The Pentarchy, a Greek word meaning "government of five", designates the Five Great Sees or early Patriarchates, which were the five major centres of the Christian church in Late Antiquity. The respective cities with their presumed apostolic founders (i.e. patriarchs) and modern-day countries are: A see (from the Latin word sedem, meaning seat) is the throne (cathedra) of a bishop. ... For other senses, see Patriarch (disambiguation). ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... Late Antiquity is a rough periodization (c. ...

• Rome (Sts. Peter and Paul), the only Pentarch in the Western Roman Empire (now Italy).
• Constantinople (St. Andrew), in the Eastern Roman Empire (now Turkey)
• Alexandria (St. Mark), in the Eastern Roman Empire (now Egypt)
• Antioch (St. Peter), in the Eastern Roman Empire (now Turkey)
• Jerusalem (St. James), in the Eastern Roman Empire

In the 4th century (that is, in the era when Christianity was first beginning to gain political support from the Roman state) these constituted the four most important cities of the Roman Empire, plus Jerusalem. Some traditions see this as a process of development: At first, only the church leaders in Rome, Alexandria and Antioch were widely acknowledged as having spiritual and juridical authority in the Christian church; the position of Jerusalem gained importance at the First Council of Nicaea and Constantinople at the Council of Chalcedon (Catholic Encyclopedia). The Council of Nicea also established the supremacy of honor of the apostolic sees as follows: Rome, followed by Alexandria, followed by Antioch, followed by Jerusalem. This hierarchy was only one of honor among four equal Apostolic Sees. When Constantinople joined the group it was ranked second after Rome. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Pope (from Latin... “St Peter” redirects here. ... St. ... Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus The Western Roman Empire in 395. ... The Patriarch of Constantinople is the Ecumenical Patriarch, ranking as the first among equals in the Eastern Orthodox communion. ... Saint Andrew (Greek: Ανδρέας, Andreas), called in the Orthodox tradition Protocletos, or the First-called, is a Christian Apostle and the elder brother of Saint Peter. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Byzantine Empire. ... It has been suggested that Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church be merged into this article or section. ... Mark the Evangelist (מרקוס, Greek: Μάρκος) (1st century) is traditionally believed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark and a companion of Peter. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Byzantine Empire. ... Patriarch of Antioch is the traditional title carried by the Bishop of Antioch. ... “St Peter” redirects here. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Byzantine Empire. ... The term Patriarch of Jerusalem can refer to the holders of one of three offices: The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, who is one of the Roman Catholic patriarchs of the east The Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, who is one of nine highest-ranking Eastern Orthodox bishops, called patriarchs The Armenian... Saint James the Just (יעקב Holder of the heel; supplanter; Standard Hebrew YaÊ¿aqov, Tiberian Hebrew Yaʿăqōḇ, Greek Iάκωβος), also called James Adelphotheos, James, 1st Bishop of Jerusalem, or James, the Brother of the Lord[1] and sometimes identified with James the Less, (died AD 62) was an important figure... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Byzantine Empire. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... The First Council of Nicaea, held in Nicaea in Bithynia (present-day Iznik in Turkey), convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325, was the first Ecumenical council[1] of the early Christian Church, and most significantly resulted in the first uniform Christian doctrine, called the Nicene Creed. ... The Council of Chalcedon was an ecumenical council that took place from October 8 to November 1, 451, at Chalcedon (a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor), today part of the city of Istanbul on the Asian side of the Bosphorus and known as the district of Kadıköy. ... Council of Nicaea can refer to: First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 Second Council of Nicaea in AD 787 This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... This article is about the city in Egypt. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Antakya. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ...

After the 7th century Arab conquests, and the Byzantine loss of the Rome-Ravenna corridor, only Constantinople remained securely within a state calling itself the "Roman Empire", whereas Rome became independent (see Gregory the Great), Jerusalem and Alexandria fell under Muslim rule, and Antioch was on the front lines of hundreds of years of recurring border warfare between the Byzantine Empire and the Arab Caliphate. These historical-political changes, combined with the northward shift of the center of gravity of Christendom during the Middle Ages, and the fact that the majority of Christians in Muslim-ruled Egypt and Syria were Non-Chalcedonians who refused to recognize the authority of either Rome or Constantinople, meant that the original ideal of five great co-operating centers of administration of the whole Christian church grew ever more remote from practical reality. The 7th century is the period from 601 - 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... Byzantine redirects here. ... Province of Ravenna Ravenna is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. ... “Saint Gregory” redirects here. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Antakya. ... The Arab Caliphate could refer to: The Umayyad Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate Category: ... The Chalcedonian churches are those Christian churches who follow the Christological teachings of the Council of Chalcedon, in contradistinction to Nestorians, Monophysites and Monothelites. ...

