Patriarchate (church)

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A patriarchy (from ancient Greek πατριαρχία patriarchia , from πατήρ patér 'father' and αρχή arché 'origin, rule') is an ecclesiastical administrative unit and jurisdiction in pre-Reformation churches , which forms a separate church and to which other dioceses belong. Diocesan bishop and head of the patriarchate is a patriarch who has sole legal, administrative and teaching authority in his patriarchy. The term of office of a patriarch is also called patriarchy .

Patriarchates exist in the Orthodox and Ancient Near Eastern churches as well as in the Roman Catholic Church .

Old church

In the old church , upper metropolises emerged in the regions of the Roman Empire, which dominated their territory. From this the five patriarchates of the early church developed, which as the pentarchy in the Roman Empire represented the entire world church of that time. Today four are Orthodox Patriarchates and the fifth Patriarchate Rome forms the Latin Church, but the title of Patriarch has not been used since 2006.

Historical development

Development of the episcopate

After the episcopal church prevailed in the 2nd century instead of collegial leadership by community elders ( presbyters ) , the central element of church leadership was the episcopate. The authority and dignity of this office sprang from the Apostolic Succession : every bishop was considered a successor to the apostles through a long series of predecessors . With Ignatius of Antioch , his almost monarchical authority already tended towards comprehensive doctrinal, consecration and jurisdiction.

Diocletian & Constantine

As a result of the Diocletian administrative reform at the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 4th century, the Roman Empire was restructured into three prefectures:

  • Praefectus praetorio Illyrici, Italiae et Africae
  • Praefectus praetorio Galliarum
  • Praefectus praetorio per Orientem

The prefectures were further subdivided into the state dioceses (under Diocletian 12, four per prefecture). The individual provinces belonged to each diocese. The third prefecture, Praefectus praetorio per Orientem , belonged under Diocletian to the four dioceses of Thrace , Asia , Pontus and the diocese of the Orient (also of the East ).

Under Emperor Constantine the Great , Egypt was separated from the diocese of the Orient and formed into an independent, fifth diocese.

Council of Nicaea: Metropolitan Constitution (325)

At the Council of Nicaea convened by Constantine in 325 the so-called "Metropolitan Constitution " was established:

“The old custom in Egypt, Libya and Pentapolis is supposed to endure, that the Bishop of Alexandria has the supreme authority over all this, since this also belongs to the Bishop of Rome. In the same way, both the Church of Antioch and the other Exarchies should preserve their privileges. "

As a result, the ecclesiastical administrative areas (ecclesiastical dioceses ) emerged from which the patriarchates later developed. The prefectures Praefectus praetorio Illyrici, Italiae et Africae and Praefectus praetorio Galliarum formed the western western world ( Occident ) administered by the Patriarchate of Rome . In Egypt, the Patriarchate of Alexandria (Alexandria) was formed. The Patriarchate of Antioch inherited the territory of the state diocese of the Orient . The other state dioceses of Thrace , Asia and Pontus may initially have their own patriarchates.

Councils of Constantinople (381) and Chalcedony (451)

At the Council of Constantinople in 381 , the Bishop of Constantinople received the rights of Upper Metropolitan for the other dioceses of Thrace , Asia and Pontus . Constantinople's aspirations to achieve first rank after Rome were also fulfilled at this council. The local bishop was given priority to Rome. At the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the Bishop of Jerusalem was also given priority jurisdiction.

Pentarchy

It was not until the first half of the sixth century that Emperor Justinian I codified these upper metropolises as the five patriarchs who together formed the pentarchy ( ancient Greek for ' rule of five '). This hierarchy was also confirmed in the 5th  Constitution of the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215. The patriarchates were equal to each other and had a fixed order of honor, the top of which was Rome with the graves of the apostles Peter and Paul as primus inter pares .

Through their communion , the five mediated church fellowship with all local churches for the dioceses in their jurisdiction and were guarantors of the unity of the universal church . Councils were used to resolve conflicts .

In the course of church history , the patriarchal leadership of the church as a whole was abandoned or ineffective due to schisms . Independent churches emerged from the patriarchates: the Western Patriarchate became the center of the Latin Church , the Constantinople Patriarchate of the Orthodox Churches , the Antioch Patriarchate of the Armenian Church and the Syrian Church of Antioch , the Patriarchate of Alexandria of the Coptic and Ethiopian Churches .

