>Citation bot at 20:49, 1 July 2021

2021-07-01T20:49:47Z

New page

'''Catholicos''', plural '''Catholicoi''', is a title used for the head of certain [[Christian Church|church]]es in some [[Eastern Christianity|Eastern Christian]] traditions. The title implies [[autocephaly]] and in some cases it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from [[ancient Greek]] {{Lang|grc|καθολικός}}, pl. {{Lang|grc|καθολικοί}}, derived from {{Lang|grc|καθ' ὅλου}} ({{Lang|grc-Latn|kath'olou}}, "generally") from {{Lang|grc|κατά}} ({{Lang|grc-Latn|kata}}, "down") and {{Lang|grc|ὅλος}} ({{Lang|grc-Latn|holos}}, "whole"), meaning "concerning the whole, universal, general"; it originally designated a financial or civil office in the [[Roman Empire]].<ref name=Wigram91>Wigram, p. 91.</ref> The name of the [[Catholic Church]] comes from the same word—however, the title "Catholicos" does not exist in its hierarchy.

The [[Church of the East]], some [[Oriental Orthodox]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]], and [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Eastern Catholic]] churches historically use this title;<ref name=Motu>The Motu Proprio ''Cleri Sanctitati'' Canon 335</ref> for example the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]] and the [[Georgian Orthodox Church]]. In the Church of the East, the title was given to the church's head, the [[Patriarch of the Church of the East]]. It is still used in two successor churches, the Assyrian Church of the East and the Ancient Church of the East, the heads of which are known as '''Catholicos-Patriarchs'''. In the Armenian Church there are two catholicoi: the supreme catholicos of Ejmiadzin and the catholicos of Cilicia. The title Catholicos-Patriarch is also used by the primate of the Armenian Catholic Church.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/catholicos|title = Catholicos | Greek religious title}}</ref> In India, head of [[Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church]], an [[autocephalous]] Oriental Orthodox Church; and regional head of [[Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church]], an [[autonomous]] Church within [[Syriac Orthodox Church]], use this title. The first is known as [[Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan]] and the latter as [[Catholicos of India]] but unequally same according to the constitution of the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]] and the [[Jacobite Syrian Christian Church]].

== Origin of the title ==
The earliest ecclesiastical use of the title Catholicos was by the [[Catholicos of All Armenians|Bishop of Armenia]], head of the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]], in the 4th century<ref name=Wigram91/> while still under the Patriarchate of Antioch.<ref name=ce>{{Catholic|wstitle=Catholicos}}</ref> Among the Armenians, catholicos was originally a simple title for the principal bishop of the country; he was subordinate to the See of Caesarea in Cappadocia.<ref name=ce/>

Sometime later, it was adopted by the [[Bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon|bishops of Seleucia-Ctesiphon]] in [[Persia]], who became the designated heads of the [[Church of the East]]. The first claim that the bishop of [[Selucia-Ctesiphon]] was superior to the other bishoprics and had (using a later term) ''patriarchal'' rights was made by [[List of Patriarchs of the Church of the East|Patriarch]] [[Papa (bishop)|Papa bar Gaggai]] (or ''Aggai'', c. 317 – c. 329). In the 5th century this was claim strengthened and Isaac (or ''Ishaq'', 399 – c. 410), who organized the [[Council of Seleucia-Ctesiphon]], used the title of ''bishop of Selucia-Ctesiphon, Catholicos and Head over the bishops of all the Orient''.<ref>{{cite book|page=931|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y7IHmyKcPtYC&pg=PA931|access-date=2009-02-22|title=The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian periods|isbn=978-0-521-24693-4|year=1983|first1=Ehsan|last1=Yar-Shater|first2=W. B.|last2=Fisher}}</ref> This line of Catholicos founded the [[List of Patriarchs of the Church of the East|Church of the East]] and the development of the [[East Syriac Rite]].

