Métropolite

Métropolite is a title carried by some bishop S of the Églises of the East.

In the beginning, the métropolite is the bishop of a capital of province (Métropole) Roman invested load of presidency of the councils or synods provincial. In Occident, one took the practice to say “metropolitan”.

Today it is necessary to distinguish the Greek use of the Russian use:

in Greece and with Cyprus, all the bishops carry the title of métropolite and all the cathedrals, all évêchés, are metropolises. Métropolite is synonymous with titular bishop of a diocese;
in Russia, it can also designate holders of important seats. There are bishops, archbishops and at the top of the hierarchy of the métropolites. They are distinctions conferred on personal capacity and without obligatory bond with the occupied seat.

The primacies Rumanian Greek-catholics and Ukrainians are called métropolites.

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