Catholics

The upper bishops of the churches outside the Roman Empire initially carried the title of Catholicos , later additionally, more recently, that of a patriarch. The most important Catholics were and are:

orthodoxy

Since the Oriental Schism , four of the early church patriarchates belong to the Byzantine Orthodox churches :

That came into being in the 11th century

In the wake of the Slavic mission , the patriarchates of the post-imperial period emerged:

From the Moscow Patriarchate split non-canonically (without the consent of the Moscow Patriarchate):

Roman Catholic Church

The Patriarchate of the West in Rome was the only one of the five early church patriarchates in the Western Roman Empire . From this the Latin Church , which forms the largest rite church of the Roman Catholic Church, and the papacy developed . Historically, the Pope exercises patriarchal jurisdiction over the Latin Church and all particular churches that do not belong to any other patriarchal jurisdiction.

The title Patriarch of the West , used by the popes since the 5th century , has been under Pope Benedict XVI since 2006 . no longer officially managed.

In addition to Rome, there are other patriarchates in the Roman Catholic Church, five in the Latin Church and eight in the Eastern Catholic Churches. A distinction must be made between the patriarchates, in which the patriarch exercises his own patriarchal jurisdiction over parts of the Church as a whole ( large patriarchates ), and the titular patriarchates without their own jurisdiction ( small patriarchates ).

The Pope's jurisdiction over the entire universal church, including the other patriarchates, is not based on patriarchal jurisdiction, but on the primacy of jurisdiction . The patriarchs of the Roman Catholic Church sometimes need the confirmation of certain legal acts by the Pope.

The major archbishops have a comparable position but no patriarchal jurisdiction . They are heads of Eastern Catholic Churches who do not belong to the early church patriarchates or Catholics, or who do not have the title of patriarch for reasons of ecumenism with other churches. In the case of major archbishops, the Pope must confirm the election before the chosen one is enthroned and can take office. Confirmation of election is not required for patriarchs. The newly elected patriarch only asks the Pope in writing for the so-called Ecclesiastica Communio .

Latin Church

Patriarchy

Patriarchates ( large patriarchates ) have their own jurisdiction.

Titular Patriarchates

Titular patriarchates ( small patriarchates ) have no jurisdiction.

There are two titular patriarchates with a resident patriarch:

In addition, there are two titular patriarchies without a hierarchy:

Former patriarchates

There are five former patriarchates in the Latin Church whose patriarchal title was revoked by the Pope.

The Patriarchate of Aquileia was created through a split from the Roman Church in the Three Chapter Dispute in 567. 40 years later, the Patriarchate of Grado split off after the Patriarch Candidianus of Rimini sought communion with Rome. This was dissolved by Pope Nicholas V in 1451 and instead the Patriarchate of Venice was established. The existing Patriarchate of Aquileia was dissolved by Pope Benedict XIV on June 6, 1751.

During the Crusades, the Latin Patriarchates of the East were founded in competition with the "old" Orthodox patriarchates . After the collapse of the Crusader states, they were continued as titular patriarchates and, unlike the Jerusalem patriarchate, were not restored. In the course of ecumenism with Orthodoxy, these were lifted in 1964 after the Second Vatican Council after several years of vacancy :

Eastern Catholic Churches

The eight patriarchates of the Eastern Catholic Churches all have a patriarchal jurisdiction.

There are nominally three patriarchal seats in the Melkite Greek Church, and one in each of the others.

Ancient oriental churches

In the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Patriarch (in the Armenian Church with the title Catholicos ) is the head of the church. The ancient oriental patriarchates include, sorted by rite:

Antiochian rite
Alexandrian rite
Armenian Rite ( Armenian Apostolic Church )
East Syrian Rite ( Nestorians )

Some church leaders have the title Catholicos , in addition to or instead of a patriarchal title.

literature

Wikisource: en: Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) / Patriarch and Patriarchate  - Sources and full texts
  • Annuario pontificio. per l'anno 2007. ZDB -ID 370-0 (Papal Yearbook).
  • Niccolò Del Re (ed.): Vatican Lexicon. License issue. Pattloch, Augsburg 1998, ISBN 3-629-00815-1 .
  • Orthodoxia . Born 2007, ZDB -ID 585333-3 (Yearbook for Orthodoxy).
  • Steyler Missionswissenschaftliches Institut (Ed.): Atlas Hierarchicus. Descriptio geographica et statistica insuper notae historicae Ecclesiae Catholicae. 5. editio elaboravit. St. Gabriel-Verlag, Vienna 1992, ISBN 3-85264-399-6 (Jurisdiktionsbezirke, statistics).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Rainer Hermann: Petrus with Andreas. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , November 30, 2006, page 3. ( Article archive , faz.net)
  2. ↑ Pope Benedict XVI. renounces the title "Patriarch of the West" on kath.net.de
  3. ↑ Title of the Popes on the page kathisch.de
  4. ↑ Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium : Can. 153
  5. ↑ Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium : Can. 76