Patriarch

:''For other senses, see Patriarch (disambiguation).

Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a composition of "πάτερ" (pater) meaning father and "άρχων" (archon) meaning leader, chief, ruler, king, etc.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are referred to as the three patriarchs of Judaism, and the period in which they lived is called the Patriarchal Age.

The word has mainly taken on specific ecclesiastical meanings. In particular, the highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above Major Archbishop and primate), and the Assyrian Church of the East are called patriarchs. The office and ecclesiastical conscription (comprising one or more provinces, though outside his own (arch)diocese he is often without enforceable jurisdiction, unlike the Pope of Rome) of such a patriarch is called a patriarchate. Historically, a Patriarch may often be the logical choice to act as Ethnarch, representing the community that is identified with his religious confession within a state or empire of a different creed (as Christians within the Ottoman Empire).

According to Mormonism, a patriarch is one who has been ordained to the office of Patriarch in the Melchizedek Priesthood. The term is considered synonymous with the term evangelist. One of the patriarch's primary responsibilities is to give Patriarchal blessings, as Jacob did to his twelve sons in the Old Testament. In the main branch of Mormonism, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Patriarchs are typically assigned in each stake and hold the title for life.

Patriarchs of the Pentarchy

The following five patriarchs, later known as the Pentarchy, were acknowledged at the Council of Chalcedon in 451. They are listed in
*The Patriarch of the West, the Pope and Bishop of Rome
*The Patriarch of Constantinople
*The Patriarch of Alexandria
*The Patriarch of Antioch
*The Patriarch of Jerusalem

Patriarchs in Oriental Orthodox Churches

see: Oriental Orthodoxy
*The Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria, head of the Coptic Church
*The Patriarch of Antioch, head of the Syriac Orthodox Church
* The Catholicos of Armenia and of All Armenians, Supreme Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church
** The Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians
** The Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople
** The Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem
*The Catholicos-Patriarch of the East, head of the Indian Orthodox Church
*The Patriarch of All Ethiopia, head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
*The Patriarch of All Eritrea, head of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church

Patriarchs of the Eastern Orthodox Church

see: Eastern Orthodoxy
*The Patriarch of Constantinople, the Ecumenical Patriarch, head of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople and spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodoxy
*The Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa, head of the Orthodox Church of Alexandria
*The Patriarch of Antioch, head of the Orthodox Church of Antioch
*The Patriarch of Jerusalem, head of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem
*The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, head of the Russian Orthodox Church
*The Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, head of the Georgian Orthodox Church
*The Patriarch of Serbia, head of the Serbian Orthodox Church
*The Patriarch of All Romania, head of the Romanian Orthodox Church
*The Patriarch of All Bulgaria, head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church

Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East

*The Catholicos-Patriarch of Babylon, head of the Assyrian Church of the East

Patriarchs of the Roman Catholic Church

Catholic Patriarchal (non cardinal) coat of arms

see Roman Catholic Church

Note that the Catholic Pope has, in the past, used the title Patriarch of the West; however, this was removed from the Vatican's official list of titles in March, 2006.