A titular bishop in various churches is a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

who is not in charge of a

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 ...

. By definition, a

is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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 ...

and Oriental Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place. There are more bishops than there are functioning dioceses. Therefore, a priest appointed not to head a diocese as its diocesan bishop but to be an

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. ...

, a papal diplomat, or an official of the Roman Curia is appointed to 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 ...

Catholic Church

In the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, a titular bishop is a

who is not in charge of a

. Examples of bishops belonging to this category are coadjutor bishops,

s, bishops emeriti, vicars apostolic, nuncios, superiors of departments in the Roman Curia, and cardinal bishops of suburbicarian dioceses (since they are not in charge of the suburbicarian dioceses). Most titular bishops hold the title to a

. Assigning titular sees serves two purposes. Since part of being a bishop means being the head of a

Christian church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus Christ. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a syn ...

, titular sees serve that purpose for bishops without a diocese. At the same time, the office of titular bishop memorializes ancient Churches, most of which were suppressed because they fell into the hands of non-Christian conquerors. For this reason the former terminology was not "titular bishop" but "bishop in infidel regions" (''in partibus infidelium''). In recent times the names of titular sees are drawn also in numerous cases from those of former dioceses which were absorbed into other dioceses or expanded and hence moved to larger towns and cities. Since 1970, there are two more exceptions. Diocesan bishops who resign their see or are transferred to a non-diocesan appointment are no longer habitually transferred to a titular see. Instead, they take the title ''Bishop'' (or ''Archbishop'') ''

Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

'' of the last see. Also, coadjutors are no longer named to titular sees, instead taking the title ''Coadjutor Bishop'' (or ''Coadjutor Archbishop'') of the see they will inherit. In other cases titular bishops still take a titular see. Beginning in 2019, titular sees are no longer being assigned to new Vicars Apostolic. When Francis Green was named Coadjutor Bishop of Tucson, Arizona, in 1960, his official title remained " Titular Bishop of Serra" until he succeeded Daniel James Gercke later that same year. However, when Gerald Kicanas became Coadjutor Bishop of Tucson in 2001, he ceased being Titular Bishop of Bela. He remained a titular bishop until he succeeded Manuel Moreno in 2003, but his official title changed from "Titular Bishop of Bela" to "Coadjutor Bishop of Tucson". Cardinal Bishops of suburbicarian dioceses are also titular bishops, but unlike others, they hold titles to existing dioceses, namely one or more of the suburbicarian sees near Rome. While they do not govern their see, they are obliged to give it their patronage. Angelo Sodano, as Cardinal Bishop of Albano, was titular bishop of the see, while Bishop Marcello Semeraro is its actual diocesan bishop. The Cardinal Dean is by tradition Cardinal Bishop of Ostia, in addition to the suburbicarian see he previously held. Occasionally, the transfer of a diocesan bishop to a titular see has been used by the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

to strip of responsibilities a bishop whose behavior was disapproved. For instance, in 1995, Jacques Gaillot, known for his activism on Catholic-sensitive social and political topics (such as support for contraception and

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

), was transferred from the see of Évreux in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

to Parthenia, a titular see in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, instead of becoming Bishop Emeritus of Évreux.

Eastern Orthodox Church

Titular bishops and titular metropolitans are often appointed in 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 ...

Ecumenical Patriarchate

In the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, titular bishops and metropolitans are usually appointed with titles of former dioceses in the regions of

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

, Asia Minor and Pontus (all regions in what is now

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

), that were often active until the Greek-Turkish population exchange of 1923.

Serbian Orthodox Church

In the

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodox Church#Constit ...

, titular bishops are usually appointed to serve as auxiliary bishops, assisting diocesan bishops in various fields of diocesan administration. One example of such a bishop was Varnava Nastić (1914–1964), titular bishop of Hvosno who had the responsibility of administering the Diocese of Dabar-Bosnia.

References

Literature