Archbishops

An archbishop is a bishop who holds a higher rank and typically governs an archdiocese, a diocese of particular importance due to size, history, or both. The title often signals leadership within an ecclesiastical province, where the archbishop may serve as a metropolitan with supervisory responsibilities over other bishops in the region.

In the Roman Catholic Church, an archbishop usually governs an archdiocese and may hold metropolitan authority over several suffragan dioceses. A metropolitan archbishop can convene provincial councils and exercise certain oversight in disciplinary matters, though most major decisions require papal approval. Archbishops are generally appointed by the pope, and metropolitan archbishops often receive the pallium, a symbolic sign of their office.

Other traditions use the title similarly but with different structures. In the Eastern Catholic Churches, archbishops head archdioceses within their rites, with powers and procedures varying by tradition. In the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, archbishop is a rank among bishops; many archbishops head important sees and may have metropolitan or primatial authority, though titles and duties differ by jurisdiction. In the Anglican Communion, archbishops are senior bishops who preside over a province; the Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of the Church of England and a symbolic leader for the wider Communion, while other archbishops govern other provinces.

The term archbishop ultimately derives from a bishop elevated to oversee an archdiocese, reflecting both administrative responsibilities and elevated status within the church hierarchy.