Political Structure of the Catholic Church

The Church Today

Pope Francis

Political Structure

• Catholic Church organized like Russian nesting doll
• Parishoners, Parish, Diocese, World Catholic Community
• Parish run by priest
• Diocese run by bishop
• World Catholic Community run by Pope

Arch-diocese/bishop

Parishes and Priests

• A Parish is just a local church
• It contains parishoners
• The head of the Parish is a priest
• Priests have sovreignty over their own parish
• Priests may have deacons
• Priests may be promoted to Bishop if chosen

• In 380, the Edict of Thessalonica makes "Catholic Christianity the state church of The Roman Empire
• The bishops of Rome became increasingly powerful as they began to intervene more and more in thelogical discussions. They began to be seen as the final authority until 537.
• From 537-732, Caesaropapism reigns. The emperor in Constantinople became head of the church. Only after this did the Pope gain more central power
• In 1061, Pope Gregory VII, born Hildebrand of Sovana, created the college of Cardinals to elect every succeeding pope.
• At different times the Pope had been elected by the populous or by the Emperor of the Byzantine Emperor

• Arch bishops and arch diocese have same rank as bishops and diocese
• The prefix arch refers to the biggest/centralized diocese/bishops. Usually a capital city or city of dense catholic population.
• Example: Denver is an archdiocese, Colorado Springs is a diocese. The bishop of Denver is an archbishop, the bishop of Colorado Springs is just a bishop. However, the archbishop of Denver has no more power than the bishop of Colorado Springs
• Boston is an archdioces, Des Moines is a diocese

crest of the archdiocese of Denver

History of Catholic Political Structure

Political Organization of the Catholic Church

Diocese and Bishops

• If Parishes are like a city, diocese are the state
• Diocese are a group of Catholic institutions in a community
• Centers on a cathedral. Only one cathedral per diocese.
• Comprises parishes, Catholic centers of higher education, and general religious sites
• Run by a bishop who is the priest of the central cathedral. Only one bishop per diocese, but they can appoint auxilary bishops
• The boundaries of a diocese are set by the bishop that oversees it. Boundaries follow general political boundaries but generally encompass a larger area
• Example: The state of Georgia has two dioceses, Atlanta and Savannah. Each diocese covers the area of their namesake city, however Atlanta also covers the northern half of the state, and Savannah the southern half
• There are 194 diocese, cathedrals, and bishops in the US
• There are same number of diocese as cathedrals as bishops since each diocese has one bishop who has one home cathedral

Cardinals

• Cardinals are bishops that have been appointed by the Pope to have the title of Cardinal
• The only difference between Cardinal and Bishop is that Cardinals give direct council to the Pope, and are the only ones allowed to vote for a new Pope when the time comes. In addition the next Pope can only be chosen from the College of Cardinals
• Cardinals still serve as Bishop of their respective diocese, for the most part Cardinal is just an honorific and has very little practical application

• In Eastern Orthodoxy, the Pope is solely the Bishop of Rome and is equal to all other Bishops
• Roman Catholics believe in Papal infallibility, Eastern Orthodox rejects infallibility of any kind
• The Eastern Orthodox Church replaces The Patriarchs.
• The Patriarchs are 5 imperial governors of the Church
• They are the bishops of Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Rome
• First established by Justinian in his code of law
• Through time, more patriarchs have been added including Moscow, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Georgia with Rome being subtracted

Eastern Orthodox Structure vs. Roman Catholic Structure

The Universal Church

• The Universal Church refers to the entirety of the Catholic world
• It contains 2946 diocese, bishops, and cathedrals and a plethora of miscellaneous religious institutions
• Overseen by the bishop of Rome, aka the Pope
• The Pope has three jobs. Priest of Saint Peter's Basilica, Bishop of the Diocese of Rome, and head of the Universal Church
• As the bishop of Rome he is equal to every other bishop in the world

By Josh Bogen