Editing Patriarchate (section)

== Roman Catholic Church ==

Within the [[Catholic Church]], six patriarchs lead the [[Eastern Catholic Churches]] ''[[sui iuris]]''.<ref>In his motu proprio [https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/motu_proprio/documents/hf_p-vi_motu-proprio_19650211_ad-purpuratorum_lt.html ''Ad Purpuratorum Patrum'' of 11 February 1965], [[Pope Paul VI]] decreed that Eastern Catholic Patriarchs elevated to cardinals would be ranked as Cardinal Bishops—rather than Cardinal Priests—and yield precedence only to the six Cardinal Bishops holding suburbicarian titles.</ref> These include the heads of the [[Coptic Catholic Church]] ([[Coptic Catholic Patriarchate of Alexandria|Patriarchate of Alexandria]]), the [[Maronite Church]], the [[Melkite Greek Catholic Church]], the [[Syriac Catholic Church]] (each using the title [[Patriarch of Antioch#Current patriarchs|Patriarch of Antioch]]), the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]] (Patriarchate of Baghdad), and the [[Armenian Catholic Church]] ([[Patriarchate of Cilicia]]).

The Pope, as Bishop of Rome and Supreme Pontiff, leads the Latin Church and holds supreme authority over the entire Catholic Church. While Pope Francis reinstated the historical title "Patriarch of the West" in 2024, it had been officially dropped by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 and is not commonly used to describe the Pope’s role within the Latin Church.

There are also four [[major archbishop|Major Archbishops]], each heading an Eastern Catholic Church ''sui iuris'' without a patriarchal title. These include the [[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church|Ukrainian Greek Catholic]], [[Syro-Malabar Church|Syro-Malabar]], [[Syro-Malankara Catholic Church|Syro-Malankara]], and [[Romanian Greek Catholic Church]]es. Though they rank just below patriarchs in precedence, Major Archbishops hold similar authority within their Churches. A key procedural difference is that patriarchs request ''ecclesiastica communio'' (ecclesiastical communion) from the Pope following their election and enthronement, while a Major Archbishop’s election requires papal confirmation before enthronement.

In the Latin Church, there are four titular patriarchates—historical archdioceses where the archbishop holds the honorary title of patriarch. This title grants ceremonial precedence but no jurisdiction beyond the archdiocese (except in the case of Jerusalem, which retains territorial jurisdiction). These are the [[Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem]], the [[Patriarchate of Lisbon]], the [[Patriarchate of Venice]], and the [[Patriarchate of the East Indies]].

It is not uncommon for multiple Eastern Catholic Patriarchates—and the Latin Church—to have overlapping jurisdictions, particularly in the Middle East and diaspora regions. For example, among the three Patriarchates of Antioch, the Melkite Patriarch is based in Damascus, Syria; the Maronite Patriarch resides in Bkerké, Lebanon; and the Syriac Catholic Patriarch is based in Beirut, Lebanon.<ref>{{cite book |title=Annuario Pontificio 2012 |publisher=Libreria Editrice Vaticana |year=2012 |pages=3–5 |language=it}}</ref>