In hierarchical Christian churches, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the bishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of an old Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital. As a noun, Christian is an appellation and moniker deriving from the appellation Christ, which many people associate exclusively with Jesus of Nazareth. ... A metropolis (in Greek metera = mother and polis = city/town) is a major city, which is an economical and cultural center for some country or larger region, and usually an important hub for international connections. ... Map of the Roman Empire, with the provinces, after 120 AD. In Ancient Rome, a province (Latin, provincia, pl. ... An ecclesiastical province is a unit of religious government existing in certain Christian churches. ...

In the Western patriarchate of the Roman Catholic Church, metropolitans have supervisory authority over the other bishops in their ecclesiastical province, called suffragan bishops. They also have authority over the dioceses in their province when there is a vacancy caused by the death or resignation of the suffragan bishop. Their insignia is the pallium, which they can wear in their diocese and the other suffragan dioceses in the province. All Latin rite metropolitan bishops are archbishops; however, some archbishops are not metropolitan bishops. See archbishop for the distinction. A patriarchate is the office or jurisdiction of a patriarch. ... The Roman Catholic Church, (also known as the Catholic Church), is the ancient Christian Church led by the Pope, the Bishop of Rome. ... A bishop is an ordained member of the Christian clergy who, in certain Christian churches, holds a position of authority. ... The Pallium or Pall (derived, so far as the name is concerned, from the Roman pallium or palla, a woollen cloak) is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Roman Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the Pope, but for many centuries past bestowed by him on metropolitans and primates as a symbol... Latin Rite, in the singular and accompanied, in English, by the definite article (The Latin Rite), is a term by which documents of the Catholic Church designate the particular Church, distinct from the Eastern Rite Churches, that developed in western Europe and northern Africa, where Latin was the language of... In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop. ... In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop. ...

In the Eastern Rite Catholic churches, the term metropolitan is used in a similar way to the Eastern Orthodox churches. In some of the sui iuris eastern churches, the head of the church is a metropolitan. These sui iuris metropolitan churches are generally less populous than patriarchal or major archepiscopal churches, and are subject to greater oversight by the pope and the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. The term Eastern Rites may refer to the liturgical rites used by many ancient Christian Churches of Eastern Europe and the Middle East that, while being part of the Roman Catholic Church, are distinct from the Latin Rite or Western Church. ... Sui iuris is a Latin phrase that literally means “of one’s own right”. It is usually spelled sui juris in civil law, which uses the phrase to indicate legal competence, the capacity to manage one’s own affairs (Blacks Law Dictionary, Oxford English Dictionary). ... Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. ... In the Roman Catholic Church, a major archbishop is an Eastern Rite hierarch who has the same jurisdiction in his sui juris particular church that an Eastern rite patriarch does, but whose episcopal see is less prestigious than a patriarchal see. ... The Pope (from Greek: pappas, father; from Latin: papa, Papa, father) is the successor of St. ... The Congregation for the Oriental Churches (Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus) is the congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for contact with the Oriental Catholic Churches for the sake of assisting their development, protecting their rights and also maintaining whole and entire in the one Catholic Church, alongside the liturgical, disciplinary...

In the Anglican Communion, the metropolitan is generally the head of an ecclesiastical province (or cluster of dioceses) and ranks immediately under the Primate of the national church. The Anglican Communion uses the compass rose as its symbol, signifying its worldwide reach and decentralized nature. ... An ecclesiastical province is a unit of religious government existing in certain Christian churches. ... In some Christian churches, the diocese is an administrative territorial unit governed by a bishop, sometimes also referred to as a bishopric or episcopal see, though more often the term episcopal see means the office held by the bishop. ... Primate (from the Latin Primus, first) is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christian churches. ...

In the Eastern Orthodox churches, the title is used variously. In the Hellenic Churches metropolitans are ranked below archbishops in precedence, and primates of local Churches below Patriarchal rank are generally designated archbishops. The reverse is true for the Slavic Churches, where metropolitans rank above archbishops and the title can be used for Primatial sees as well as important cities. In neither case do metropolitans have any special authority over other ruling bishops within their provinces. However, metropolitans (archbishops in the Greek Orthodox Church) are the chairmen of their respective synods of bishops. ... Greek Orthodox Church can refer to any of several hierarchical churches within the larger group of mutually recognizing Eastern Orthodox churches: Orthodox Church of Constantinople, headed by the Patriarch of Constantinople, who is also the first among equals of the Eastern Orthodox Communion Church of Greece, which has been autocephalous...

See also

• Primate (religion)
• Exarch
• Patriarch