vast majority of people living in our country, are Orthodox Christians.Many have heard, what are the Holy Orders: Bishop, Metropolitan bishop.However, few people know what they really mean, how come, and what responsibilities do all these people in the church hierarchy.Archbishop - who is this?What is this san?
origin of the word
Archbishop - bishop is ordained.The word of Greek origin, and consists of several words: άρχή - «major», επί - «on», σκοπος - «superintendent."If you put together and translated literally, it means "chief of the rangers."However, the word "bishop" comes from the whole word επίσκοπος means "overseer."Archbishop - the so-called "government" the extent of the bishop, the next san - Metropolitan directly.
Provenance term
When Emperor Constantine the Great was made an administrative reorganization of the Roman Empire, which was divided into four prefectures.Each of them was the so-called dioceses, which consisted in the turn of the provinces.Civil device fully coincide with the church.While the archbishop - is the main bishop ditseza, as it was called Exarch (Latin - Vicar).This was the rank in the hierarchy after the patriarch - the head of the prefecture, but higher than the Metropolitan.But the Eastern Empire in the early Byzantine period, which was originally in the Patriarchate of Constantinople, Archbishop of the word has acquired a second meaning.This word began referring to the bishops, whose region is located in the district metropolis, but were removed from the direct agency of the Metropolitan and transferred to the subordination of the patriarch.Archbishop began to occupy a place in the diptych is lower than the Metropolitan.In the end this was the difference between the actual rank of bishop, and is not associated with any specific authoritative powers than simply bishops.
The Russian Orthodox Church
In Orthodoxy, there are many prominent spiritual figures such as Archbishop Luke, who because of their faith became a victim of Stalin's repressions.Second primate of the Russian Orthodox Church - Metropolitan Leonty, who was part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, often also called the archbishop.Later, however, everything in Russia were called primates have metropolitans.In Russia, the archbishop - a title that was only honorary, and was in no way linked to any additional to the status of bishop's administrative duties and powers.Since the twelfth century, the word began to call the rulers of Novgorod.Then, according to the title named bishops and other departments: krutitskoy, Kazan, Rostov and others.Archbishop Luke also received the san for their exceptional service to the Church in difficult times.
In today's world
In our time, the archbishop - is the head of the Autocephalous Church.Along with the patriarchs, so the term referred to Constantinople primates (Archbishop of New Rome - Constantinople), Archbishop and Mtsehitsky Tbilisi (Georgian Church), Archbishop of Pec (Serbian Church) and Bucharest (Romanian Church).In the same way, and called primates autonomous Churches - Finland and the Sinai, as well as a semi-autonomous Church of Crete.In accordance with established in Russia tradition, the rank of archbishop is an honorary distinction, and is lower than the title of Metropolitan.In the same way is the situation in Jerusalem and the Georgian Church.The autonomous and autocephalous church can carry the title of archbishop as the next rank of Metropolitan, that is secondary.The Bulgarian Church of Alexandria and the dignity of non-existent.