Today it would be difficult to identify a leading claimant to the patriarchate of Antioch. There are five claimants to the patriarchal throne of Jerusalem dating from the time of the Crusades. These include Maronite Catholics, Melkite Catholics, Syriac Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox. This article is about the medieval crusades. ...

17th-century Eastern Orthodox pentarchy

When in 1589 the metropolitan see of Moscow became an independent patriarchate (and so was no longer directly subordinated to the formerly Byzantine Ecumenical patriarchate of Constantinople), some Orthodox counted it as being part of a new pentarchy, consisting of Constantinople, Moscow (in place of Catholic Rome), and the Greek Orthodox-recognized claimants to Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria. However, the office of Patriarch of Moscow was left vacant after 1700, and formally abolished on 25 January 1721. In more recent centuries, multiple autocephalous patriarchates (each heading a national branch of the Orthodox church) have been created. The following is a list of Russian Orthodox metropolitans and patriarchs of Moscow along with when they served: Metropolitans Maximus ( 1283- 1305) Peter ( 1308- 1326) Theognostus ( 1328- 1353) Alexius ( 1354- 1378) Cyprian ( 1381- 1382), ( 1390- 1406) Pimen ( 1382- 1384) Dionysius I ( 1384- 1385) Photius ( 1408- 1431) Isidore the Apostate ( 1437...

Other meanings

In its most general use, the word "Pentarchy" can be used to refer to five rulers or powers:

• In 19th-century Italy, the liberal pentarchy was a group of five parliamentary leaders of the Republican and Extreme Radical wings of the left in the chamber after the introduction of universal suffrage: Crispi, Cairoli, Nicotera, Zanardelli and Baccarini, all assuming an attitude of bitter hostility to Depretis, the Right.
• The five great European powers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (Britain, France, Austria, Prussia, and Russia), as recognized in the Congress system.
• The five principal powers of India's Maratha Confederacy (the Peshwas of Desh, the Sindhias of Gwalior, the Bhonsles of Nagpur, the Gaekwads of Baroda, and the Holkars of Indore) in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Agostino Depretis (January 31, 1813 - July 29, 1887), Italian statesman, was born at Mezzana Corte near Stradella. ... The Congress system is a diplomatic process adhered to between 1815 and 1822, under which all matters of international importance were discussed at meeting of all European powers in order to ensure uniform action on the part of all concerned. ... Extent of the Maratha Confederacy ca. ... The Maratha Empire at its peak in 1760 The Peshwa(Marathi:पेशवे or पेशवा) (also known in Marathi as Peshwe) were Brahmin Prime Ministers to the Maratha Chattrapatis (Kings), who began commanding Maratha armies and later became the hereditary rulers of the Maratha empire of central India from 1749 to 1818. ... Desh (hindi:देश) Derived from Sanskrit word (देशः) this word means country In the context of the history of Maharashtra, the Marathi people, and of the Maratha Empire or Maratha Confederacy, founded by Shivaji as the Hindawi Swaraj (Hindu Free State), Desh is an abbreviation... The Sindhia, also spelled Scindia , Sindia, or Shinde are a prominent Maratha family in India. ... Gwalior State was an Indian kingdom ruled by the Sindhia dynasty. ... The Bhonsle or Bhonsale were a prominent Maratha clan who served as rulers of several states in India . ... The Kingdom of Nagpur was a kingdom in east-central India founded by the Gond rulers of Deogarh in the early 18th century. ... The Gaekwad or Gaekwar (once rendered as Guicowar) (Gujarati: ગાયકવાડ ; Marathi: गायकवाड) was a Maratha dynasty that ruled the princely state of Baroda in western India from the mid-eighteenth century until 1947. ... Vadodara, also known as Baroda, is the third-most populated town in Gujarat after Ahmedabad and Surat (the three towns with a population of over 1 million in Gujarat). ... Jaswant Rao Holkar 1798-1811 AD Holkar of Indore Silver, Nazrana Rupee Minted at Indore in 1807 AD (1222 AH) Weight: 14. ... , Indore (Hindi:इन्दौर ,Marathi:इंदूर)  , a large city in the Malwa region of Central India is the commercial capital of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. ...

See also

• Catholicos
• East-West Schism for some relevant background discussion.
• Dyarchy, Heptarchy, Tetrarchy
• Primate (religion)

Catholicos (plural Catholicoi) is a title used by the head/regional head bishop of any of certain Eastern churches. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      For the... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A map showing the general locations of the Anglo-Saxon peoples around the year 600 Britain and Ireland around the year 802 Heptarchy (Greek: seven + realm) is a collective name applied to the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of the south and east of Great Britain during late antiquity and the early... The Tetrarchs, a porphyry sculpture sacked from a Byzantine palace in 1204, Treasury of St. ... Primate (from the Latin Primus, first) is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christian churches. ...

External links

• Patriarch and Patriarchate (Catholic Encyclopedia)

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. Encyclopædia Britannica, the eleventh edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...