The Supreme Patriarch of Cambodia ( km, សម្ដេចព្រះសង្ឃរាជ; pi, Sangharāja) is the ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...

'' leader of

Buddhism in Cambodia Buddhism in Cambodia or Khmer Buddhism ( km, ព្រះពុទ្ធសាសនានៅកម្ពុជា) has existed since at least the 5th century. In its earliest form it was a type of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Today, the predominant f ...

Titles

The titles for the Cambodian Supreme Patriarchs are derived from

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...

. The full official title of the Supreme Patriarch of the Maha Nikaya is ''Samdech Preah Sumedhādhipati'' ( km, សម្តេច ព្រះ សុមេធាធិបតី); ''sumedhādhipati'' means 'wise lord'. In letters with King-Father

Norodom Sihanouk Norodom Sihanouk (; km, នរោត្តម សីហនុ, ; 31 October 192215 October 2012) was a Cambodian statesman, Sangkum and FUNCINPEC politician, film director, and composer who led Cambodia in various capacities throughout h ...

, the following title is used for the Great Supreme Patriarch Tep Vong: ''Samdech Preah Agga Mahā Sangharājādhipati'' ( km, សម្តេច ព្រះ អគ្គមហាសង្ឃរាជាធិបតី); which is translated as 'foremost great supreme patriarch leader'.Website of Norodom Sihanouk
/ref> The full official title of the Supreme Patriarch of the Dhammayuttika Nikaya is ''Samdech Preah Aphiserei Sukonthea Mohasangreacheathipadei (Abhisirī Sugandhā Mahāsangharājādhipati)'' ( km, សម្តេច ព្រះ អភិសិរី សុគន្ធា មហាសង្ឃរាជាធិបតី). This title means 'Of Higher Merit and Pure Virtue, Great Supreme Patriarch Leader'. In letters with King-Father Sihanouk, an abbreviated title is used in the valediction: ''Samdech Preah Sangreach'' ( km, សម្តេច ព្រះ សង្ឃរាជ).'

History

Between 1855 and 1981, there were two Supreme Patriarchs in the Kingdom of Cambodia: one for the Cambodian branch of the Thai

Dhammayuttika Nikaya Dhammayuttika Nikāya (Pali; th, ธรรมยุติกนิกาย; ; km, ធម្មយុត្តិកនិកាយ, ), or Dhammayut Order ( th, คณะธรรมยุต) is an order of Theravada Buddhist ''bhikkhus'' (mon ...

order, and one for the

Maha Nikaya The Mahā Nikāya (literal translation: "great order") is one of the two principal monastic orders, or fraternities, of modern Thai and Cambodian Buddhism. The term is used to refer to any Theravada monks not within the Dhammayuttika Nikaya, the o ...

. In 1981, under the supervision of the Vietnamese-backed

People's Republic of Kampuchea The People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK), UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; vi, Cộng hòa Nhân dân Campuchia was a partially recognised state in Southeast Asia supported by Vietnam which existed from 1979 to 1989. It was founded in Cambodia by the Ka ...

, Venerable

Tep Vong Samdech Preah Agga Maha Sangharajadhipati Tep Vong ( km, សម្ដេចព្រះអគ្គមហាសង្ឃរាជាធិបតី ទេព វង្ស; born 12 January 1932) is a Cambodian Buddhist monk, currently the Great S ...

was elected Supreme Patriarch of a new, unified ''

sangha Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...

'' modelled on the Vietnamese Theravada Buddhist Sangha Congregation. After the signing of the

Paris Peace Accords The Paris Peace Accords, () officially titled the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Viet Nam (''Hiệp định về chấm dứt chiến tranh, lập lại hòa bình ở Việt Nam''), was a peace treaty signed on January 27, 1 ...

in 1991,

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

appointed Venerable Bour Kry as Supreme Patriarch of Dhammayuttika Nikaya. Today, the two orders are each headed by their own patriarch, unlike in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

where only one

Supreme Patriarch Sangharaja ( Pāli: '' sangha'' religious community + ''raja'' ruler, king, or prince) is the title given in many Theravada Buddhist countries to a senior monk who is the titular head either of a monastic fraternity ( nikaya), or of the ''Sangha'' ...

heads both orders. The

Constitution of Cambodia The Cambodian Constituent Assembly ( km, សភារដ្ឋធម្មនុញ្ញកម្ពុជា) was a body elected in 1993 to draft a constitution for Cambodia as provided in the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements. The writing of the Cambo ...

provides a seat on the Royal Council of the Throne to both Supreme Patriarchs, thus giving each a say in the selection of the Cambodian sovereign. In 2006, Tep Vong was elevated to the status of Great Supreme Patriarch,

Cambodia Daily ''The Cambodia Daily'' is an English and Khmer language news site that writes and aggregates news about Cambodia. It was originally an English-language daily newspaper based in Cambodia from 1993 to 2017, and was considered a newspaper of record ...

article o
KI Media
/ref> while Venerable Non Nget was subsequently elevated to Supreme Patriarch of the Maha Nikaya. Tep Vong is the first monk in 150 years to bear the title of Great Supreme Patriarch.

Lists of Cambodian patriarchs

Supreme Patriarch of Maha Nikaya

Supreme Patriarch of Dhammayuttika Nikaya

Head of the Unified Sangha of Cambodia

Supreme Patriarch of Cambodia in exile

Note: In 1988, Maha Ghosananda was elected Supreme Patriarch by a group of exiled monks in Paris. During this same period, Tep Vong held the same office in the unified Cambodian sangha. After 1991, Tep Vong was recognized as head of the Maha Nikaya in Cambodia.

Great Supreme Patriarch of Cambodia

Notes

References

* * * *{{Citation , last = Duangloi , first = Rapin, Phra , chapter = , title = A study on the status of the Cambodia Sangha, 1975-1989 , pages = , publisher = Graduate School, Srinakharinwirot University , place = Bangkok , year = 2002 , url = http://thesis.swu.ac.th/swuthesis/His(M.A.)/Phraraphin_D.pdf

External links

A website
with information about each Supreme Patriarch