At the beginning of the fourth century, Albania and Georgia (Iberia) were converted to Christianity, and the principal bishop of each of these countries bore the title of catholicos, although neither of them was autocephalous. They followed the Armenians in rejecting the Council of Chalcedon. At the end of the sixth, or beginning of the seventh, century the Georgian Catholicos asserted his independence and accepted Eastern Orthodoxy. Henceforward the Georgian Church underwent the same evolutions as the Greek. In 1783 Georgia was forced to abolish the office of its catholicos, and place itself under the Holy Synod of Russia, to which country it was united politically in 1801. The Albanian catholicos remained loyal to the Armenian Church, with the exception of a brief schism towards the end of the sixth century. Shortly afterwards Albania was assimilated partly with Armenia and partly with Georgia. There is no mention of any catholicos in Albania after the seventh century. It is asserted by some that the head of the Abyssinian Church, the Abuna, also bears the title of catholicos, but, although this name may have been applied to him by analogy, there is, to our knowledge, no authority for asserting that this title is used by the Abyssinian Church itself.<ref name=ce/>

==Catholicos in various Churches==

===Autocephalous churches of East ===
The following are [[Autocephaly|autocephalous]] churches of [[East Syriac Rite]] that claim succession to the Catholicos of the East of Selucia-Ctesiphon from the [[List of Patriarchs of the Church of the East|Church of the East]]. Referred to as ''[[Nestorianism|Nestorian]]'' in [[Western world|Western]] texts, the term Nestorian was formally renounced in 1976 by [[Mar Dinkha IV|Dinkha IV]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}}

====Assyrian Church of the East====
{{main|Assyrian Church of the East}}
{{As of|2015|September|27|df=us}}, [[Gewargis III]] is the Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East. One of the oldest [[Christianity|Christian]] churches, it is a modern successor of the historical [[Church of the East]]. It traces its origins to the See of Seleucia-Ctesiphon in central Mesopotamia, which tradition holds was founded by [[Saint Thomas the Apostle]] (Tooma Shlikha) as well as [[Saint Mari]] and [[Saint Addai]] in AD 33 as asserted in the [[Doctrine of Addai]].

It is one of the three Churches of the East that hold themselves distinct from [[Oriental Orthodoxy|Oriental]] and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodoxy]]. The Assyrian Church of the East does not use the word "orthodox" in any of its service books or official correspondence, nor does it use any word which can be translated as "correct faith" or "correct doctrine," the rough translation of "orthodox". The adjectives "holy," "catholic," and "apostolic" were officially added to the Assyrian Church of the East's title in conformance with the [[Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed]], which declares, "We believe in [[Four Marks of the Church|one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church]]." In this context, "holy" refers to being set apart for a purely sacred purpose; "apostolic" means founded by one of Jesus's own apostles; and "catholic" is the Greek word for "universal," indicating a worldwide church. In India, it is more often called the [[Chaldean Syrian Church]]. In the West it is often called the [[Nestorian Church]], due to its historical associations with [[Nestorianism]], though the church itself considers the term pejorative and argues that this association is incorrect. The church declares that no other church has suffered as many martyrdoms as the Assyrian Church of the East.{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}}

The founders of Assyrian theology were [[Diodorus of Tarsus]] and [[Theodore of Mopsuestia]], who taught at Antioch. The normative Christology of the Assyrian church was written by [[Babai the Great]] (551–628) and is clearly distinct from the accusations directed toward [[Nestorius]]: his main Christological work is called the 'Book of the Union', and in it Babai teaches that the two {{transl|syc|qnome}} (essences, or hypostases) are unmingled but everlastingly united in the one {{transl|syc|parsopa}} (personality) of Christ.{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}}

====Ancient Church of the East====
{{As of|1972|February|20|df=us}}, [[Mar Addai II|Addai II]] is the Catholicos of the [[Ancient Church of the East]], which split from the [[Assyrian Church of the East]] in the 1960s.

===Eastern Orthodox Church===
====Georgian Orthodox Church====
The title of catholicos is also used in the Georgian Church, whose head carries the title [[Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia]].
* Catholicos of [[Georgian Orthodox Church]]
** [[Ilia II]] is the current (as of 22 February 2012) Catholicos of the Georgian Orthodox Church.

