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Archbishop

After the Cardinals come the Archbishops, and of these there are several grades. Certain prelates have the rank of "Greater Patriarchs"; they are the Archbishops of Jerusalem, Constantinople, Antioch and Alexandria. Besides these there are several others to whom the honorary title of Patriarch is given, such as the Archbishops of Venice and of Lisbon. A step lower in dignity than these come the "Primates," or Archbishops to whom this honorary rank has been given; they formerly exercised authority over the dioceses of a whole country or over several provinces. A "Metropolitan" is an Archbishop who has certain rights and jurisdiction over a province, that is, a number of dioceses, and over the bishops who rule them. A "Titular Archbishop " is one who rules a single diocese only, or who has merely the title of some extinct archdiocese.

All these grades of dignity, of course, add nothing to the sacred Order which the holder has received. He is a Bishop, whether he bear the title of Patriarch, Primate, Metropolitan, Archbishop or simple Bishop. The heraldic arms of an Archbishop are surmounted by a double or four-armed cross, and this form of cross is carried before him in solemn processions. After his elevation to the archiepiscopal rank he receives from the Sovereign Pontiff the "pallium," a vestment consisting of a band of white wool worn on the shoulders, having two pendant ribbons hanging therefrom, and ornamented with four purple crosses.

An Archbishop is spoken of as "Most Reverend," and is addressed as " Your Grace."

An Archbishop is the chief or principal bishop among the bishops of a group of dioceses. The office has been recognised under various names - such as Metropolitan, Exarch, or Patriarch - from the earliest ages of the Church, and is perhaps the same as that of the "Angels of the Seven Churches " of the province of Asia to whom the seven epistles in the Book of the Revelation are imtten. The earliest use of the title is found in the writings of St. Athanasius, who speaks of Alexander, his own predecessor in the see of Alexandria, early in the fourth century, as the Archbishop of Alexandria. By the canon law, the several classes of bishops are settled as four: [1] Patriarchs; [i] Archbishops; [3] Metropolitans; [4] Diocesan Bishops; and although the distinction between metropolitan and archbishop has mostly passed away through the absorption of the lower rank into the higher, it is not always so.

An archbishop's office is twofold. As bishop of a particular see, he has to undertake the ordinary episcopal duties of a diocesan bishop, in which capacity he carries a pastoral crook; as archbishop and metropolitan, he has to undertake, as visitor, the supervision of all the dioceses within his province, in which capacity he carries a metropolitan cross. Both crook and cross may be seen on some seals of the Archbishop of Canterbury. England has for twelve centuries been divided into two Provinces, Canterbury and York, which are presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of All England, and the Archbishop of York, Primate of England. The Archbishop of Canterbury ranks as a Prince immediately after the Princes of the blood royal, and before all other subjects. The Archbishop of York ranks as a Prince before all other subjects except the Lord Chancellor.

Primate

Primate is a title formerly given to all metropolitans in the Western Church, but afterwards confined to those of the more important cities, or those who gained the title by request from the See of Rome. The Primate of the West corresponded to the Patriarch of the East. He was authorised to hold ecclesiastical synods, to confirm bishops, and to perform the most honorable functions in the Church, such as the consecration of the sovereign. These privileges were first granted by Rome to the bishops of Thessalonica. In Roman Catholic countries the title has become little more than a name, as the Pope has resumed the rights granted to primates. Such nominal primates are the Archbishop of Toledo, of Spain; Vourges and Lyons, of France; Pisa, of Italy, and others. The Archbishop of York is primate of England, and tho Archbishop of Canterbury primate of all England; the Archbishops of Armagh and Dublin primates of Ireland; and St. Andrew's, of Scotland.