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Patriarch

From Catholicism Wiki

Patriarch — The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy,[1] the Roman 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).

The word is derived from Greek πατριάρχης (patriarchēs),[2] meaning "chief or father of a family",[3] a compound of πατριά (patria),[4] meaning "family", and ἄρχειν (archein),[5] meaning "to rule".[6]

Originally, a patriarch was a man who exercised authority as a pater familias over an extended family.[7] 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.[8]

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.[9]

Since the Council of Nicaea, the bishop of Rome has been recognized as first among patriarchs.[10] 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 to the bishop of Rome a patriarchate covering the whole of Christianized Europe (including almost all of modern Greece), except Thrace, the areas around Constantinople, and the Black Sea coast. He also included the western part of North Africa in this patriarchate. 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:[11]

Four more of the Eastern Catholic Churches are headed by a prelate known as a "Major Archbishop",[13] a title essentially equivalent to that of Patriarch and originally created by Pope Paul VI in 1963 for Josyf Slipyj.[14]

Minor Latin patriarchates

Minor patriarchs do not have jurisdiction over other metropolitan bishops. The title is granted purely as an honour for various historical reasons. They take precedence after the heads of autonomous churches in full communion, whether pope, patriarch, or major archbishop.

Historical Latin patriarchates

Patriarch as title ad personam

The pope can confer the rank of patriarch without any see, upon an individual archbishop, as happened on 24 February 1676 to Alessandro Crescenzi, of the Somascans, former Latin Titular Patriarch of Alexandria (19 January 1671 – retired 27 May 1675), who nevertheless resigned the title on 9 January 1682.

Patriarch of the West

One of the pope's traditional titles in some eras and contexts has been "Patriarch of the West" (Latin: Patriarcha Occidentis; Greek: Πατριάρχης τῆς Δύσεως), highlighting the role of the bishop of Rome as the highest authority of the Latin Church.

The title was not included in the 2006 Annuario Pontificio. On 22 March 2006, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity offered an explanation for the decision to remove the title. It stated that the title "Patriarch of the West" had become "obsolete and practically unusable" when the term the West comprises Australia, New Zealand and North America in addition to Western Europe, and that it was "pointless to insist on maintaining it" given that, since the Second Vatican Council, the Latin Church, for which "the West" is an equivalent, has been organized as a number of episcopal conferences and their international groupings.[15] The title was reintroduced in the 2024 edition of Annuario Pontificio. No explanation was provided for its reintroduction.[16]

Current and historical Catholic patriarchates

Current and historical Catholic patriarchates
Type Church Patriarchate Patriarch
Patriarchs
of autonomous
particular churches 		Latin Rome Pope Leo XIV
Coptic Alexandria-C Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak
Syrian Antioch-S Ignatius Joseph III Younan
Maronite Antioch-M Bechara Boutros al-Rahi
Greek-Melkite Antioch-GM Youssef Absi
Armenian Cilicia Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian
Chaldean Baghdad Paul III Nona
Titular
Latin Church
patriarchs 		Latin Aquileia suppressed in 1751
Grado suppressed in 1451
Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa
Lisbon Rui Valério
Venice Francesco Moraglia
Alexandria-L suppressed in 1964
Antioch-L
Constantinople
East Indies Filipe Neri Ferrão
West Indies vacant since 1963

Eastern Christianity

Eastern Orthodox

The five ancient Patriarchates (the Pentarchy)
Title Church Recognition / Additional notes
Patriarch of Rome the Pope of Rome Originally "primus inter pares" according to Eastern Orthodoxy, recognized in 325 by the First Council of Nicaea. Currently, not an Episcopal or Patriarchal authority in the Eastern Orthodox Church, following the Great Schism in 1054.
Patriarch of Constantinople the chief of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The "primus inter pares" of post-Schism Eastern Orthodoxy. Recognized in 451 by the Council of Chalcedon.[17]
Patriarch of Alexandria the Pope of All Africa and the chief of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria Recognized in 325 by the First Council of Nicaea.
Patriarch of Antioch the head of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and All the East, in the Near East
Patriarch of Jerusalem the chief of the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem in Israel, Palestine, Jordan and All Arabia Recognized in 451 by the Council of Chalcedon.
  • The five junior Patriarchates created after the consolidation of the Pentarchy, in chronological order of their recognition as Patriarchates by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople:
The five junior Patriarchates created after the consolidation of the Pentarchy
Title Church Recognition / Additional notes
Patriarch of All Bulgaria the chief of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Bulgaria Recognized as a Patriarchate in 918-919/927[18]
Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia the chief of the Georgian Orthodox Church in Georgia Recognized as a Catholicate (Patriarchate) in 1008[19]
Serbian Patriarch the chief of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Serbia and the neighboring countries Recognized as a Patriarchate in 1375[20]
Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia the chief of the Russian Orthodox Church in Russia Recognized as a Patriarchate in 1593[21][22]
Patriarch of All Romania the chief of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Romania Recognized as a Patriarchate in 1925[23]

