An exarch (; from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'') was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

and early

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

, an ''exarch'' was a governor of a particular territory. From the end of the 3rd century or early 4th, every

Roman diocese In the Late Roman Empire, usually dated 284 AD to 641 AD, the regional governance district known as the Roman or civil diocese was made up of a grouping of provinces each headed by a '' Vicarius'', who were the representatives of prae ...

was governed by a

vicarius ''Vicarius'' is a Latin word, meaning ''substitute'' or ''deputy''. It is the root of the English word "vicar". History Originally, in ancient Rome, this office was equivalent to the later English " vice-" (as in " deputy"), used as part of th ...

, who was titled "exarch" in eastern parts of the Empire, where the Greek language and the use of Greek terminology dominated, even though Latin was the language of the imperial administration from the provincial level up until the 440s (Greek translations were sent out with the official Latin text). In Greek texts, the Latin title is spelled βικάριος (). The office of exarch as a governor with extended political and military authority was later created in the

, with jurisdiction over a particular territory, usually a frontier region at some distance from the capital

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. In the Eastern Christian Churches (

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

Oriental Orthodox The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysitism, Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 50 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches adhere to the Nicene Christian ...

and

Eastern Catholic The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

), the term ''exarch'' has three distinct uses: a metropolitan who holds the office of exarch is the deputy of a

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...

and holds authority over bishops of the designated ecclesiastical region (thus, a position between that of patriarch and regular metropolitan); or an auxiliary or titular bishop appointed to be exarch over a group of the faithful not yet large enough or organized enough to be constituted an eparchy or diocese (thus the equivalent of a

vicar apostolic A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

); or a priest or deacon who is appointed by a bishop as his executive representative in various fields of diocesan administration (in the Byzantine Empire, executive exarchs were usually collecting diocesan revenues for local bishops).

Political exarchs

In the civil administration of the Byzantine Empire the exarch was, as stated above, the imperial governor of a large and important region of the Empire. The Exarchates were a response to weakening imperial authority in the provinces and were part of the overall process of unification of civil and military offices, initiated in early form by

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

, which would lead eventually to the creation of the Thematic system by either the Emperor

Heraclius Heraclius (; 11 February 641) was Byzantine emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exarch of Africa, led a revolt against the unpopular emperor Phocas. Heraclius's reign was ...

Constans II Constans II (; 7 November 630 – 15 July 668), also called "the Bearded" (), was the Byzantine emperor from 641 to 668. Constans was the last attested emperor to serve as Roman consul, consul, in 642, although the office continued to exist unti ...

. After the dissolution of the Western Empire in the late fifth century, the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

remained stable through the beginning of the Middle Ages and retained the ability for future expansion.

reconquered North Africa, Italy, Dalmatia and finally parts of Spain for the Eastern Roman Empire. However, this put an incredible strain on the Empire's limited resources. Subsequent emperors would not surrender the re-conquered land to remedy the situation. Thus the stage was set for Emperor Maurice to establish the Exarchates to deal with the constantly evolving situation of the provinces. In Italy the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

were the main opposition to

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

power. In North Africa the

Amazigh Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connections are identified by their u ...

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

princes were ascendant due to Roman weakness outside the coastal cities. The problems associated with many enemies on various fronts (the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...

in Spain, the

Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...

and Avars in the Balkans, the

Sassanid The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

Persians in the Middle East, and the Amazigh in North Africa) forced the imperial government to decentralize and devolve power to the former provinces. The term Exarch most commonly refers to the Exarch of Italy, who governed the area of Italy and Dalmatia, still remaining under Byzantine control after the Lombard invasion of 568. The exarchate's seat was at

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

, whence it is known as the "

Exarchate of Ravenna The Exarchate of Ravenna (; ), also known as the Exarchate of Italy, was an administrative district of the Byzantine Empire comprising, between the 6th and 8th centuries, the territories under the jurisdiction of the exarch of Italy (''exarchus ...

