The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-05-26

ference between a nuncio and n leodte n primate
and a metropolitan We shall best indicate the
value Of this treatise to all cultivated persons,
by awaiting ourselves Of DR. Smiths assistance
TO mark some Of these distinctions.
II appears that ut present. the highest grade
Of pontifcal ambassador Is the iegdte iaiqe,
who is always II cardinal. Such ministers are
despatched on extraordinary occasions only.
and receive their instructions directly from the
Pope. To the second rank Of diplomatic agents
belong legdij missi or nunti dpostolici. who arc
not. IA n rule. cardinals. but titular arch
bishops. They are called nutii when they nc
tually reside at the courts Of the rulers to whom
they are accredited; IntermU,tU IL they reside
elsewhere. or act only Professionally We may
add that nuncio is sometimes commissioned
with the powers of n legdie ldtre. There is
still another class Of ministers which seems to
have become extinct. but of which we hear
much in history. namely. lcgatcs by oflloo
0egdti ndtU. or those to whose see this function
WIS attached. Such were tho Archbishop Of
Canterbury and York in England. and the Arch
bishop OF Rheims in France; whilc. oddly
enough. in Sicily. the King himself WIS Legd-
his Naius of the Holy See. exercising his leRa-
tine rights through n special tribunal.
As above hinted nothing is more pulling to
the general reader than those titles Of the Ro-
man hierarchy which agree in implying n
wider jurisdiction than that Of n bishop. yet
differ one from another. Take. for instance. the
dignity Of n patriarch. VINO presides In theory
or in fact not merely over one diocese like
bishop, or ono province like metropolitan,
but over several provinces or districts Their
jurisdiction over mctropolitans was similar to
that exercised in turn by the latter over their
sulrragan bishops. Tho four great pari-
archates Of the Eastern Church which MI so
signal role ia ecclesiastical history. those
namely Of Alexandria. Antioch Constnntlnoplc.
and Jerusalem, have fallen into schsm and
hercsy. but the Holy See still creates titular
patriarchs Of these sees. all resident in Rome
except the Patriarch of Jerusalem. who was
sent TO Palestine by Plus 1X. and occu.
pies his post at present. Besides these,
there arc still In the Oriental Church several
actual patriarchs in communion with Rome.
for example, those OF the Chaldeans. Mclchites.
Maronites. Syrians. and Armenians. The Pope
himself is the patriarch ofthe Western or Latin
Church. and there are also in the same body
the Patrarchs Of Lisbon. Venice. and the West
indies. who. however. have only the title. not
the jurisdiction. The dignity OF prhHdie so far
corresponds with that Of patriarch that the for
mer could formerly receive appeals IRON the
sentence Of several metropolitans. At the
present day primatal jurisdiction seems to be
vested only in the primate Of Hungary and in
the Archbishops Of Toledo and Armagh. In
tho United States. tho Archbishop OF Baltimore.
by virtue Of the prerogatlve affixed to his sec.
has precedence in all councils. but the privilege
is simply one Of honor. and carries no prima-
tial rights.
A metropolitan. on tho other hand. Is the
bishop Of n metropolis. or chief city ot prov
ince, who. in that capacity. presides over an
entire district. Ir popular literature metro
poitans are confused with archbishops al
though, strictly speaking the former are those
who have suffragan bishops. while the latter
may not have any. Every metropolitan there
fore. Ia rightly called an archbishop hut not
every archbishop is a metropolitan. According
10 this definition. II Is obvious that both York
and Canterbury are metropolitan secs. One
word as to the ofllce OF coadjutor. so frequently
mentioned in French annals. Az regards ten
ure OF office. these are Of two kinds-thosc
namely. who hold ofllce temporarily until a
bishops death or recovery; and conductors c'on
j'ue. who are appointed with right Of success
sion ut the death Of the bishop. 1t is stated in
this volume that bishops in the United States
who hold the church property Of the diocese in
their own name should. in their testament.
name their coadIutor-it they have one-thcir
heir. CONDUCTORS cum J,re however. are now
very seldom appointed 10y the Holy See.
AZ to the power of the Pope In temporal
things. the author Of this volume cites four
different opinions. The first holds that the
Sovereign Pontir has. by divine right absolute
power over the whole world in political us well
~ ecclesiastical affairs. DR.. Smith pronoun-
COS this notion untcnablc. and says II Is re-
futed Ly Beliarmine himself The Caynistic
view. which denies to the Pope any temporary
power whatever. is. Of course declared hcrcti-
cal. The third and fourth opinions differ
squarey as To- the dcposinG power of the Pope
and as 10 the right Of direct interference in
temporal concerns. and it is interesting tolcarn
from this authoritative exponent Of church
canons and Catholic opinion that both may law
fully be maintained.