Patriarchs outside the Eastern Orthodox Communion

Patriarchs outside the Eastern Orthodox Communion
Title Church
Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia The chief of the Russian Old-Orthodox Church.
The Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus-Ukraine The chief of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church Canonical.
Patriarch of the Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate

Oriental Orthodox Churches

Oriental Orthodox [1] leaders
Church Title Authority Additional notes
Coptic Orthodox Church Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All Africa The chief of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria in Egypt and All Africa
Ethiopian Orthodox Church Archbishop of Axum and Patriarch Catholicos of All Ethiopia Chief of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Ethiopia
Eritrean Orthodox Church Archbishop of Asmara and Patriarch of All Eritrea Chief of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Eritrea
Syriac Orthodox Church Patriarch of Antioch and All the East Supreme Head of Universal Syriac Orthodox Church Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and all the east
Catholicos of India Maphrian of the East The second highest ecclesiastical authority in the Syriac Orthodox Church. He is also the Malankara Metropolitan of Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church The Regional head of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church
Indian Orthodox Church Catholicos of the East. Holds the additional title of Malankara Metropolitan The supreme leader of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
Armenian Orthodox Church Catholicos of Etchmiadzin, Armenia and of All Armenians Supreme leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church Supreme Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church
Catholicos of Cilicia Chief of the Armenian Apostolic Church of the Great House of Cilicia Chief of Diasporan Armenians of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Headquartered in Antelias, Lebanon
---Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople Chief of the Armenians in Turkey.
---Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem and of Holy Zion Chief of Armenians in Jerusalem, Israel, Palestine, Jordan and the Persian Gulf

Church of the East

Catholicose of the East is the title that held by the ecclesiastical heads of the Church of the East, which is now divided into:

Other Christian denominations

The title of "Patriarch" is assumed also by for leaders and church officers of certain Christian denominations, including some of the following:

Hussite
Independent Catholic
Independent Eastern Catholic
Independent Eastern Orthodox
Independent Oriental Orthodox
Protestant
Latter-Day Saint movement

In the Latter-Day Saint movement, a patriarch is one who has been ordained to the office of patriarch in the Melchizedek priesthood. The term is considered synonymous with the term evangelist, a term favored by the Community of Christ. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one of the patriarch's primary responsibilities is to give patriarchal blessings, as Jacob did to his twelve sons according to the Old Testament. Patriarchs are typically assigned in each stake and possess the title for life.

Manichaeism

The term patriarch has also been used for the leader of the extinct Manichaean religion, initially based at Ctesiphon (near modern-day Baghdad) and later at Samarkand.

See also

From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia

Patriarch — The word patriarch as applied to Biblical personages comes from the Septuagint version, where it is used in a broad sense, including religious and civil officials (e.g. I Par., xxiv, 31; xxvii, 22). In the more restricted sense and common usage it is applied to the antediluvian fathers of the human race, and more particularly to the three great progenitors of Israel: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In the New Testament the term is extended also to the sons of Jacob (Acts vii, 8-9) and to King David (ibid., ii, 29). For an account of these later patriarchs see articles ABRAHAM; ISAAC; JACOB; etc. The earlier patriarchs comprise the antediluvian group, and those who are placed between the Flood and the birth of Abraham. Of the former the Book of Genesis gives a twofold list. The first (Gen., iv, 17-18, passage assigned by critics the so-called "J" document) starts with Cain and gives as his descendants Henoch, Irad, Maviael, Mathusael, and Lamech. The other list (Gen., v, 3-31, ascribed to the priestly writer, "P") is far more elaborate, and is accompanied by minute chronological indications. It begins with Seth and, strange to say, it ends likewise with Lamech. The intervening names are Enos, Cainan, Malaleel, Jared, Henoch, and Mathusala.