". Ravenna remained the seat of the Exarch until the revolt of 727 over

Iconoclasm Iconoclasm ()From . ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a back-formation from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''. is the social belie ...

. Thereafter, the growing menace of the

and the split between eastern and western

Christendom The terms Christendom or Christian world commonly refer to the global Christian community, Christian states, Christian-majority countries or countries in which Christianity is dominant or prevails.SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christen ...

that Iconoclasm caused made the position of the Exarch more and more untenable. The last Exarch was killed by the Lombards in 751. A second exarchate was created by Maurice to administer northern Africa, formerly a separate

praetorian prefecture The praetorian prefecture (; in Ancient Greek, Greek variously named ) was the largest administrative division of the Late Antiquity, late Roman Empire, above the mid-level Roman diocese, dioceses and the low-level Roman province, provinces. Praeto ...

, the islands of the western Mediterranean and the Byzantine possessions in Spain. The capital of the

Exarchate of Africa The Exarchate of Africa was a division of the Byzantine Empire around Carthage that encompassed its possessions on the Western Mediterranean. Ruled by an exarch (viceroy), it was established by the Emperor Maurice in 591 and survived until t ...

was

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

. An emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire,

, was the son of the exarch of Africa before Heraclius replaced the usurper emperor

Phocas Phocas (; ; 5475 October 610) was Eastern Roman emperor from 602 to 610. Initially a middle-ranking officer in the East Roman army, Roman army, Phocas rose to prominence as a spokesman for dissatisfied soldiers in their disputes with the cour ...

in 610. Phocas had revolted under emperor Maurice who had appointed Heraclius' father as exarch of Africa. The exarchate proved both financially and militarily strong, and survived until the Arab Muslim conquest of Carthage in 698.

Ecclesiastical exarchs

Early tradition

The term 'exarch' entered ecclesiastical language at first for a metropolitan (an archbishop) with jurisdiction not only for the area that was his as a metropolitan, but also over other metropolitans within local political

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

s. Since imperial

(governor of a political diocese) was often called "exarch" in eastern, Greek-speaking parts of the Empire, it became customary for the metropolitans of the diocesan capitals (

Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...

in the Diocese of Asia, Heraclea in the

Diocese of Thrace The Diocese of Thrace (, ) was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, incorporating the provinces of the eastern Balkan Peninsula (comprising territories in modern south-eastern Romania, central and eastern Bulgaria, and Greek and Turkish Thrace) ...

and

Caesarea Caesarea, a city name derived from the Roman title " Caesar", was the name of numerous cities and locations in the Roman Empire: Places In the Levant * Caesarea Maritima, also known as "Caesarea Palaestinae", an ancient Roman city near the modern ...

in the

Diocese of Pontus The Diocese of Pontus (, ) was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, incorporating the provinces of northern and northeastern Asia Minor up to the border with the Sassanid Empire in Armenia. The diocese was established after the reforms of Diocle ...

) also to use the title "exarch" in order to emphasize their precedence and primatial status over other metropolitans within local political dioceses. The

Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; ) was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bithynia (modern-day Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey) from 8 Oct ...

(451), which gave special authority to the see of Constantinople as being "the residence of the emperor and the Senate", in its canons spoke of diocesan "exarchs", placing all metropolitans in dioceses of Asia, Thrace and Pontus (including metropolitans-exarchs of Ephesus, Heraclea and Caesarea) under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Constantinople. Metropolitans-exarchs of Ephesus tried to resist the supreme jurisdiction of Constantinople, but eventually failed since imperial government supported the creation of a centralized Patriarchate. When the proposed government of universal Christendom by five patriarchal sees (Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, known as the

pentarchy Pentarchy (, ) was a model of Church organization formulated in the laws of Emperor Justinian I () of the Roman Empire. In this model, the Christian Church is governed by the heads (patriarchs) of the five major episcopal sees of the Roman Em ...

