In hierarchical Christian churches, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop (then more precisely called metropolitan archbishop) of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital. In those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth A diocesan Bishop is a bishop in charge of a Diocese. These are to be distinguished from Suffragan bishops assistant bishops, coadjutor bishops In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated Bishop. In the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion and others this means that they lead A metropolis (from the Greek μήτηρ mētēr meaning 'mother' and πόλις pólis meaning 'city/town' is a big City, in most cases with In Ancient Rome, a province (Latin provincia, pl provinciae) was the basic and until the Tetrarchy (circa An ecclesiastical province is a large jurisdiction of religious government so named by analogy with a secular Province, existing in certain hierarchical Christian His jurisdiction is called a metropolia or a metropolis.
Before the establishment of patriarchs (beginning in 325 AD), metropolitan was the highest episcopal rank in the Christian church. Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a Pater familias over an extended family Events By Place Roman Empire Gladiatorial combat is outlawed in the Roman Empire Church (disambiguation Christian Church and the word church are used to denote both a Christian association of people and a Place of worship They presided over synods of bishops, and were granted special privileges by canon law and sacred tradition. A synod (also known as a council) is a council of a church, usually a Christian church convened to decide an issue of doctrine administration or application A privilege &mdashetymologically "private law" or law relating to a specific individual&mdashis a special Entitlement or immunity granted by a government Canon law is internal ecclesiastical law governing the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches and the Anglican Communion of churches Sacred Tradition or Holy Tradition is a technical theological term used in some Christian traditions primarily in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox
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Catholic
In the Roman Catholic Church, a metropolitan has supervisory authority over the bishops in the dioceses that make up his ecclesiastical province, who are therefore called his suffragan bishops. In the Catholic Church, a Bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the priesthood. In many rites of the Roman Catholic Church and in Anglican churches, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a Bishop. An ecclesiastical province is a large jurisdiction of religious government so named by analogy with a secular Province, existing in certain hierarchical Christian A suffragan bishop is a Bishop subordinate to a Metropolitan bishop or Diocesan bishop. Each bishop has direct and full jurisdiction over his own diocese, and retains a direct link to the pope in the latter's role as Supreme Pontiff, but a metropolitan is empowered within his province and over his suffragans to exercise a limited degree of intermediate supervision. History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and Examples include extremely rare instances of serious breaches of Church law. The metropolitan may preside over liturgies in any of the suffragan dioceses as if he were the local diocesan bishop without prior permission, though again this is rare, and presides over the provincial synod when it is convened. A synod (also known as a council) is a council of a church, usually a Christian church convened to decide an issue of doctrine administration or application The metropolitan serves as the first court of appeal under canon law from local diocesan courts. Court of Appeal, Court of Appeals, and Appellate Division redirect here for a list of specific courts using those titles see Court of Appeal Metropolitans also intervene in the selection of a diocesan administrator when there is a vacancy caused by the death or resignation of the suffragan bishop and the local church fails to properly elect an administrator. A vicar capitular is a provisional Ordinary of a Roman Catholic Particular church. They also generally preside at the installation and consecrations of new bishops in the province. The metropolitan's insignia is the pallium, which he can wear in his diocese and the other suffragan dioceses in the province. This article refers to the religious garment called a "pallium"
All Latin rite metropolitans are archbishops; however, some archbishops are not metropolitans as there are a few instances where an archdiocese has no suffragans or is itself suffragan to another archdiocese. The Latin Rite is one of the 23 Sui iuris Particular Churches within the Catholic Church. In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated Bishop. In the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion and others this means that they lead In many rites of the Roman Catholic Church and in Anglican churches, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a Bishop. Titular archbishops (i. Main article Bishop (Catholic Church A titular bishop is a bishop of the Catholic Church who is not in charge e. ordained bishops who are given an honorary title to a now-defunct archdiocese; e. g. many Vatican officials and papal nuncios and apostolic delegates are titular archbishops) are never metropolitans. Nuncio is an ecclesiastical Diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin word Nuntius, meaning "envoy Nuncio is an ecclesiastical Diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin word Nuntius, meaning "envoy
As of April 2006, 508 archdioceses were headed by metropolitan-archbishops, 27 archbishops were not metropolitans, and there were 89 titular archbishops. See also Catholic Church hierarchy for the distinctions. This article refers to hierarchy in the Catholic Church. For hierarchy in other communions with a "catholic" character please see articles on the churches
In the Eastern Rite Catholic churches, the term metropolitan is used in a similar way to the Eastern Orthodox churches. This article refers to Eastern Churches in full communion with the Holy See In some of the sui iuris Eastern churches, the head of the church is a metropolitan. Sui iuris, commonly also spelled sui juris, is a Latin phrase that literally means “of one’s own right” These sui iuris metropolitan churches are generally less populous than patriarchal or major archiepiscopal churches, and are subject to greater oversight by the pope and the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a Pater familias over an extended family In the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop is a title for an hierarch to whose Archiepiscopal see is granted the same jurisdiction in his autonomous The Congregation for the Oriental Churches ( Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus) is the congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for contact with
Anglican
In the Anglican Communion, a metropolitan is generally the head of an ecclesiastical province (or cluster of dioceses) and ranks immediately under the primate of the national church (who is often also a metropolitan). See also Anglicanism The Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches An ecclesiastical province is a large jurisdiction of religious government so named by analogy with a secular Province, existing in certain hierarchical Christian In many rites of the Roman Catholic Church and in Anglican churches, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a Bishop. Primate (from the Latin Primus, "first" is a title or rank bestowed on some Bishops in certain Christian churches Most metropolitans, but not all, are styled archbishop. In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated Bishop. In the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion and others this means that they lead
Orthodox
In the Eastern Orthodox Churches, the title is used variously. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world In the Hellenic Churches metropolitans are ranked below archbishops in precedence, and primates of local churches below patriarchal rank are generally designated as archbishops. The Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία Hellēnorthódoxē Ekklēsía) is formed by several autocephalous churches A local church is a Christian religious organization made up of a congregation its members and clergy Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a Pater familias over an extended family The reverse is true for the Slavic Churches (Russian Orthodox, Serbian Orthodox, etc. See also Eastern Orthodox Church Structure and organization The Slavic Orthodox Church is organized in a hierarchical structure The Serbian Orthodox Church ( Serbian: Српска Православна Црква / Srpska Pravoslavna Crkva; СПЦ / SPC) or the ), where metropolitans rank above archbishops and the title can be used for primatial sees as well as important cities. An episcopal see is the ecclesiastical domain of authority of a Bishop.
In neither case do metropolitans have any special authority over other ruling bishops within their provinces. However, metropolitans (archbishops in the Greek Orthodox Church) are the chairmen of their respective synods of bishops, and have special privileges.
External links
- List of Catholic Metropolitan Archdioceses in the world by Giga-Catholic Information
"Metropolitan". Catholic Encyclopedia. The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia (1913). New York: Robert Appleton Company.
See also
This article is about Byzantine governors and ecclesiastical ranks The Metropolitanate of Montenegro is the largest diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro.Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic