Archbishop

In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop, responsible for all churches belonging to a religious group of a particular district. The diocese of which an archbishop is head is called a metropolitan see; the archbishop himself may be called a metropolitan. Typically the metropolitan see is the largest city in a region composed of several dioceses, and the man appointed as archbishop has usually served as bishop of a smaller diocese previously.

Notable archbishops, past and present, include:

• Isidore of Seville
• Albert of Mainz
• Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica
• Thomas Wolsey
• William, Archbishop of Mainz
• Joseph Ratzinger
• Bernard Law, Archbishop of Boston
• John Carroll

Anglican archbishops include:

• Desmond Tutu, Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa

See also: Archbishop of Canterbury

Etymology: From Greek archepiskopos, arch- probably from archon, leader or ruler, and epi-skopos, over-seer.