), under the auspices of a single universal empire, was formulated in the legislation of Emperor Justinian I (527–565), especially in his Novella 131 (De regulis ecclesiasticis etc., caput III), and received formal ecclesiastical sanction at the Council in Trullo (692), the name "patriarch" became the official one for the heads of major autocephalous churches, and the title of "exarch" was further demoted by naming all metropolitans as "patriarchal exarchs" in their ecclesiastical provinces. The advance of Constantinople put an end to privileges of three older, original exarchates, which fell back to the state of ordinary metropolitan sees. Local ecclesiastical development in some regions also included the title of exarch. Since the Church of Cyprus was declared

autocephalous Autocephaly (; ) is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. The status has been compared with t ...

(431), its Primate received the title of Exarch of Cyprus. On a similar principle the Archbishop of Mount Sinai and Raithu is an exarch, though in this case, as in that of Cyprus, modern Eastern Orthodox usage generally prefers the title "Archbishop".

Eastern Orthodox Churches

In modern ecclesiastical practice of the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

, the title of exarch was often used to designate the highest hierarchical office under the rank of patriarch. When Russian Patriarch Adrian of Moscow died in 1700, Emperor

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

abolished the patriarchal office and appointed Metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky as exarch and head of the

Most Holy Synod The Most Holy Governing Synod (, pre-reform orthography: ) was the highest governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church between 1721 and 1917. It was abolished following the February Revolution of 1917 and replaced with a restored patriar ...

of the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

. After Imperial Russia annexed Georgia (the eastern part in 1801, and the western part in 1810), the ancient

Georgian Orthodox Church The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonl ...

(autocephalous since 750, whose head was since 1008 styled Catholicos-Patriarchs) was reorganized into the ''Georgian Exarchate,'' and the newly appointed ''Exarch of Georgia'' (since 1817 always an ethnic Russian) sat in the Russian Holy Synod at St. Petersburg. Since the entire region of the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

fell under Russian rule, the jurisdiction of the Georgian Exarchate was expanded, encompassing the territories of modern-day

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. On 7 April 1917, the Georgian Patriarchate was restored for the Archbishops of Mtsheta and Tbilisi, with the style Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, and the title ''Exarch of Georgia'' was extinguished, but only for the Georgian part of the Exarchate. The Russian Orthodox Church and its exarch Platon (Rozhdestvensky) kept their jurisdiction over non-Georgian parts of the Caucasian region, and for those territories the ''Caucasian Exarchate'' of the Russian Orthodox Church was created in the summer of 1917, with metropolitan Platon as Exarch of the Caucasus. In the spring of 1918, he was succeeded by metropolitan Cyril (Smirnov) as new Exarch of the Caucasus, but after his transfer to another post in the spring of 1920 no new exarch was appointed. On 28 February 1870 the twenty-year-old struggle between Greeks and Bulgarians for control of the Orthodox Church in Bulgaria culminated when the Ottoman Sultan

Abdulaziz Abdulaziz (; ; 8 February 18304 June 1876) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 25 June 1861 to 30 May 1876, when he was overthrown in a government coup. He was a son of Sultan Mahmud II and succeeded his brother Abdulmejid I in 1861. Ab ...

created an independent Bulgarian ecclesiastical organization, known as the

Bulgarian Exarchate The Bulgarian Exarchate (; ) was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was restored in 1953. The Exarchate (a de facto autocephaly) ...

. The Orthodox Church in

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

had now become independent of the Greek-dominated

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is heade ...

. The Bulgarian Exarch, who resided in Constantinople, became the most famous bearer of the title of exarch; his adherents throughout region were called ''exarchists'', as opposed to the Greek ''patriarchists''. The ensuing struggle, waged especially in

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

, was not only religious but had a conspicuous political dimension of a contention between competing Greek and Bulgarian national aims. For more information see

and

Bulgarian Orthodox Church The Bulgarian Orthodox Church (), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria (), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox jurisdiction based in Bulgaria. It is the first medieval recognised patriarchate outside the Pentarchy and t ...

