Archbishop of Alexandria, Egypt; includes the designation "pope"
"Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark" redirects here. Not to be confused with
Patriarch of Venice
.
The
Patriarch of Alexandria
is the
archbishop
of
Alexandria
,
Egypt
. Historically, this office has included the designation "
pope
" (etymologically "Father", like "Abbot").
[1]
The Alexandrian
episcopate
was revered as one of the three major
episcopal sees
(along with
Rome
and
Antioch
) before
Constantinople
and
Jerusalem
were granted similar status (in 381 and 451, respectively).
[2]
Alexandria was elevated to
de facto
archiepiscopal
status by the
Councils of Alexandria
,
[
citation needed
]
and this status was ratified by
Canon
Six of the
First Council of Nicaea
, which stipulated that all the Egyptian episcopal provinces were subject to the metropolitan see of Alexandria
(already the prevailing custom).
[
citation needed
]
In the sixth century, these five archbishops were formally granted the title of "
patriarch
" and were subsequently known as the
Pentarchy
.
[3]
Due to several
schisms
within Christianity, the title of the Patriarch of Alexandria is currently claimed by different churches (two of which are part of the
Catholic Church
) and held respectively by four persons: the
Coptic Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria
, the
Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria
, the
Melkite Patriarch of Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and all the East
and the
Coptic Catholic Patriarchate of Alexandria
.
[2]
Each of the respective churches consider their patriarch as the successor to the original early bishops of Alexandria.
[2]
The title was also previously held by the
Latin Patriarch of Alexandria
. The vast majority of the population of Christians within Alexandria and Egypt, as well as almost all of the Egyptian monastic communities, are part of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria.
[4]
History
[
edit
]
According to church tradition, the patriarchate was founded in 42 AD by
Mark the Evangelist
. It was the centre from which Christianity spread throughout all Egypt. Within its jurisdiction, during its most flourishing period, were included about 108 bishops; its territory embraced the six provinces of
Libya Superior
,
Libya Inferior
, the
Thebaid
, Egypt,
Heptanomis
, and
Augustamnica
. In the beginning the successor of St. Mark was the only
metropolitan bishop
, and he governed ecclesiastically the entire territory. As the Christians multiplied, and other metropolitan sees were created, he became known the arch-metropolitan. The title of patriarch did not come into use until the fifth century.
[5]
Up to the time of the
First Council of Constantinople
(381) the Patriarch of Alexandria ranked next to the
Bishop of Rome
. By the third canon of this council, afterwards confirmed by the twenty-eighth canon of the
Council of Chalcedon
(451), the
Patriarch of Constantinople
, supported by imperial authority and by a variety of concurring advantages, was given the right of precedency over the Patriarch of Alexandria. But neither Rome nor Alexandria recognized the claim until many years later. During the first two centuries of our era, though Egypt enjoyed unusual quiet, little is known of the ecclesiastical history of its chief see, beyond a barren list of the names of its patriarchs, handed down to us chiefly through the church historian
Eusebius
.
[5]
All denominations acknowledge the
succession
of church leaders until the time of the
Second Council of Ephesus
of 449 and the
Council of Chalcedon
in 451, which gave rise to the non-Chalcedonian
Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
and the Chalcedonian
Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria
.
[
citation needed
]
Pope
[
edit
]
This office has historically held the title of Pope?Π?πα? (
Papas
), which means "Father" in Greek and
Coptic
?since
Pope Heraclas of Alexandria
, the 13th Alexandrine Bishop (227?248), was the first to associate "Pope" with the title of the Bishop of Alexandria.
The word
pope
derives from the
Greek
π?ππα?
"father". In the early centuries of Christianity, this title was applied informally (especially in the east) to all bishops and other senior clergy. In the west it began to be used particularly for the Bishop of Rome (rather than for bishops in general) in the sixth century; in 1075,
Pope Gregory VII
issued a declaration widely interpreted as stating this by-then-established convention.
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
By the sixth century, this was also the normal practice in the imperial chancery of Constantinople.
[6]
The earliest record of this title was regarding
Pope Heraclas of Alexandria
(227?240) in a letter written by his successor,
Pope Dionysius of Alexandria
, to Philemon (a Roman
presbyter
): "το?τον ?γ? τ?ν καν?να κα? τ?ν τ?πον παρ? το? μακαρ?ου π?πα ?μ?ν ?ρακλ? παρ?λαβον."
