Primate (Religion) (Paperback)

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Primate (from the Latin primas, "principal") is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Latin rite churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority (title of authority) or ceremonial precedence (title of honour). In the Western Church, a Primate is an archbishop-or rarely a suffragan or exempt bishop-of a specific episcopal see (called a primatial see) which confers precedence over the bishops of one or more neighboring ecclesiastical provinces, such as a 'national' church in historical, political, and cultural terms. Historically, primates were granted privileges including the authority to call and preside at national synods, the jurisdiction to hear appeals from metropolitan tribunals, the right to crown the sovereign of the nation, and presiding at the investiture (installation) of archbishops in their sees.