. In 1921, eparchies of the Russian Orthodox Church in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

were reorganized as the Ukrainian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, headed by the patriarchal exarch with his seat in Kiev (Kyiv). The Ukrainian Exarchate existed until 1990 when it was granted a higher degree of ecclesiastical autonomy within the Moscow Patriarchate. In 1989, an autonomous Belarusian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church was formed, with jurisdiction over eparchies in

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. During the 20th century, the pentarchy-number principle, already abandoned in the case of

(10th century),

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

(14th century) and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

(16th century), gave way to the desire of the now politically independent Orthodox nations to see their sovereignty reflected in ecclesiastical autonomy – autocephaly – and the symbolic title to crown it: a 'national' Patriarch. For example,

was raised to the rank of Patriarchate in 1953. In the

, the office of exarch can be also given to a special deputy of a

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...

, with jurisdiction over a community outside the home territory of the Patriarchate. Thus, in the United States there are Exarchs representing, among others, the Serbian, Romanian, Bulgarian and Jerusalem Patriarchs. The style of the Exarchs of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem is "Exarch of the Holy Sepulcher". The Mexican Orthodox parishes in five deaneries (Mexico City, D.F., State of Mexico, State of Jalisco, State of Veracruz and State of Chiapas) of the

Orthodox Church in America The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian church based in North America. The OCA consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, communities, monasteries and institutions in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In ...

are governed as the "Exarchate of Mexico", currently under the leadership of Bishop Alejo of Mexico City. The third officer of the court of the

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the List of ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople, archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox ...

, who examines marriage cases (analogous to the Catholic

defensor matrimonii A defender of the bond ( or ''defensor matrimonii'') is a Catholic Church official whose duty is to defend the marriage bond in the procedure prescribed for the hearing of matrimonial causes which involve the validity or nullity of a marriage a ...

), is called the Exarch.

Oriental Orthodox Churches

The

Patriarch of Antioch currently has under his authority an Exarch in India, known by the ancient title

Maphrian The Maphrian ( or ''maphryono''), is the second-highest rank in the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Syriac Orthodox Church, right below that of patriarch. The office of a maphrian is a maphrianate. There have been three maphrianates in the hist ...

, although he is popularly referred to as

Catholicos A catholicos (plural: catholicoi) is the head of certain churches in some 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 ( ...

. This is not to be confused with the autocephalous Catholicate of the East, which is also located in India.

Latin Church

Historically, there have been a very few cases of the civil title of Exarch granted by the civil authority to prelates of the

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

, as when

Emperor Frederick I Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aa ...

named the

Archbishop of Lyon The Archdiocese of Lyon (; ), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archbishops of Lyon are also called Primate o ...

as Exarch of

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

in 1157. However, the ecclesiastical title of Exarch has disappeared in the Western Catholic Church, being replaced by the terms "

Primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

" (ranking above metropolitan archbishop) and "

Apostolic Vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

" (ranking below suffragan bishop).

Modern Eastern Catholic Churches

Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

(of Eastern tradition but in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

), the ecclesiastical title of Exarch is in common use, just as with its Orthodox counterparts. These Churches are, in general, not identified with a particular liturgical rite. Thus, no fewer than fourteen of them use the same

Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, is a liturgical rite that is identified with the wide range of cultural, devotional, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Chri ...

, mostly in one or other of only two languages, Greek and

Church Slavonic Church Slavonic is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. The ...

, but they maintain their distinct identities. Because of population shifts, half or so of these Churches have not just exarchates but full-scale

eparchies Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administrative structure ...

(bishoprics) or even archeparchies (archdioceses) outside their original territory.

Apostolic exarchs

Apostolic exarch is usually a consecrated bishop of a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

to whom the Pope, as Bishop of the Roman See of the Apostle

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, has entrusted the pastoral care of the faithful of an autonomous Eastern Catholic

particular Church In metaphysics, particulars or individuals are usually contrasted with ''universals''. Universals concern features that can be exemplified by various different particulars. Particulars are often seen as concrete, spatiotemporal entities as opposed ...