Biblical genealogies and longevity

The fact that both lists end with Lamech, who is doubtless the same person, and that some of the names common to both are strikingly similar, makes it probable that the second list is an amplification of the first, embodying material furnished by a divergent tradition. Nor should this seem surprising when we consider the many discrepancies exhibited by the twofold genealogy of the Saviour in the First and Third Gospels. The human personages set forth in these lists occupy a place held by the mythical demi-gods in the story of the prehistoric beginnings of other early nations, and it may well be that the chief value of the inspired account given of them is didactic, destined in the mind of the sacred writer to inculcate the great truth of monotheism which is so distinctive a feature of the Old Testament writings. Be that as it may, the acceptance of this general view helps greatly to simplify another difficult problem connected with the Biblical account of the early patriarchs, viz. their enormous longevity. The earlier account (Gen., iv, 17-18) gives only the names of the patriarchs there mentioned, with the incidental indication that the city built by Cain was called after his son Henoch. The later narrative (Gen., v, 3-31) gives a definite chronology for the whole period. It states the age at which each patriarch begot his first-born son, the number of years he lived after that event, together with the sum total of the years of his life. Nearly all of the antediluvian fathers are represented as living to the age of 900 or thereabouts, Mathusala, the oldest, reaching 969.

These figures have always constituted a most difficult problem for commentators and Bible readers; and those who defend the strict historical character of the passages in question have put forward various explanations, none of which are considered convincing by modern Biblical scholars. Thus it has been conjectured that the years mentioned in this connexion were not of ordinary duration but of one or more months. There is, however, no warrant for this assumption in the Scripture itself, where the word year has a constant signification, and is always clearly distinguished from the minor periods. It has also been suggested that the ages given are not those of individuals, but signify epochs of antediluvian history, and that each is named after its most illustrious representative. The hypothesis may be ingenious, but even a superficial reading of the text suffices to show that such was not the meaning of the sacred writer. Nor does it help the case much to point out a few exceptional instances of persons who in modern times are alleged to have lived to the age of 150 or even 180. For even admitting these as facts, and that in primitive times men lived longer than at present (an assumption for which we find no warrant in historic times), it is still a long way from 180 to 900.

Another argument to corroborate the historical accuracy of the Biblical account has been deduced from the fact that the legends of many people assert the great longevity of their early ancestors, a circumstance which is said to imply an original tradition to that effect. Thus the first seven Egyptian kings are said to have reigned for a period of 12,300 years, making an average of about 1757 years for each, and Josephus, who is preoccupied with a desire to justify the Biblical narrative, quotes Ephorus and Nicolaus as relating "that the ancients lived a thousand years". He adds, however, "But as to these matters, let every one look upon them as he thinks fit". (Antiq., I, iii, in fine). On the other hand, it is maintained that as a matter of fact there is no trustworthy historic or scientific evidence indicating that the average span of human life was greater in primitive than in modern times. In this connexion it is customary to cite Gen., vi, 3, where God is represented as decreeing by way of punishment of the universal corruption which was the occasion of the Flood, that henceforth the days of man "shall be a hundred and twenty years". This is taken as indicating a point at which the physical deterioration of the race resulted in a marked decrease in longevity. But apart from the critical considerations bearing on this passage, it is strange to note further on (Gen., xi) that the ages of the subsequent patriarchs were by no means limited to 120 years. Sem lived to the age of 600. Arphaxad 338 (Massoretic text 408), Sale 433, Heber 464 etc.

The one ground on which the accuracy of all these figures can be defended is the a priori reason that being contained in the Bible, they must of a necessity be historically correct, and this position is maintained by the older commentators generally. Most modern scholars, on the other hand, are agreed in considering the genealogical and chronological lists of Gen., v, and xi, to be mainly artificial, and this view seems to be confirmed, they say, by a comparison of the figures as they stand in the Hebrew original and in the ancient versions. The Vulgate is in agreement with the former (with the exception of Arphaxad), showing that no substantial alteration of the figures has been made in the Hebrew at least since the end of the fourth century A.D.