=== Oriental Orthodox Churches ===
{{Oriental Orthodox sidebar|expanded=other}}
==== Armenian Apostolic Church ====
In the [[Armenian Church]] there are two catholicoi: the supreme catholicos of Ejmiadzin and the catholicos of Cilicia. The Catholicos of [[Etchmiadzin]] presides over the Supreme Spiritual Council of the Armenian Apostolic Church and is the head of the world's 7 million Armenian Orthodox Christians. The primacy of honour of the Catholicossate of Etchmiadzin has always been recognized by the Catholicossate of Cilicia.
* Catholicos of Etchmiadzin (''Chief Shepherd and Pontiff to all Armenians dispersed throughout the world'')<ref>[http://66.208.37.78/index.jsp?sid=1&id=2342&pid=5 Official Website of the Armenian Church] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705194048/http://66.208.37.78/index.jsp?sid=1&id=2342&pid=5 |date=July 5, 2011 }}</ref> of the Armenian Apostolic Church
** [[Karekin II]] is the current Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

* [[Catholicossate of the Great House of Cilicia]], residing in [[Antelias]], [[Lebanon]]
**[[Aram I]] is the present Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia.

====Syriac Orthodox Church====
In the seventh century, the [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac Orthodox Christians]] who lived in Persia began using the title for its [[Maphrian|Catholicos / Maphrian]], who was originally the head of the Syriac Orthodox Christian community in Persia. This office ranked second in the Syriac Orthodox church hierarchy after the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, until it was abolished in 1860 and reinstated in the [[India]] of the East on 1964.

Today, the title is known as [[Maphrian|Catholicos / Maphrian]] of India or [[Catholicos of India]] of the [[Jacobite Syrian Christian Church]] headquartered at Puthencruz near Kochi in Kerala is an integral branch of Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch headed by [[Ignatius Aphrem II]] Patriarch of Antioch. The current Catholicos of the church is [[Baselios Thomas I]].

====Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church====
According to the [http://mosc.in/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/MOSC-Constitution.pdf constitution] of the [[Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church]] (Indian Orthodox Church) the head or primate bears the title [[Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan|Catholicos of the East]] and [[Malankara Metropolitan]]. The church is based at Devalokam near Kottayam in Kerala. As of 2010, the current head is [[Paulose II (Indian Orthodox Church)|Paulose II]]. He is currently the 8th Catholicos of the East since it was relocated to India and 91st Primate on the Apostolic throne of Saint Thomas.<ref>{{Cite web|title=H.H. Baselios Marthoma Paulose II, The Eighth Catholicos of the East in Malankara (2010–present) {{!}}|url=http://mosc.in/catholicate/h-h-baselios-marthoma-paulose-ii|access-date=2020-08-31|website=mosc.in}}</ref>

====Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church====
In 1959, the [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria]] granted autocephaly to the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]]. [[Abuna Basilios]] was consecrated the first Patriarch Catholicos of the Ethiopian Church by the Coptic [[Pope Cyril VI]] at St. Mark's Cathedral in Cairo on 28 June 1959. The title is "Patriarch and Catholicos of Ethiopia, Ichege of the See of St. Tekle Haymanot, Archbishop of Axum".

===Catholic Church===
Some [[Eastern Catholic Churches]] use the title "Catholicos."

