Chapter 15
The idea of pentarchy in Christianity: what is meant by "pentarchy"; to name five great patriarchates and briefly describe their development historically with particular attention to the insertion of Constantinople and Jerusalem.
The idea of pentarchy in Christianity
Pentarchy
– properly speaking the term pentarchy (from the Greek πέντε five + ἀρχία/ἀρχῶ
government) means power exercised collectively by five people.
The
pentarchy in Christianity means five patriarchates, that is, the set of five
large ecclesiastical circumscriptions called patriarchates which existed within
the Roman Empire starting from the 5th century.
By
pentarchy, we also mean the theory according to which the government of the
whole of Christianity was entrusted jointly to the five most important
episcopal sees of the Roman world: Rome,
Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. According to
this theory, their unanimity was required to make an ecclesiastical
pronouncement fully obligatory and a council was not ecumenical without the
consent of all five patriarchates. However, this is only a theory that has
never actually been applied. However, it is a historical fact that the five
patriarchates (but not all at a time) were recognized by the ecumenical
councils of the 4th and 5th centuries.
The Birth of the
Pentarchy
In
theory, all the episcopal sees were joint between them, in the sense that no
bishop exercised no special power over their colleagues: the ecclesiastical
structure is configured as a large federation of local, individual churches in
their respective bishops, managed by collegiate and substantially similar
instances in fundamental theological beliefs. However, in practice, every
bishop in Christendom recognizes the hierarchs of the three bishoprics - Rome, Alexandria,
and Antioch - some de facto authorities, primarily moral, for historical
reasons.
Right
from the beginning of Christianity recognized the special place (place of honour)
to the four large churches that took their origins from the preaching of the
apostles in Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, and Alexandria. Jerusalem soon lost its
judicial significance due to the destruction of the Holy City. However, there
remain three major churches representing three major regions of the Empire,
three Christian centres of culturally homogeneous areas: Rome (West), Antioch
(East) and Alexandria (Africa). As for the African Church must keep in mind
that the Africa Proconsular (the western part corresponds more or less with the
territory of Algeria today with Carthage capital) belonged to the West.
Patriarchy of Alexandria embraced instead the Egypt and the Libyan provinces.
What
was a generally recognized practice was officially sanctioned by the Council of
Nicaea in 325. The sixth canon of this council accepts and consecrates the
structure above-diocesan and metropolitan districts while recognizing the
churches of Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch more rights than the other churches
on a wider geographical spread.
Canon
VI. Of the earlier of some offices, of the
inability to be ordained a bishop without the consent of the metropolitan.
In
Egypt, Libya and Pentapolis they retain the ancient custom that the
bishop of Alexandria has authority over all these provinces; also, the bishop
of Rome is in fact recognized as such authority. Likewise in Antioch and the other
provinces are stored at the ancient privileged churches. Moreover, it is clear
that if anyone is made bishop without the consent of the metropolitan, this
great synod determines that that person must not be a bishop. If then two or
three, for their personal issues, they dissent from the vote thoughtful and
measured in conformity with the standards ecclesiastical of others, prevails
the majority opinion.
The
idea of patriarchy exposed here seems ambiguous and confused with that of the
metropolis. Three locations Bishops, in a different way and not specified, in a
manner descending, get special prerogatives. Basically, at Nicaea, it decided
that the prominent position of the diocese of Rome in the West could be replicated in Africa (Egypt, Libya and Pentapolis or Cyrenaica), under the jurisdiction of
the See of Alexandria, as well as in the eastern area, under the jurisdiction of
Antioch (Theopoli). The order of the patriarchs is Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch.
However,
while not admitting any formal authority over the three bishops of the three
provincial capitals (metropolitans), and then giving them a certain power over
an area larger (eparchy or metropolis), the Council stated at the same time
that the actual content of this authority should be limited to a certain
geographical area (civil dioceses) and could not be exercised beyond a certain
level: e.g. the appointment of bishops was still the responsibility of
provincial councils, although it was formally approved by the Metropolitan.
The
Canon VII of the same Council of 325 recognized also an honorary earlier in
Jerusalem because of its central importance in the history of Christianity,
while remaining subject to the Metropolitan of Caesarea in Palestine:
Canon
VII. Of the bishop of Jerusalem - Since
the custom and ancient tradition have established that the bishop of Jerusalem
receives particular honour, he must have what this honour entails, he always
safeguards the dignity of the metropolis.
The Council of
Constantinople in 381 revised the sixth canon of the Council of Nicaea:
The
conciliar assembly explicitly recognized that the Roman see is the first of
Christianity. Then the East was divided into five ecclesiastical
circumscriptions, corresponding to the five civil dioceses: Egypt (under
Alexandria), the East (under Antioch), Asia (under Ephesus), Pontus (under
Caesarea of Cappadocia) and Thrace (first under Heraclea, then under
Constantinople). Antioch maintained the eastern diocese with the churches of
Georgia and Persia.
What
will arouse quite a bit of controversy will be the canon relating to the
assignment of a primacy of honour to the seat of Constantinople (New Rome)
immediately after Ancient Rome. In fact, with the transfer of the capital to
Constantinople in 330, the bishop of this city acquired ever greater
importance. Thus, under pressure from the emperor, at the Council of 381,
Constantinople, “Nova Roma”, was given the second honorary place after
old Rome. The bishop of the new capital obtained the title of patriarch.
