PATRIARCHS. -
I. ORIGINS
As early as canon 6 of the Council of Nicaea (325) recognized as invested with a special supremacy the bishops of Alexandria (v.) for Egypt and Cyrenaica, of Antioch (v.) for the East, and of Rome for the whole of the West (naturally without prejudice to the primacy of the Roman see over the entire Church).In canon 2 of the Council of Constantinople (381), Constantinople (v.) was added to them, because this city was the new Rome, although until then ancient Byzantium had been merely a diocese included in the province of Thrace. Subsequently this state of affairs was related to s. Peter, insofar as the Apostle had governed the Church of Antioch, had sent his disciple Mark to Alexandria, and had died in Rome; for Constantinople, recourse was had to s. Andrew, the brother of s. Peter. During the 5th century, the latter city succeeded in asserting its supremacy over Asia Minor (Ephesus and Caesarea of Cappadocia); while Rome continued to uphold its rights over all the Danubian provinces, Macedonia, Greece, and the islands of the Aegean, except Cyprus, which remained autocephalous. At the Council of Chalcedon (451), the bishop of Jerusalem succeeded in having himself recognized as metropolitan with patriarchal powers over Palestine (canon 28). Only at the Fifth Lateran Council (1215) was the first place after the Roman pontiff recognized for the p. of Constantinople.
In the West, during the Schism of the Three Chapters, Aquileia (v.) arrogated patriarchal authority to itself (at the end of the 6th century); and when the province split in two, both Aquileia and Grado proclaimed themselves patriarchates, until the former was suppressed in 1751 and the latter was united with the see of Olivolo-Castello and transferred to Venice (1451).
During the period of the Crusades, the Latin patriarchates of Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Constantinople (after the temporary occupation of 1204) were established; they were soon reduced to simple titular prelatures, which continued to be conferred until our own times, while the successions of the heretical or schismatic Eastern p. remained uninterrupted.
Following the union with Rome of part of the populations of the Eastern rites, a patriarchate was recognized for each of them, one for each individual rite; thus there are patriarchates of Antioch for the Melchites, Syrians, and Maronites; a patriarchate of Babylon for the Chaldeans and another of Sis and Cilicia for the Armenians; while there was a Latin p. of Jerusalem in 1847, with jurisdiction over Palestine and Cyprus, and a p. for the Coptic Catholics of Egypt after 1895.
After the discovery of America and the establishment of the hierarchy in those regions, the patriarchate
of the West Indies was established, with its residence in Madrid. Clement XI in 1716 granted the archbishop of Lisbon (v.) the title of p., and Leo XIII, on 1 September 1886, granted that of p. of the East GOLA (v.) in India. According to present-day discipline, the Latin-rite p. have no jurisdiction superior to that of any metropolitan.
Pio Paschini
II. EASTERN DISCIPLINE
The patriarchs of the Eastern rites, after their election by the bishops of their rite, are confirmed by the Supreme Pontiff and request the pallium from him. The patriarch is responsible, first of all, for the direct governance of his own eparchy or diocese and, through the bishops, for that of the individual dioceses of the patriarchate.The bishops, clergy, monks, and faithful within his jurisdiction are therefore subject to him. Over them he exercises ordinary jurisdiction with legislative, judicial, and also coercive power, which does not exclude, in the most serious cases, the direct intervention of the Pontiff. The patriarch visits the patriarchate, convenes and presides over synods, authentically interprets their decisions, and in particular cases grants dispensations for the entire patriarchate. He supervises the activity of the individual bishops, makes up for their negligence, and, when any diocese becomes vacant, assumes its temporary government, providing for the appointment of the successor, who is confirmed by the Holy See and whom he himself consecrates. By virtue of the ancient right of stauropegion, by planting the patriarchal cross in some sacred place (monastery, sanctuary, house, hospital) outside the patriarchal diocese, he exempts it from the local bishop and subjects it to his direct jurisdiction. Without the consent of the Holy See, he may not exercise authority over faithful of his rite who live outside the patriarchal territory and are not his subjects; he must, however, ensure that his own rite is everywhere observed faithfully and in its entirety; indeed, he too may introduce no modifications without the approval of the Holy See.
A more recent determination of the patriarchs’ power in matters of marriage, ecclesiastical trials, religious, and the administration of ecclesiastical temporal goods is contained in the laws on these subjects promulgated by Pope Pius XII (Crebrae ollatae, 22 February 1949; Sollicitudinem nostram, 6 January 1950; Postquam Apostolicis, 9 February 1952; AAS, 41 [1949], pp. 90-119, 42 [1950], pp. 5-120; 43 [1952], pp. 65-150), while an even more complete review of patriarchal rights by the Apostolic See is awaited in the codification of Eastern law. There are also privileges and honors, which are an external and solemn recognition of patriarchal authority, such as the title of “beatitude”; precedence over all bishops and metropolitans; the privilege of being preceded, within the territory, by the patriarchal cross; the use of the sacred pallium throughout the territory and, according to the norms established by the Holy See, the faculty of celebrating pontifically in all the churches of the patriarchate; the exclusive privilege of consecrating the Holy Chrism and distributing it to the individual bishops, as well as that of reserving to himself the consecration of antimensia; and the privilege of being commemorated, immediately after the pope, in the liturgy and on the other occasions prescribed by the rite, by all the bishops and clergy of the patriarchate. For further details, it is necessary to consult the documents concerning the various patriarchates.