Choir Bishop

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A choir bishop or chorepiskopos (from ancient Greek Χωρεπίσκοπος chorepískopos , country bishop ') was originally a country bishop without a diocesan district, usually entrusted with the administration of a part of the diocese (e.g. archdeaconate ). From around the 9th century the office became a pure honorary title for archdeacons, without episcopal ordination. In the ancient oriental churches the original form of high priests with episcopal ordination still exists . In the Roman Catholic Church, the current auxiliary bishop corresponds to the choir bishop in terms of his duties .

Old church

Choir bishop was a name for the bishop of the country ( ancient Greek χωρα ) in contrast to the bishop of a township.

Already in the 3rd century the chorepiskopos had a function as rural bishop (bishop in the country) for the ordination of the lecturers and for the decision of legal questions; he was subordinate to the respective city and metropolitan bishop.

The term choir bishop was first mentioned in the synod canons of the 4th century; there they wanted to push back this office and emphasize its dependence on the city bishops. Canon 6 of the Synod of Serdica forbids the appointment of bishops when priests in small towns and villages are sufficient.

Latin Church

Portrait engraving of the Trier choir bishop Hugo Friedrich von und zu Eltz (1597–1658). In the text cartridge u. a. the title Chori Episcopus

From many sources from the 6th to the 18th century the title "Chorbischof" a. a. attested in Bavarian dioceses, in Trier , Langres , etc. A choir bishop ( Latin episcopus missus ) was understood to be a subordinate bishop without a permanent seat until around the 9th century. The Latin word missus describes the person's position as a commissioner. The word mission is derived from the name of his mission ( Latin missio ) .

In the carantan mission at the end of the 8th and beginning of the 9th centuries, choir bishops seem to have played an important role as missionaries . As early as 798, the king gave the Salzburg Archbishop Arno instructions to send missionaries to the Carantans and the Avars . The Salzburg "Conversion History" reports that Lower Pannonia - the area between the Raab, Danube and Drava - was given to the Salzburg diocese as a mission land. Around 799 Archbishop Arno sent Chorbishop Deoderich to Carantania ( Carinthia ) with the task of proselytizing Pannonia as a district of the Archdiocese.

In the Franconian Empire , the title of choir bishop was only used from around the 9th century for the owners of the archdeaconate of a diocese, without having had episcopal ordination. It was a gradual process, so that initially there were choir bishops of the old order (with episcopal ordination) and those of the new order (without episcopal ordination) side by side. The Trier Provincial Synod of May 1, 888 in Metz , confirmed an older resolution, according to which churches that had been consecrated by choir bishops had to be consecrated again by the local bishop to ensure legally valid consecration. From this it can be concluded that the choir bishops of the Trier ecclesiastical province were no longer ordained bishops , but were still widely regarded as (sub) bishops and also appeared accordingly. The Archdiocese of Mainz did not agree with this regulation and called in 888 Pope Stephan V for support. However, from the 10th century onwards there were no longer any older choir bishops.

The honorary title of choir bishop for an archdeacon was held in many dioceses until secularization, at the beginning of the 19th century. The following evidence comes from the 18th century: Heinrich Ferdinand von der Leyen zu Nickenich († May 8, 1714) is buried in the cathedral in Mainz , the title "Chorbischof" can be found in his grave inscription. In 1807, Baron Christian Franz von Hacke died in Bruchsal as the last senior choir bishop of the old Archdiocese of Trier .

Syrian Orthodox Church

In the Syrian Orthodox Church , the Holy Synod in 1998 decided to reintroduce the law on the ordination of a choir episcopate, which had been inoperative in some dioceses for a decade. He should not be offered any office; Neither does it mean an appointment to a bishop, although a limited conferral of episcopal dignity. The chorepiskopos is only supposed to be the highest-ranking priest in his city, primarily a rural region. Often the appointment takes place with the appointment to a patriarchal vicar .

The outer insignia is a pectoral cross and a purple waistband. The prayer robe ("Gulto") put on during a service is purple on the inside.

Armenian Apostolic Church

The chorepiskopos is regarded in the Armenian Apostolic Church as the "overseer of the eparchy".

Greek Orthodox Church

In the Orthodox churches with the Byzantine rite ( Greek Orthodox Church , Russian Orthodox Church , etc.), choir bishop ( Χωρεπίσκοπος ) or coadjutor is the name for the highest office in a sub-area ( vicariate , etc.) of an eparchy (diocese).

Choir Bishop as an honorary title

The title "Chorbischof" is awarded today by various Eastern Churches to honorary priests of their own or a foreign rite.

literature

  • J. Parisot: Les chorévêques. In: Revue de l'Orient Chrétien. No. 6, 1901, 157-171. 419-443.
  • F. Gillmann: The Institute of Choir Bishops in the Orient. Munich 1903.
  • R. Amadou: Choréveques et Periodeutes. In: L'Orient Syria. Vol. 4, 1959, 233-241.
  • E. Kirsten: Art. Choir Bishop . In: Real Lexicon for Antiquity and Christianity . Vol. 2, 1954, 1105-1114.
  • Clemens Scholten: The Choir Bishop at Basil. In: Journal of Church History . No. 103, 1992, 149ff.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Carl Andresen : The churches of the ancient Christianity. Vol. 1 (= The religions of mankind. Vol. 29). Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1971, p. 122.
  2. ↑ a b c Gabriel Rabo: The Holy Synod of the Syrian Orthodox Church met in Damascus . Suryoyo Online's News, December 12, 1998. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  3. ↑ JG Nehr: History of the Papacy. In 2 parts. Weygand, Leipzig 1801–1802, p. 25.
  4. ↑ Otto Seeck : History of the development of Christianity. Metzler, Stuttgart 1921, p. 391.
  5. ^ Christian Rohr : Between Bavaria and Byzantium. On the mission history of Eastern Europe in the early and high Middle Ages. (Lecture series of the Salzburg Medieval Studies, WS 2003/04; available online  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this note. (PDF; 168 kB)) p. 2.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.uni-salzburg.at  
  6. ↑ Franz Greszl: one thousand years German life in the Carpathian region. Stuttgart 1971, pp. 11–15 ( online (PDF; 140 kB)).
  7. ^ Hans-Walter Herrmann : The old diocese of Metz , publications by the Commission for Saarland State History and Folk Research, Volume 19, Saarbrücken, 1993, ISBN 3-925036-75-X , p. 87 u. 88 (digital view)
  8. ↑ Carl Wilkes: Nickenich in the Pellenz. Verlag der Gemeinde Nickenich, Andernach am Rhein 1925, pp. 46–50 ( online ).
  9. ^ Library of the Church Fathers. Vol. 6 p. 57.
  10. ↑ Werner Diem , Abdoldjavad Falaturi (ed.): XXIV. German Orientalist Day from September 26th to 30th, 1988 in Cologne. Selected lectures (= magazine of the German Oriental Society. Supplement 8). Steiner, Stuttgart 1990, p. 119.