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PATRIARCHS


553


PATRICIAN


is here a difference between Catholics and the others. All Catholics, including patriarchs, obey the supreme (papal) authority of the Roman pontiff; further we must except from our consideration the merely titular patriarchs who have no authority at all. In the case of the Eastern Churches the general principle is that a patriarch is subject to no living authority save that of a possible general council. But here again we must e.xcept the Armenians. Their catholicus had for many centuries authority over all his Church very like that of the pope. It is diminished now; but still one can hardly say that the other patriarchs are quite inde- pendent of him. He alone may summon national synods. The lArmenian) Patriarch of Constantinople has now usurped most of his rights in the Turkish Em- pire. One of these two ordains all bishops. The Patri- arch of Sis may not even consecrate chrism, but is sup- pUed from Etchmiadzin. A somewhat similar case is that of the Orthodox. Since the Turkish conquest the (Ecumenical Patriarch has been the civil head of all the Orthodox in the Turkish Empire. He has contin- ually tried and still to a great extent tries to turn his civil headship into supreme ecclesiastical authority, to be in short an Orthodox pope. His attempts are always indignantly rejected by the other patriarchs and the national Churches, but not always success- fully. Meanwhile he has kept at least one sign of au- thority. He alone consecrates chrism for all Orthodox bishops, except for those of Russia and Rumania.

In the East the general principle is that the patri- arch ordains all bishops in his own territory. This is a very old sign of authority in those countries. He is elected by his metropolitans or (permanent) synod, ordained, as a rule, by his own suffragans, makes laws, and has certain rights of confirming or deposing his bishops, generally in conjunction with his synod, and may summon patriarchal (temporary) synods. The question of the deposition of patriarchs among the non-Catholics is difficult. Among the Orthodox they have been and are constantly deposed by their metro- politans or synod. They nearly always refuse to acknowledge their deposition and a struggle follows in which Constantinople always tries to interfere. Eventually the Turk settles it, generally in favour of deposition, since he gets a large bribe for the new patri- arch's berat. The special rights and duties of the patriarchs of the various Eastern Churches are given in Silbernagl (infra).

In the Catholic Church since Eugene IV (1431- 47) cardinals have precedence over patriarchs. Uniat patriarchs are elected by a synod of all the bishops of the patriarchate and confirmed by the Holy See. They must send a profession of Faith to the pope and receive the pallium from him. Their rights are summed up by a Constitution of Benedict XIV ("ApostoUca", 14 Feb., 1742), namely: to summon and preside at patriarchal synods (whose acts must be confirmed at Rome), to ordain all bishops of their territory and consecrate chrism, to send the omopho- rion to their metropolitans, receive appeals made against the judgments of these, and receive tithes of all episcopal income; in synod they may depose their . bishops. They bear their patriarchal cross not only throughout their own territory, but, by a special con- cession, everywhere except at Rome. All have a per- manent representative at Rome. They must visit all their dioceses every third year and may not resign without the pope's consent. The Bull "Reversurus" of Pius IX (1867) made further laws first for the Ar- menian patriarch; then with modifications it has been extended to other I'niats. The precedence among patriarchs is determined by the rank of their see, ac- cording to the old order of the five patriarchates, followed by Cilicia, then Babylon. Between several titulars of the same see but of different rites the order is that of the date of their preconization.

The titular Latin patriarchs have only certain cere-


monial prerogatives. The Roman patriarchia are five basilicas, one the pope's own cathedral, the others churches at which the other patriarchs officiated if they came to Rome, near which they dwelt. The papal palriarchium was originally the " Domus Pudcn- tiana"; since the early Middle Ages it is the Basihca of Saint Saviour at the Lateran (St. John Lateran). The others are, or were, St. Peter for Constantinople, St. Paul Without the Walls for Alexandria, St. Mary Major for Antioch, St. Lawrence for Jerusalem. These are now only titles and memories.

LeQuien, Oriens christiajius (Paris, 1740); Bingham, Onflines ecclesiasticcB, I (London, 1708-22), 232 sq.; Lubeck, Reichsein- teilung u. kirchliche Hierarchie des Orients bis zum Ausgang des vierten Jahrhunderts (Mijnster, 1900); Hinschics, System des katholischen KiTchenrechts, I (1869); Kattenbusch, Lehrbueh der vergleichenden Konfessionskunde, I (Freiburg, 1892); Silber- N.\GL, Ver/assung und gegenwHrtiger Bestand sdmtticher Kirchen des Orients (Ratisbon, 1904); FORTESCUE, The Orthodox Eastern Church (London, 1907), i.

Adrian Fortescue.

Patriarchs, Testaments op the Twelve. See Apocrypha, sub-title II.

Patrician Brothers (or Brother.s of Satnt Patrick). — This Brotherhood was founded by the Right Rev. Dr. Daniel Delancy, Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, at TuUow, in the County of Carlow, Ire- land, on the feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in ISOS, for the religious and literary education of youth and the instruction of the faithful in Christian piety. Catholic Ireland was at this period just emerging from the troubled times of the penal laws. These laws made it treasonable for a Catholic parent to procure for his child a religious and secular education in consonance with his belief, and consequently not only were the young deprived of the means of instruction, but adults also were in a state of enforced ignorance of Christian doctrine and its practices. Bishop Delancy set about the good work of founding the Religious Congregation of the Broth- ers of Saint Patrick in his diocese, for the purpose of affording his people that education of which they had been so long deprived. He chose from among the cate- chetical instructors of the Sunday schools seven young men who formed the nucleus of the new order, and under the personal instruction of the bishop, and direction of his successor, the illustrious Dr. Doyle, the congregation was established as a diocesan institu- tion. In succeeding years filiations were established in other dioceses of Ireland, and the Brothers were invited by several Australian and Indian bishops to these distant countries. Several foundations were made, among them those of Sydney, to which arch- diocese the Brothers were invited by Cardinal Moran; and that of Madras in India, undertaken at the re- quest of the late prelate of that diocese. Bishop Stephen Fennelly.

In 1885 the Brothers made application to the Holy See for the approval of the congregation, for constitut- ing a central government and for establishing a common novitiate. The request was granted. After taking the opinions of the bishops in whose dioceses the Brothers were labouring, Pope Leo XIII provisionally approved the congregation for five years by a Rescript dated 6 January, 1888, and on 8 September, 189.3, issued a decree of final confirmation, highly commend- ing the good work hitherto accomplished by the Brothers, approving of their rules and constitutions, granting them all the facilities and powers necessary for carrying on the duties of their congregation, con- stituting India and .Australia separate provinces, and imparting to the institute the Apostolic Benediction. The houses of the order, which had hitherto been inde- pendent and separate communities, were united under a superior general whe with four assistants governs the congregation.

A general chapter of the Patrician communities aa- eemblea every six years. As a result of the confirma-