==== Armenian Catholic Church ====
The leader of the [[Armenian Catholic Church]] (of [[Armenian Rite]]), in [[full communion]] with the [[Pope]], uses the title "Catholicos".<ref>[http://www.armeniancatholic.org/archives/inside678a.html?lang=en&page_id=21 Armenian Catholic Church: Catholicos Patriarch]</ref>

{{As of|2015|August|9|df=us}}, [[Krikor Bedros XX Gabroyan]] is the Catholicos-Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church. His full title is officially "''[[List of Armenian Catholic Patriarchs of CiliciHa|Catholicos-Patriarch of the House of Cilicia]]''".<ref name="Bari">[https://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=37646 List of patriarchs, other Christian leaders who gathered with Pope Francis in Bari]</ref>

==== Chaldean Catholic Church ====
The [[Chaldean Catholic Church]] (of [[East Syriac Rite]]) is in full communion with the Pope. Although derived from the historical [[Church of the East]], whose leader was initially styled Major Metropolitan and Catholicos and later Patriarch (see [[Church of the East#Organisation and structure]]), it seems to use only the title of "Patriarch".<ref name="Bari"/>

{{As of|2013|February|1|df=us}}, [[Louis Raphaël I Sako]] is the [[Patriarch of Babylon]] of the Chaldeans.<ref>[https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_sako_l.html The College of Cardinals: Biographical Notes]</ref>

==== Syro-Malankara Catholic Church ====
The [[Syro-Malankara Catholic Church]] of [[West Syriac Rite]] in full communion with the Pope is a [[major archiepiscopal church]], a rank given to that [[Eastern Catholic Church]] by [[Pope John Paul II]] on 10 February 2005.<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/40547152/THE_CATHOLIC_CHURCH_IN_INDIA_fourth_edition_ Paul Pallath, ''The Catholic Church in India'' (HIRS Publications, fourth edition, 2019, isbn 978-81-87576-94-5), p. 316]</ref> Accordingly it is headed by a [[major archbishop]], who, since 2007, is [[Baselios Cleemis]].<ref name="Press">[https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_thottunkal_bc.html of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church]</ref><ref>[http://kcbcsite.com/vwmalankara.php Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council: Syro-Malankara Church]</ref>

He is referred to as Major Archbishop-Catholicos of the Syro Malankara Catholic Church.<ref name="EC">{{cite book|author1=George Thomas Kurian|author2=Mark A. Lamport|title=Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=73xfDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA2245|date=10 November 2016|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=978-1-4422-4432-0|page=2245}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Winfried Aymans|title=Eleven Cardinals Speak: Essays from a Pastoral Viewpoint|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rA3kCwAAQBAJ&pg=PR5|year=2015|publisher=Ignatius Press|isbn=978-1-62164-087-5|page=v}}</ref> In this context, the use of the title "Catholicos" indicates parity between him and his peers in the autocephalous [[Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church]] and in the [[Jacobite Syrian Christian Church]], which remains part of the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]].<ref name= "EC"/>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Sources==
* {{Cite book |last1=Baum|first1=Wilhelm|author-link1=Wilhelm Baum|last2=Winkler|first2=Dietmar W.|title=The Church of the East: A Concise History|year=2003|location=London-New York|publisher=Routledge-Curzon |isbn=9781134430192|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CnSCAgAAQBAJ }}
* {{Cite book|last=Chabot|first=Jean-Baptiste|author-link=Jean-Baptiste Chabot|title=Synodicon orientale ou recueil de synodes nestoriens|year=1902|location=Paris|publisher=Imprimerie Nationale|url=https://archive.org/download/ChabotSynodiconOrientale/chabot%20synodicon%20orientale.pdf}}
* {{Cite book|last=Meyendorff|first=John|author-link=John Meyendorff|year=1989|title=Imperial unity and Christian divisions: The Church 450-680 A.D.|series=The Church in history|volume=2|location=Crestwood, NY|publisher=St. Vladimir's Seminary Press|isbn=9780881410563|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6J_YAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Wigram|first=William Ainger|author-link=William Ainger Wigram|title=An Introduction to the History of the Assyrian Church or The Church of the Sassanid Persian Empire 100-640 A.D.|year=1910|location=London|publisher=Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge|isbn=9780837080789|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zUYKAQAAMAAJ}}

[[Category:Ecclesiastical titles]]
[[Category:Eastern Christian ecclesiastical offices]]
[[Category:Bishops by type]]
[[Category:Syro-Malankara Catholic Church]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]

Catholicos - Revision history

>Citation bot at 20:49, 1 July 2021