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) coat of arms]] Primate (from the Latin ''Primus'', "first") is a title or rank bestowed on some Bishop s in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority ( Title Of Authority ) or ceremonial precedence ( Title Of Honor ). ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY In the Orthodox churches, ''Primate'' is often used in the general sense of the head of an Autocephalous or Autonomous church, but not as a specific title. Thus, the Patriarch Of Moscow And All Russia , the Archbishop Of Mtskheta And Tbilisi, Catholicos-Patriarch Of All Georgia , the Pope And Patriarch Of Alexandria And All Africa , the Archbishop Of Athens , the Archbishop Of Washington And New York, Metropolitan Of All America And Canada , and the Archbishop Of Karelia And All Finland are all primates of their respective churches, regardless of their individual titles. ANGLICAN COMMUNION The title is often encountered in the churches of the Anglican Communion , which is divided into ''provinces'' each of which usually has a metropolitan. The senior metropolitan in the national church is called the primate, though this title was only in recent years added by the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church In The United States Of America . In England , however, the metropolitans of the two provinces of Canterbury and York, the Archbishop Of Canterbury and the Archbishop Of York , are ''Primate of All England'' and ''Primate of England'' respectively. It reflects the compromise struck between the Archbishops of York (who wanted to emphasize the equality of the archbishops) and the Archbishops of Canterbury (who wanted to emphasize the seniority of Canterbury). In Ireland , both the Anglican Church Of Ireland and the Roman Catholic Church style their respective Archbishops Of Armagh and Archbishops Of Dublin ''Primate of All Ireland'' and ''Primate of Ireland'' respectively. ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH In the Western Church , a Primate is an Archbishop (or rarely a suffragan or Exempt Bishop ) of a see (called a ''primas'') which confers precedence over the other bishops of his own province, or over a number of provinces (possibly part of a province), such as a 'national' church in (historical) political/cultural terms. This precedence gives no additional authority over these other (arch)bishops, such as that exercised by a Metropolitan Bishop (which they generally are, within the smaller or conterminous juisdiction of a single ecclesiastical province). The term is generally found in the older Catholic countries, and is now purely honorific, enjoying no single real right under canon law. The title may be vested in one of the oldest Archdioceses in a country, if it exists. As incumbents, especially nation's leading archbishops, are often elevated cardinal, a higher rank, and the national leadership is rather vested in the chairmanship of the national conference of bishops (often vested in his see; old-fashioned synods have become rare) the title is rather void for them. The See city may no longer have the prominence it had when the Diocese was created, or its circumscription may no longer exist as a state/nation. Primates rank below Major Archbishop and Patriarch , as the Exarch originally did, and like these under the now far more frequent cardinalate (and within that college of true princes of the church they enjoy no precedence, unlike the higher ranks not even the right to join a high order of the sacred college). At the First Vatican Council (Coll. Lacens., VII, pp. 34, 488, 726) the only (arch)bishops figuring as primates, in virtue of then recent concessions, were these (by country) :
A selection of primatial pretences in other countries (here grouped by modern states, but often the claimed 'primas' had a smaller or overlapping territory) and their Roman Catholic primates (some historical claims are dormant or have been void for centuries; new titles can only be awarded by the Holy See):
In the United States , where never an official primacy was awarded, the Archbishop Of Baltimore is sometimes called "honorary primate"- since Baltimore was the first diocese in the nation, its bishop is granted ceremonial precedence before all other bishops in the United States. Similarly the Archbishop Of Seoul is often considered to be the primate of Korea, but such title has never been granted by the Vatican. Such 'analogous' use of the title is confusing and technically incorrect. REGULAR EQUIVALENT
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