''sui iuris'' in an area, not raised to the rank of eparchy (diocese), that is situated outside the home territory of an Eastern Catholic Church. The office of ''apostolic exarch'' thus corresponds to what in the

is called an

apostolic vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

. Apostolic exarchates are generally exempt (immediately subject to the Holy See), with limited oversight by the

major archbishop In the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop (sometimes also styled as major archeparch) is a title for the chief hierarch ("Father and Head") of an autonomous ('' sui juris'') particular Church that has not been "endowed with the patriarc ...

or metropolitan in chief of the particular Eastern Church. If there is no metropolitan in a particular Eastern Catholic church, apostolic exarchates in their territories are directly subjected to Rome. For example, the Byzantine Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Serbia belongs to the Byzantine Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia, but since there is no metropolitan in that church, the Apostolic Exarch of Serbia is directly subjected to the Holy See.

Patriarchal exarchs

A patriarchal exarch is appointed in those Eastern Catholic churches whose head is styled as patriarch. This office is often (not always) given to a consecrated bishop of a titular see. Their appointments are limited to the traditional territory of their church, with main task of governing the region not yet raised to the rank of eparchy (diocese). They may be suffragan to an archdiocese or archeparchy of the Eastern Catholic Church, or be immediately subject to the Patriarch.

Archiepiscopal exarchs

Archiepiscopal exarch is appointed in those Eastern Catholic churches whose head is styled as

Major Archbishop In the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop (sometimes also styled as major archeparch) is a title for the chief hierarch ("Father and Head") of an autonomous ('' sui juris'') particular Church that has not been "endowed with the patriarc ...

. The office of ''archiepiscopal exarch'' is also usually given to a consecrated bishop of a titular see. Appointment of archiepiscopal exarchs is limited to the traditional territory of their particular church. They also may be suffragans to an archdiocese or archeparchy of their Eastern Catholic Church, or be immediately subject to the Major Archbishop.

Coadjutor exarchs

In particular cases, usually because of illness or some other problem, an exarch of any rank can be assisted by the appointment of a colleague who is called '' coadjutor exarch''. The position of coadjutor exarch towards his superior exarch is similar to the position of Latin

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

towards his superior diocesan bishop. Coadjutor exarchs are appointed with rights of succession. For example, in 1993 titular Bishop

Christo Proykov Christo Proykov () (born 11 March 1946 in Sofia) is the Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church, Bulgarian Greek Catholic Bishop of Sofia. He was ordained a priest on 23 May 1971, then appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Sofia and Titular Bishop of Briula on ...

of Briula was appointed Coadjutor to Apostolic Exarch of Sofia, Methodius Stratiev, and when the latter died in 1995 the coadjutor exarch succeeded him as the new Apostolic Exarch.

Auxiliary exarchs

In practice, exarch of any rank can be additionally assisted by an auxiliary exarch, who is appointed in order to help the exarch in administration of his exarchate. Position of auxiliary exarch towards his superior exarch is similar to position of Latin

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

towards his superior diocesan bishop. Auxiliary exarchs are appointed without the rights of succession.

List of Eastern Catholic exarchates

The following Eastern Catholic exarchates can be found in the 2006 ''

Annuario Pontificio The ''Annuario Pontificio'' ( Italian for ''Pontifical Yearbook'') is the annual directory of the Holy See of the Catholic Church. It lists the popes in chronological order and all officials of the Holy See's departments. It also provides nam ...

'' and newer sources. The Apostolic Exarchates are exempt, i.e. immediately subject to the Holy See, rather than to their Patriarch or other head of the particular Church

* Greek Byzantine Catholic Church: ** Greek Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Greece in Athens ** Greek Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Istanbul (alias Constantinople; Turkey) * Melkite (Greek) Catholic Church: ** Melkite Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Argentina ** Melkite Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Venezuela *

Russian Greek Catholic Church The Russian Greek Catholic Church or Russian Byzantine Catholic Church is a ''sui juris, sui iuris'' (self-governing) Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic particular church that is part of the worldwide Catholic Church. Hi ...