Textual chronologies of the patriarchs

But when we compare the Massoretic text with the Samaritan version and the Septuagint, we are confronted by many and strange discrepancies which can hardly be the result of mere accident. Thus for instance, with regard to the antediluvian patriarchs, while the Samaritan version agrees in the main with the Massoretic text, the age at which Jared begot his first-born is set down as 62 instead of the Hebrew 162. Mathusala, likewise, who according to the Hebrew begot his first-born at the age of 187, was only 67 according to the Samaritan; and though the Hebrew places the same event in the case of Lamech when he was 182, the Samaritan gives him only 53. Similar discrepancies exist between the two texts as regards the total number of years that these patriarchs lived, viz. Jared, Heb. 962, Sam. 847; Mathusala, Heb. 969, Sam. 720; Lamech, Heb. 777, Sam. 653. Comparing the Massoretic text with the Septuagint, we find that in the latter the birth of the first-born in the case of Adam, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Malaleel, and Henoch was at the respective ages of 230, 205, 190, 170, 165, and 165, as against 130, 105, 90, 70, 65, and 65 as stated in the Hebrew, and the same systematic difference of 100 years in the period before the birth of the first-born appears likewise in the lives of the postdiluvian patriarchs, Arphaxad, Sale, Heber, Phaleg, Reu, and Sarug. For this list, however, the Samaritan agrees with the Septuagint as against the Massoretic text.

As regards the list of the antediluvians, the Hebrew and Septuagint agree as to the sum total of each patriarch's life, since the Greek version reduces regularly by a hundred years the period between the birth of the first-born and the patriarch's death. These accumulated differences result in a wide divergence when the duration of the entire patriarchal period is considered. Thus the number of years which elapsed from the beginning down to the death of Lamech is, according to the Hebrew, 1651, while the Samaritan gives 1307, and the Septuagint 2227. These are but a few of the peculiarities exhibited by the comparison of the perplexing genealogical lists. That the divergences are for the most part intentional seems to be a necessary inference from their systematic regularity, and the implied manipulation of the figures by the early translators goes far to make probable the more or less artificial character of these primitive chronologies as a whole.

References

  1. Back to citation occurrence 1.0 Back to citation occurrence 1.1 non-Chalcedonian
  2. Back to citation πατριάρχης, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  3. Back to citation "Patriarch - Etymology, Origin & Meaning". etymonline.
  4. Back to citation πατριά, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  5. Back to citation ἄρχω, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  6. Back to citation "Patriarch - Etymology, Origin & Meaning". etymonline; "Definition of PATRIARCH". www.merriam-webster.com. March 24, 2026; "patriarch" – via The Free Dictionary; "definition of patriarch from Oxford Dictionaries Online". oxforddictionaries.com. Archived from the original on 2010-11-04. Retrieved 2026-03-29.
  7. Back to citation "The Roman Empire: in the First Century. The Roman Empire. Life In Roman Times. Family Life". PBS. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  8. Back to citation Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Patriarch". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  9. Back to citation Code of Canons of Eastern Churches. 1990. pp. 58–59.
  10. Back to citation "DOCUMENTS FROM THE FIRST COUNCIL OF NICEA". History Sourcebooks Project. Fordham university. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
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  12. Back to citation Maloney, G.A. (2002). New Catholic Encyclopedia (Revised ed.). Gale. pp. 15 vols. ISBN 978-0787640040.
  13. Back to citation Code of Canons of Eastern Churches. Catholic Church. 1990. pp. 151–154.
  14. Back to citation "CCEO: text - IntraText CT". Intratext.com. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
  15. Back to citation "Communiqué on title 'Patriarch of the West'". Zenit. 22 March 2006. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  16. Back to citation "Why is Pope Francis embracing the patriarchy (of the West)?". The Pillar. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  17. Back to citation "Правило 28 - IV Вселенский Собор – Халкидонский (451г.) - Церковное право". azbyka.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  18. Back to citation Catholic Near East Welfare Association, a Papal agency for humanitarian and pastoral assistance Archived 2007-02-28 at the Wayback Machine (ID: 20).
  19. Back to citation Catholic Near East Welfare Association, a Papal agency for humanitarian and pastoral support Archived 2009-01-15 at the Wayback Machine (ID: 21).
  20. Back to citation Catholic Near East Welfare Association, a Papal agency for humanitarian and pastoral assistance Archived 2009-01-15 at the Wayback Machine (ID: 18).
  21. Back to citation Catholic Near East Welfare Association, a Papal agency for humanitarian and pastoral assistance Archived 2009-01-15 at the Wayback Machine (ID: 17).
  22. Back to citation "КОНСТАНТИНОПОЛЬСКИЙ СОБОР 1593 - Древо". drevo-info.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-10-02.
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  24. Back to citation Hill, Don (7 November 2001). "Czech Republic: Hussite Church History Mirrors That Of Nation". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  25. Back to citation When a woman was elected head of this church, she was styled Matriarch. "The Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch - Directory of Administration". Archived from the original on 2010-07-05. Retrieved 2010-03-18.

Further reading

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