In the
Latin Church, a primate is an
archbishop—or, rarely, a
suffragan or
exempt bishop—of a specific (mostly metropolitan)
episcopal see (called a
primatial see) who has precedence over the bishoprics of one or more
ecclesiastical provinces of a particular historical, political or cultural area. Historically, primates of particular sees were granted privileges including the authority to call and preside at national
synods, 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. The office is generally found only in older Catholic countries, and is now purely honorific, enjoying no effective powers under
canon law—except for the
archbishop of Esztergom (Gran) in Hungary. Where the title of primate exists, it may be vested in one of the oldest archdioceses in a country, often based in a city other than the present capital, but which was the capital when the country was first Christianized. The city may no longer have the prominence it had when the title was granted. The political area over which primacy was originally granted may no longer exist: for example, the
Archbishop of Toledo was designated "Primate of the
Visigothic Kingdom", and the
Archbishop of Lyon is the "
Primate of the Gauls". The president is generally elected by the conference, but by exception the President of the
Italian Episcopal Conference is appointed by the Pope, and the
Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference has the
Primate of All Ireland as president and the
Primate of Ireland as vice-president. Other former functions of primates, such as hearing appeals from
metropolitan tribunals, were reserved to the
Holy See by the early 20th century. The closest equivalent position in the Eastern Churches in 1911 was an
Exarch. As stated above, this is merely an honorary title involving no additional power. A right of precedence over other bishops and similar privileges can be granted even to a bishop who is not a Primate. Thus, in 1858, the Holy See granted the
Archbishop of Baltimore precedence in meetings of the United States bishops. The
Archbishop of Westminster has not been granted the title of Primate of England and Wales, which is sometimes applied to him, but his position has been described as that of "Chief Metropolitan" and as "similar to" that of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The title of Primate is sometimes applied loosely to the Archbishop of a country's capital, as in the case of the Archbishops of
Seoul in South Korea and of
Edinburgh in Scotland. The pre-reformation metropolitan
Archbishop of Nidaros was sometimes referred to as Primate of Norway, as primates: ;In Europe •
Andorra,
Austria,
Belgium,
France,
Germany,
Liechtenstein,
Luxembourg,
Monaco,
Netherlands,
Portugal,
Spain and
Switzerland •
Arles – Gaul and Spain •
Auch – Novempopulania and the kingdom of Navarre •
Bourges – Aquitaine (8th century) •
Braga – the Spains, i.e., the Iberian Peninsula (since 440-446 d.C.) •
Cologne –
Germany 1240- •
Lyons – the
Gauls, i.e., the provinces called
Lugdunenses •
Mechelen(-Brussels) –
Belgium 1560– •
Nancy –
Lorraine 1602– (a notable exception, considering the fact that Nancy became a bishopric in 1777) •
Narbonne •
Sens – Gauls and Germany •
Salzburg –
Germany 798/1689– •
Tarragona – the Spains •
Toledo –
Visigothic Kingdom •
Trier –
Belgica prima until 1802 •
Belarus,
Lithuania,
Poland and
Ukraine •
Gniezno –
Poland 1418-;
Lithuania 1418-1795 •
Lviv (Latin) –
Galicia and Lodomeria 1817-1848 (title conferred by the
Emperor of Austria, but unrecognized by papacy) •
Lviv (Eastern Catholic) – Galicia and Lodomeria 1848-1858 (title conferred by the
Emperor of Austria, but unrecognized by papacy) •
Warsaw –
Congress Kingdom of Poland 1815-1829;
Kingdom of Poland (1917–1918) 1916-1938 •
Vilnius –
Lithuania 1661-1665 (title claimed by the bishop, but unrecognized elsewhere) •
Bulgaria •
Veliko Tarnovo – Bulgaria and Vlachia (in Bulgaria) 1204–1235 •
Czechia,
Slovakia and
Hungary •
Esztergom(-Budapest) –
Hungary –1541, 1820– •
Nagyszombat (Trnava) –
Hungary 1541–1820 •
Prague –
Bohemia/Czechia 1344–; Czechoslovakia 1918–1992 (informally) •
Croatia,
Italy,
Montenegro,
San Marino,
Serbia and the
Vatican City •
Antivari (Bar) –
Serbia (Primas Serviae) •
Cagliari –
Sardinia, (– 1158, 1409–) •
Palermo –
Sicily •
Pisa –
Sardinia &
Corsica (1158–) •
Rome (the Papacy) –
Italy 1929- •
Split –
Dalmatia and All Croatia (13th century - 1828) •
Venice –
Dalmatia until 13th century •
Dunkeld –
Scotland c. 844 (by royal grant, but refused by the Holy See •
Canada -
Quebec (1956) •
Archdiocese of Goa and Damaon, primatial see of the East, more specifically the
East Indies •
Archdiocese of Santo Domingo, primatial (and oldest) see of the Indies •
Archdiocese of São Salvador da Bahia, primatial of Brazil (
1551). •
Archdiocese of Santiago del Estero (transferred by Pope Francis in 2024)
Archdiocese of Buenos Aires – Argentina (1936–2024) (the title was granted under
Pope Pius XI on 29 January 1936). •
Archdiocese of Mexico, primatial of Mexico (granted by
Pope Pius XII on 18 July 1951)
Regular clergy equivalent In the modern confederation of the
Benedictine Order, all the Black Monks of St. Benedict were united under the presidency of an
Abbot Primate (Leo XIII,
Summum semper, 12 July 1893); but the unification, fraternal in its nature, brought no modification to the abbatial dignity, and the various congregations preserved their autonomy intact. The loose structure of the Benedictine Confederation is claimed to have made
Pope Leo XIII exclaim that the Benedictines were
ordo sine ordine ("an order without order"). The powers of the
Abbot Primate are specified, and his position defined, in a decree of the
Sacred Congregation of Bishops and Regulars dated 16 September 1893. The primacy is attached to the global
Benedictine Confederation whose Primate resides at
Sant'Anselmo in
Rome. He takes precedence of all other abbots, is empowered to pronounce on all doubtful matters of discipline, to settle difficulties arising between monasteries, to hold a canonical visitation, if necessary, in any congregation of the order, and to exercise a general supervision for the regular observance of monastic discipline. The Primatial powers are only vested in the Abbot Primate to act by virtue of the proper law of its autonomous Benedictine congregation, which at the present is minimal to none. However, certain branches of the Benedictine Order seem to have lost their original autonomy to some extent. In a similar way the Confederation of
Canons Regular of St. Augustine, elects an Abbot Primate as figurehead of the Confederation and indeed the whole Canonical Order. The Abbots and Superiors General of the nine congregations of confederated congregations of
Canons Regular elect a new Abbot Primate for a term of office lasting six years. The Current Abbot Primate is Rt Rev. Fr Jean-Michel Girard, CRB, Abbot General of the Canons Regular of the Grand St Bernard. == Anglicanism ==