a bishop, see the most relevant article linked below or :Bishops. Lists Catholic * Bishop in the Catholic Chur ...


References


Sources

* * * * {{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