www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Why does the Latin Patriach of Jerusalem exit?

What is the reason the Roman Catholic Church has a "territorial" Latin Patriach seated in Jerusalem?

Ung

I think much has to do with the Status Quo. No one is willing to change anything, just in cause they end up losing in the end.

Why the need? I thought a Particular Ritual Church only has one Patriarch? So this is only a "Patriarchate" in a territorial sense.

Ung

Ung...

The questions you raise make me often wonder why you are with the BCC and not the Orthodox Church???

Job

I just watched a television program about Christmas in Bethlehem.
They always show the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. It always seems odd having such a Latin prelate by that name.

Ung

The Bishop of Jerusalem is given honour because of Jerusalem's prominence, not because there is any real need. But there is nothing stating that a sui iurus Church can only have one Patriarch, it was quite common in the Latin Church for there to be multiple honourary Patriarchs: Goa, Lisbon, West Indies, etc.

The Orthodox are no exception. The Greek Patriarchates of Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria are all subordinate to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in honour.

The key word is "honourary".

Ung

What do you see as the difference between the honourary Patriarchates elsewhere and the Patriarchate in Jerusalem?

No, I don't think there needs to be duplicate Patriarchs, East or West.

Ung

Michael,

I don't think it's because no one wants to change anything and because it's the status quo; after all, there was, prior to Vatican II I believe, the Latin Patriarch of Constantinople and possibly of Alexandria and Antioch as well.

There is also the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria in addition to the Coptic Patriarch.

There are numerous Latin Patriarchs: Lisbon, Venice, Jerusalem, and formerly Rome, but the Holy Father has since expunged that title.

It is not a "duplicate" patriarch if you're talking about Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs; we are two different Churches and communions and therefore have different patriarchs for the same city, just as the Greeks and the Copts do in Alexandria.

Alexis

Dear Friends,

And the Armenians, too, have more than one patriarchate, all of which are subordinate to the Catholicos of Etchmiadzin.

Alex

So the additional Patriarch is a representative of the Primary Patriarch on that territory for that Particular Ritual Church?

Ung

If you ask them, they will smile inscrutably and assert that the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem exists to look after the Latin pilgrims. They will carefully refrain from mentioning that the majority of their faithful are either proselytes from one or another of the Eastern Churches, or the direct descendants of such proselytes. Remember that the next time that someone asks you to give money "for the missions".

Fr. Serge

Bless, Father Archimandrite!

You mean that the RC's don't consider Orthodox to be Christians? They need to go and proselytize from among them?

What don't the RC's concentrate on North America first? As someone once said, the two largest religious groups here are: Catholics and former Catholics.

Alex