[11]
This is translated, "I received this rule and ordinance from our blessed father/pope, Heraclas."
[12]
According to the
Oxford English Dictionary
, the earliest recorded use of "pope" in English is in an
Old English
translation (
c
. 950) of
Bede
's
Ecclesiastical History of the English People
, "Þa wæs in þa tid Uitalius papa þæs apostolican seðles aldorbiscop."
[13]
In modern English, "At that time,
Pope Vitalian
was chief bishop of the apostolic see."
Claimants to the title
[
edit
]
Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
[
edit
]
The
Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of all Africa in the Holy See of St. Mark the Apostle
leads the
Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
, but has resided in Cairo since Christodoulos moved the residence in the mid-eleventh century. His full titles are
Pope and Archbishop of the Great City of Alexandria
and
Patriarch of all Africa, the Holy Orthodox and Apostolic See of Saint Mark the Evangelist
(
Egypt
,
Libya
,
Nubia
,
Sudan
,
Ethiopia
,
Eritrea
and all
Africa
) and Successor of
St. Mark
the
Evangelist
, Holy Apostle and Martyr, on the Holy Apostolic Throne of the Great City of
Alexandria
.
Eastern Catholic Churches
[
edit
]
The
Patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts
leads the
Coptic Catholic Church
in communion with the
Holy See
.
The
Patriarch of Antioch of the Greek-Melkites
, who leads the
Melkite Greek Catholic Church
in communion with the
Holy See
, also has the titles of
Titular
Patriarch of Alexandria of the Greek-Melkites and Titular Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Greek-Melkites.
Latin Church
[
edit
]
The
Latin Patriarch of Alexandria
was head of the
titular Patriarchal See of Alexandria
of the
Catholic Church
, established by
Pope Innocent III
. The title was last held by Luca Ermenegildo Pasetto until his death in 1954; it remained vacant until its abolition as a
Latin Church
see in 1964.
Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria
[
edit
]
The
Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa
leads the
Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria
. His full title is "
His Divine Beatitude the Pope and Patriarch of the Great City of Alexandria, Libya, Pentapolis, Ethiopia, All Egypt and All Africa, Father of Fathers, Pastor of Pastors, Prelate of Prelates, the Thirteenth of the Apostles and Judge of the Universe
".
[14]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"The Pope"
.
Saint Takla Haymanot
(Coptic Orthodox) (in Arabic).
Alexandria
,
Egypt
. Retrieved
25 October
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
public domain
:
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Patriarch and Patriarchate".
Catholic Encyclopedia
. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^
"Pentarchy"
. Encyclopædia Britannica. 26 January 2015.
- ^
"CIA World Fact Book"
. CIA.GOV. 30 March 2022.
.
- ^
a
b
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
public domain
:
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "The Church of Alexandria".
Catholic Encyclopedia
. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^
a
b
"Pope",
Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church
, Oxford University Press, 2005,
ISBN
978-0-19-280290-3
- ^
Thomas H. Greer, Gavin Lewis,
A Brief History of the Western World
(Cengage Learning 2004
ISBN
9780534642365
), p. 172
- ^
Enrico Mazza,
The Eucharistic Prayers of the Roman Rite
(Liturgical Press 2004
ISBN
9780814660782
), p. 63
- ^
John W. O'Malley,
A History of the Popes
(Government Institutes 2009
ISBN
9781580512275
), p. xv
- ^
Klaus Schatz,
Papal Primacy
(Liturgical Press 1996
ISBN
9780814655221
), pp. 28?29
- ^
Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica Book VII, chapter 7.7
- ^
Pamphilus of Caesarea
(2012).
The Sacred Writings of Eusebius Pamphilus
(Extended Annotated ed.). Jazzybee Verlag.
ISBN
978-3-8496-2152-0
.
- ^
"pope, n.1". OED Online. September 2011. Oxford University Press. 21 November 2011
- ^
"The Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa"
.
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa
.
Alexandria
,
Egypt
. 22 October 2012
. Retrieved
25 October
2018
.
His Divine Beatitude the Pope and Patriarch of the Great City of Alexandria, Libya, Pentapolis, Ethiopia, All Egypt and All Africa, Father of Fathers, Pastor of Pastors, Prelate of Prelates, the Thirteenth of the Apostles and Judge of the Universe
Sources
[
edit
]