Catholicos
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Catholicos (plural Catholicoi) is a title used by the head bishop of any of certain Eastern churches. It is derived from the Greek Καθολικος, meaning universal or general.
The title seems to have arisen sometime after the establishment of five patriarchs (of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem). The title first seems to have been applied to a deputy of the Patriarch of Antioch who administered the churces east of the Roman Empire, under Persian control. This Catholicos of the East was known as Maphryānā (translated as Maphrian or Fructifier) in Syriac. Likewise, the heads of major churches outside of the Roman Empire bore the title catholicos.
The title is used in the Armenian Apostolic Church, which is one of the Oriental Orthodox churches. His Holiness, the Catholicos of All Armenians presides over the Supreme Spiritual Council (the Armenian Church's governing college of bishops), and is the head of the world's 7 million Armenian Apostolic Christians. It is also used in the Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church, whose head carries the title Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia. Historically, the title was also used by the chief bishop of Caucasian Albania.
Catholicos of the East is title borne by a number of church leaders in India. The head of the Indian Orthodox Church and the leader of the Indian portion of the Syriac Orthodox Church both use the title.
