What do all those titles mean? (Teachings of the Orthodox Church)

Christianity. Orthodoxy. Catholicism. Sense of life. Articles for Christians.

And if thy hand cause thee to stumble, cut it off: it is good for thee to enter into life maimed, rather than having thy two hands to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire. where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot cause thee to stumble, cut it off: it is good for thee to enter into life halt, rather than having thy two feet to be cast into hell, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye cause thee to stumble, cast it out: it is good for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell; where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

Christian Portal

Christian Resources

Vote!


	What do all those titles mean? (Teachings of the Orthodox Church)

QUESTION:

What about all of those titles then: Patriarch, Metropolitan, Archbishop, Bishop? What does all of this mean?

ANSWER:

In Orthodoxy, the bishop is the leading church officer, and all bishops have exactly the same sacramental position in guiding the people of God.

A bishop of a large and important area of leadership (usually called a diocese) may be called archbishop or metropolitan, the latter meaning simply the bishop of a chief city, a metropolis.

The patriarch is the bishop of the most important city and diocese in a local church and is normally the leading bishop of a country (patria means country). This is especially the case when within the self-governing church of which the Patriarch is primate there are other bishops with metropolitan sees. For example, in Russia the bishop of Moscow is the patriarch; the bishops of Kiev and Leningrad are metropolitans; and there are other archbishops and bishops within the local church.

However, once again, it cannot be over stressed that all bishops, regardless of their title or the size and importance of their diocese, are identically equal with regard to their sacramental position. None is higher or greater than the other; none rules over another.

Published in January 2011.

Read more Christian articles

Recommend this page to your friend!