érsek

érsek, literally “archbishop,” is the Hungarian title for the rank of archbishop in the Catholic Church, and it is used for corresponding offices in some other Christian traditions that use Hungarian. An érsek typically serves as the ordinary of an archdiocese and, as a metropolitan, has oversight over a province that includes several suffragan dioceses. In the Latin-rite church, the archbishop may receive the pallium from the pope as a symbol of metropolitan authority. The role combines pastoral leadership of the archdiocese with higher-level duties in the regional church, including governance, liturgical oversight, and representation in the national episcopal conference.

Duties commonly associated with an érsek include ordaining priests, confirming Catholics, setting diocesan policy in conjunction with the curia, and guiding provincial synods. The metropolitan authority is exercised in cooperation with the bishops of the province, and the archbishop may liaise with civil authorities on matters of common interest.

In Hungary, the archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest is regarded as the primate of Hungary (prímás), a traditional prerogative that signals historical precedence within the Hungarian church. The primate’s see is associated with the national church leadership, and the archbishop typically chairs the Hungarian bishops’ conference, while daily authority rests with the current archbishop of the archdiocese.

Etymology traces érsek to the Latin archiepiscopus, adapted into Hungarian through medieval ecclesiastical use. The position and its duties can vary slightly by rite and local tradition, but the core function remains that of a senior bishop overseeing an archdiocese and a metropolitan province.