| Metropolitan Bishop |
Article Index for Metropolitan |
Website Links For Metropolitan |
Information AboutMetropolitan Bishop |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT METROPOLITAN BISHOP | |
| canon law | |
| episcopacy in roman catholicism | |
| episcopacy in anglicanism | |
| anglican ecclesiastical offices | |
| ecclesiastical titles | |
| episcopacy in orthodoxy | |
| bishops by type | |
|
CATHOLIC In the Roman Catholic Church , a metropolitan has supervisory authority over the other Bishop (ric)s in his Ecclesiastical Province , who are therefore called his ''suffragan bishop(ric)s''. Each bishop has direct and full jurisdiction over his own diocese, and retains a direct link to the Pope, but a metropolitan is empowered within his province and over his suffragans to exercise a limited degree of intermediate supervision (i.e. intervene when there is some serious breach of Church law, which is extremely rare), a degree of precedence; the metropolitan may also exercise liturgical functions in suffragan dioceses without prior permission, though again this is rare, and presides over meetings of the bishops of the province, and his court (the metropolitan tribunal) serves as the first level of appeal uner canon law from local diocesan courts within the province. Metropolitans also have authority over the dioceses in their province when there is a vacancy caused by the death or resignation of the suffragan bishop and they preside at the installation of new bishops. The metropolitan's insignia is the Pallium , which they can wear in their diocese and the other suffragan dioceses in the province. All Latin Rite metropolitans are Archbishop s; however, some archbishops are not metropolitans as there are a few instances where an archdiocese has no suffragans. Titular Archibishops (i.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. 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. In the Eastern Rite Catholic churches, the term ''metropolitan'' is used in a similar way to the Eastern Orthodox churches. In some of the '' Sui Iuris '' Eastern churches, the head of the church is a metropolitan. These ''sui iuris'' metropolitan churches are generally less populous than Patriarch al or Major Archepiscopal churches, and are subject to greater oversight by the Pope and the Congregation For The Oriental Churches . ANGLICAN In the Anglican Communion , the metropolitan is generally the head of an Ecclesiastical Province (or cluster of Dioceses ) and ranks immediately under the Primate of the national church. ORTHODOX In the Eastern Orthodox Churches , the title is used variously. In the Hellenic Churches metropolitans are ranked below archbishops in precedence, and primates of local Churches below Patriarchal rank are generally designated archbishops. The reverse is true for the Slavic Churches, where metropolitans rank above archbishops and the title can be used for Primatial sees as well as important cities. 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. SOURCES AND REFERENCES SEE ALSO |
|
|