: ** Russian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Harbin (China) ** Russian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Russia *

Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church The Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, also known in the United States as the Byzantine Catholic Church, is a '' sui iuris'' (autonomous) Eastern Catholic particular church based in Eastern Europe and North America that is part of the worldwide ...

: ** Ruthenian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Czech Republic ** Exarchate of Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto (since 2022) *

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) is a Major archiepiscopal church, major archiepiscopal ''sui iuris'' ("autonomous") Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ukraine. As a particular church of the Cathol ...

: ** Ukrainian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Germany and Scandinavia for Germany and Scandinavia (Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark) ** Ukrainian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Italy Antiochian Rite *

Maronite Church The Maronite Church (; ) is an Eastern Catholic '' sui iuris'' particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. The head of the Maronit ...

: ** Maronite Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Colombia * Syriac (Syrian) Catholic Church : ** Syrian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate for Canada ** Syriac Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Venezuela

Armenian Rite The Armenian Rite () is a liturgical rite used by both the Armenian Apostolic and the Armenian Catholic churches. Isaac of Armenia, the Catholicos of All Armenians, initiated a series of reforms with help from Mesrop Mashtots in the 5th cent ...

Armenian Catholic Church The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church. It accepts the papal supremacy, leadership of the bishop of Rome, and is therefore in full communion with ...

: ** Armenian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Latin America and Mexico

Patriarchal Exarchates

: **

Armenian Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Damascus The Armenian Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Damascus is a pre-diocesan missionary jurisdiction of the Armenian Catholic Church ''sui iuris'' (Eastern Catholic, Armenian Rite in Armenian language) in part of Syria. It depends directly on the Ar ...

(Syria) ** Armenian Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Jerusalem and Amman (Palestine, Israel and Jordan)

* Melkite (Greek) Catholic Church: ** Melkite Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Iraq ** Melkite Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Istanbul (Turkey) ** Melkite Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Kuwait Antiochian Rite *

: ** Maronite Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Jerusalem and Palestine (Palestine, Israel) ** Maronite Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Jordan * Syriac (Syrian) Catholic Church: ** Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Bassorah and the Gulf (Iraq, Kuwait etc.) **

Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Jerusalem The Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Jerusalem (informally Jerusalem of the Syriacs) is a Patriarchal exarchate (missionary Eastern Catholic pre-diocesan jurisdiction) of the Syriac Catholic Church ( Antiochian Rite in Syriac language and ...

(Palestine, Israel and Jordan) ** Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Turkey

Archiepiscopal Exarchates

* Ukrainian (Greek) Catholic Church, in Ukraine: ** Ukrainian Catholic Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Donetsk **

Ukrainian Catholic Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Kharkiv The Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Kharkiv () was established on 2 April 2014 after division of the Ukrainian Catholic Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Donetsk – Kharkiv in two Exarchates . The current, and first, Archiepiscopal Exarch is Bishop Vasyl ...

** Ukrainian Catholic Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Lutsk **

Ukrainian Catholic Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Odesa The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Ukrainian Catholic ''Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Odesa – Crimea'' was established on 11 January 2002 from the Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Kyiv – Vyshhorod (which has now become the Ukrainian Catholic Major ...

** Ukrainian Catholic Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Krym (Crimea), on the Russian-annexed Crimea, with cathedral see at Simferopol

Former Eastern Catholic Exarchates

''(probably still incomplete)''

= Former Eastern Catholic Exarchates in the Old World

= Former Eastern Catholic Exarchates in the New World

Syro-Malabar Catholic Church The Syro-Malabar Church, also known as the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church based in Kerala, India. It is a '' sui iuris'' (autonomous) particular church in full communion with the Holy See and the worldwide Cathol ...

: ** Syro-Malabar Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Canada

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

* * * Giga-Catholic Information
Rites

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