The Patriarch of Alexandria is the Archbishop of Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation of Pope (etymologically 'Father', like Abbot etc.). The first Bishop known to have been called "Pope" was the thirteenth Patriarch of Alexandria, Papas Heraclas.[1]
At first the position was an Episcopate, which was revered as one of the three most ancient Episcopates, along with Rome and Antioch, several centuries before Jerusalem or Constantinople attained that status in 381 or 451; the five subsequently came to be known as the Pentarchy. It was, de facto, elevated to an Archiepiscopal status by the local Alexandrine Council[citation needed][which?] on the one hand and it was then regulated by canon law of the First Ecumenical Council stipulating that all the Egyptian episcopal and metropolitan provinces be subjected to this Metropolitan See of Alexandria, as was already the prevailing custom.[citation needed]
The office was acknowledged as a Patriarchate by the time of the First Council of Ephesus, and was officially ratified as such by the Council of Chalcedon.[citation needed] The title Pope was originally used in a capacity of an appellation rather than a title and eventually it became a title, but unlike the case of the Pope of Rome, the Pope of Alexandria had no distinction in his Papal or Pontifical titles on the one hand and his Patriarchal titles on the other.[citation needed] They were used together in the same capacity and this dual title did not put him on a higher ecclesiastical/hierarchical level than the other Patriarchs of the Pentarchy.[citation needed]
Papa has been the specific designation for the Archbishop of Alexandria and Patriarch of all Africa on the See of Saint Mark.[contradictory][citation needed] Historically, this office has held the title of Pope, "Παπας" (papas), which means "Father" in the Greek and the Coptic languages, since Pope Heracleus, the 13th Alexandrine Bishop (232–249 AD), was the first to associate the appellation of Pope with the title of the Bishop of Alexandria.
The word pope derives from Greek πάππας meaning "Father". In the early centuries of Christianity, this title was applied, especially in the east, to all bishops and other senior clergy; in the west it began to be used particularly of the Bishop of Rome, rather than for bishops in general, in the 6th century and it was only in 1075 that Pope Gregory VII issued a declaration that has been widely interpreted as stating this by then established convention.[2][3][4][5][6][7] By the same 6th century this was also the normal practice of the imperial chancery of Constantinople.[2]
The earliest record of the use of this title was in regard to Pope Heraclas of Alexandria (232–248) in a letter written by his successor, Pope Dionysius of Alexandria, to Philemon, a Roman presbyter:
τοῦτον ἐγὼ τὸν κανόνα καὶ τὸν τύπον παρὰ τοῦ μακαρίου πάπα ἡμῶν Ἡρακλᾶ παρέλαβον.[8]
Which translates into:
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest recorded use of the title "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.[11]
In modern English:
At that time, Pope Vitalian was chief bishop of the apostolic see.
According to Church tradition,[which?] the Patriarchate was founded in 42 by the Apostle Saint Mark the Evangelist.[citation needed] All churches acknowledge the same succession of church leaders up to about the monophysite Robber Council of Ephesus of 229 and the orthodox Chalcedonian Council of Chalcedon 451, that gave rise to the non-Chalcedonian (miaphysite/monophysite) Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, and to the chalcedonian Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria.[citation needed]
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Jurisdictional claimants to the title of Patriarch of Alexandria
Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
- The Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of all Africa on the Holy See of St. Mark the Apostle leads the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, but resides in Cairo since Christodoulos moved the residence in mid-eleventh century. His full title is:
- 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 that is, in Egypt, Pentapolis, Libya, Nubia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and all Africa.
- The Successor of St. Mark the Evangelist, Holy Apostle and Martyr, on the Holy Apostolic Throne of the Great City of Alexandria
Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria
- The Greek Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa leads the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria. His full title is:
Most Blessed, Most Divine, and Most Holy Father and Chief Pastor, Pope and Patriarch of the Great City of Alexandria, Libya, Pentapolis, Ethiopia, all Egypt, and all Africa; Father of Fathers, Pastor of Pastors, Hierarch of Hierarchs, Thirteenth Apostle, Ecumenical Judge.
Eastern Catholic Churches
Coptic Catholic Church of Alexandria
- The Patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts, who leads the Coptic Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See, can also be granted the title of Cardinal Bishop by the Pope, without compromising his Patriarchal status.
Melkite Greek Catholic Church
- The Patriarch of Antioch of the Greek-Melkites, who leads the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See, also carries the titles of the Titular Patriarch of Alexandria of the Greek-Melkites and the Titular Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Greek-Melkites.
Latin Catholic Church
- The Latin Patriarch of Alexandria was the head of the Titular Patriarchal See of Alexandria of the Roman Catholic Church established by Pope Innocent III. The title was last held by Luca Ermenegildo Pasetto until his death in 1954 and then remained vacant until its suppression in 1964.
See also
See the linked articles for lists of the primatial patriarchs of each church.
References
- ^ History of the Coptic Church By Iris Habib Elmasry
- ^ a b "Pope", Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3
- ^ Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (Baker Academic 2001 ISBN 9780801020759), p. 888
- ^ 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
- ^ "I received this rule and ordinance from our blessed father, Heraclas" (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History )translation by Arthur Cushman McGiffert)
- ^ "This rule and form I have received from our father (παπα) the blessed Heraclas" (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History (translation by Christian Frederic Cursé)
- ^ "pope, n.1". OED Online. September 2011. Oxford University Press. 21 November 2011
The Pentarchy |
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Patriarch of Rome (1st century) |
Patriarch of Alexandria (1st century) |
Patriarch of Antioch (1st century) |
Patriarch of Jerusalem (5th century) |
Patriarch of Constantinople (4th century) |