Canon XIII: After the bishop of Rome, he is second that of Constantinople. The bishop of Constantinople will have the primacy of honour after the bishop of Rome because this city is the new Rome.
Canon XXVIII not only confirmed the second place of honour of Constantinople but also gave a territorial basis to what were in fact already two
patriarchates: Constantinople and Jerusalem, to the detriment of the territory
of Antioch. At the council the provinces of Palestine (Israel and Jordan) were
therefore detached from Antioch to be attributed to Jerusalem, established as a
patriarchate in its own right. Furthermore, the jurisdiction over Pontus, Asia
(Syria and Lebanon) and Thrace is confirmed to the Archbishop of
Constantinople, i.e. the right to ordain bishops (metropolitans) for these
exarchates, as well as the right to judge the causes of the three on appeal
dioceses of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem and finally the right to appoint
bishops inter barbarian in the East. All the holders of the five pentarchic
sees have the title of patriarch.
The Pentarchy
In
Chalcedon, the evolution of the seats into five patriarchates was essentially
completed. The papacy loses nothing in the western area, but must now give up
claiming anything in the eastern area of the Empire. Thus in 451, the pentarchy
was definitively achieved in Christianity, understood not as the government of
the five, which was now impossible, but as five patriarchates - large
territorial units.
The
decisions taken by the councils aroused discontent and protests. The
downgrading to third place in 381 did not please the see of Alexandria at all,
which, in its grievances, obtained the support of the papacy at least until 869
(the year of the Fourth Council of Constantinople); however, after Chalcedon
(451) the patriarchate of Alexandria was broken by schism and the great
majority followed Monophysitism (the Coptic Church).
The
councils of Nicaea, Constantinople and Chalcedon generally attempted to make
situations de facto into law. This way of proceeding gave rise to ambitious
bishops to introduce innovations and abuses, which would subsequently be
legitimized in a future council. The modification of Canon VI of the Council of
Nicaea in the subsequent Councils of Constantinople and Chalcedon is a typical
case of this way of proceeding.
The Pentarchy
separation between East and West
The
papacy itself, energetically protesting against the privileges granted to New
Rome, will link the primacy of a Holy See exclusively to its own apostolic
character. In fact, fearing that Byzantium might one day aspire to the first
place of honour, the papacy stated that Rome had been the seat of Peter and
Paul (later it would say only of Peter), Antioch had been the seat of Peter
before Rome, Alexandria was it was the seat of Mark, editor of the "gospel
of Peter". So now Rome had every right to consider itself as the main
ecclesiastical seat of the entire Christian ecumene.
Constantinople
will reply to these theses by saying that it was founded by Andrew, Peter's
brother, and in any case, will always refuse to make the importance of an
ecclesiastical seat depend solely on its own apostolic traditions (Jerusalem in
this sense should have been considered more important than Rome).
The
leadership of capital, when it was formalized in the conciliar legislation,
was already in reality an established fact. For this reason, it was thought at
a certain point to consider Constantinople more important than Alexandria and
Antioch and no less important than Rome. Furthermore, while Rome was present in
a territory devastated by barbarian incursions, whether of pagan or Aryan
religion, Constantinople instead referred to a relatively homogeneous
Roman-Christian empire.
Pentarchy under the Emperor Justinian (527-565)
Under the reign of Justinian, there was the codification of the patriarchal pentarchy. It is he who from 531 uses the title of patriarch to indicate only the bishops of the five sees. Now the titles of archbishop and patriarch are equivalent and superior to those of metropolitan.
The
primacy of Rome: the pre-eminence of Rome clearly
emerges from the third century, but the first evidence of the primacy over
other bishops dates to Pope Clement (88-101) in his epistle to the Corinthians
when the apostolic teaching was still fresh and the apostle's John and Matthew
were perhaps still alive. Some years later (107) Saint Ignatius of Antioch
speaks of the Roman Church as the one that presides over all the Churches and
Saint Irenaeus believes that every Church must agree with it. Pope Saint Victor
(189-198) intervened in the controversy over the date of Easter and was accused
of abusing his power but his judgment was accepted, thus recognizing the
primatial power of the Pope. Saint Cyprian (died 258) attributed an effective
primacy to the pope and Novatian believed that the pope had the authority to
depose a heretical bishop. This primacy was also known to the pagan emperors:
when in 270 Paul of Samosata, the deposed patriarch of Alexandria, appealed to
the emperor Aurelian, the latter practically replied to turn to the pope.
Therefore, in the pre-Constantinian era, the Church of Rome was the point of
reference not only for Italy but also for the entire West.
The pre-eminence of the Roman Church of the first century did not allow an intermediate structure to develop between the Roman bishop and the other sees. The relationship with his bishop took place without intermediaries, so the figure of the metropolitan did not arise in Italy. Only later did the bishop of Rome have the title of archbishop and metropolitan of the Roman province and primate of Italy. Since the 4th century, Rome's first place has been officially recognized, but its interpretation is different in the East and the West. Constantinople now feels on par with Old Rome. In the 6th and 7th centuries, the differences between the two Churches deepened more and more. (To be Continued)
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ReplyDeleteThe idea of pentarchy in Christianity is nicely explained and it is good to read. Continue to write, I am expecting the next write up. Fr. Jerry SHJ
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