Roman Catholic Society of Pope Leo XIII - PATRIARCHATE of the COMMONWEALTH. ICAB-UK

To the left is a Patriarchal Coat of Arms it is the same Patriarchal Arms used by our late Patriarch, Dom Luis Fernando Castillo Mendez, it is now used by this continuing Patriarchate as a sign of Office. Although, by divine institution and consecration, Bishops are all equal, yet Ecclesiastical Law has introduced certain modifications in episcopal authority, by virtue of which, some Bishops are superior to others, exercising over them a real authority, a participation, as it were, of the supreme Prelacy of the Sovereign Pontiff. Such are Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops or Metropolitans.

When a man is raised to an ecclesiastical dignity, the only rule of conduct proper for Catholics to follow is to recognize the new dignitary as such, and to give him the honours due to his rank .But this rank must be indicated in some manner, so that the faithful may recognize it and pay it due honour. For this purpose, the Church has assigned a special costume to various Prelates. Now, the obligation of a Prelate is correlative. Since it is the duty of the faithful to pay due respect to his dignity, the Prelate is reciprocally bound to make his dignity known by wearing the proper costume. Owing to personal sentiments of humility, one may sometimes be opposed to this solemn display; but the example given by great saints like the noble Cardinal St. Charles Borromeo, and the holy Bishop, St. Francis de Sales, who were scrupulously faithful in observing the least prescriptions of the Ceremonials, proves that such humility has no legitimate foundation.

Literally the word Patriarch means a “Chief of Fathers.” The appellation is very ancient. The title of the early Bishops being that of “Father,” their leaders were quite naturally called “Patriarchs.”

Patriarchate is the country and land area covered by the spiritual jurisdiction of a Patriarch, or his area of responsibility, title of an exalted bishop, implying authority over a number of other bishops.

For example, the Patriarch of Alexandria is responsible for his patriarchate which covers Egypt and all of Africa.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church there are four ancient patriarchates, which are headed by a patriarch, being Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, In the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church (ICAB) it was the Patriarch of Brazil which headed some churches in 17 countries which upon his death reduced to 4.

A Patriarchate is that which is governed by our appointed Cardinal -Archbishop this is because not only was His Beatitude David Bell consecrated a Catholic Bishop. appointed as Archbishop and Primate including the first ever European Secretary for Doctrine & Faith of the Brazilian Patriarchate by His Beatitude, Patriarch Luis Fernando Castillo Mendez the second Patriarch of the Brazilian Catholic Church to succeed Patriarch Duarte Costa. But he also on the 23 October 2009 in presence of several UK and Brazilian Bishops appointed Cardinal-Archbishop David Bell as a Titular Patriarch of the Commonwealth & United Kingdom.

The Greek Orthodox Church in the United States comes under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

So the patriarchate or area of responsibility of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is fairly large and covers many areas of the world. The largest patriarchate in the world is the Moscow Patriarchate, headed by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, which covers Russia's 100 million Orthodox Christians.

To use a local example, a patriarchate is like a parish, except much bigger in size. Just as a priest is responsible for the people within his parish, likewise a patriarch is responsible for the people in his patriarchate.

1^St Patriarch of Brazil, His Beatitude; Patriarch Dom Carlos Duarte Costa, Archbishop of Rio de Janerio 1937 who was appointed by His Beatitude as;

Titular Patriarch of Caracas & Venezuela appointed 1948. His Beatitude, Patriarch Luis Fernando Castillo Mendez who was elected upon the death of Patriarch Dom Duarte Costa by some 40 bishops of ICAB as:
2ND Patriarch of Brazil & later in 2005 took the title of Patriarch of Brazil & United Kingdom who appointed by His Beatitude as:

Cardinal - Archbishop David Bell, Archbishop of London, Primate of England, Ireland Scotland & Wales, European Secretary for Doctrine & Faith of the Brazilian Patriarchate. In 2009 Cardinal Archbishop Bell was appointed Titular Patriarch of British Commonwealth & United Kingdom by H. B Patriarch Mendez.
Titular Patriarch David Bell was installed after the sudden death of His Beatitude Patriarch Mendez by some 43 Bishops of SPLXIII as Patriarch of the Commonwealth & United Kingdom as per desire of the late Patriarch Luis Fernando Castillo Mendez wish.

Patriarchate is the derived word meaning patriarchs office I.e the territory he governs. In ancient times the oldest canon law admitted only three bishops having patriarchal rights. In 1054 more patriarchates grew.

The above documents is the elevaton document of Patriarch Carlos Duarte Costa to Titular Patriarch Luis Fernando Castillo Mendez notice the Black & White document in the top left hand corner carries 15 tassles which clearly identifies a Patriarch. The second document is the one of many documents issued to Cardinal Archbishop David Bell by the late Patriarch Castillo Mendez and the new installation / elevation document by the College of Bishops of some 43 in total installing from Titular Patriarch to Patriarch.

The above document is the elevation document from Archbishop to Cardinal as issued by His Beatitude, Patriarch Luis Fernando Castillo Mendez co signed by the Chancellor. The document next to it is the reverese of the document signed & sealed in Brazil by the Notary Office who witnessed the signatures & seals of His Beatitude, Patriarch Mendez and the Chancellor before him in his presence. Along with the Brazilian Foreign Office who witnessed the signature & seal of the Notary who with the British Embassy in Brasilia witnessed the signature & seal of the Brazilian Foreign Office. The British Embassy attached an Apostille known as legalisation in line with the Hague Convention 1961. In order for the document to have legal status in foreign countries the Apostille must be attached.

All documents issued by the late Patriarch of Brazil to SPLXIII has the above signatures & seals which also has a Unique verificaton number so governments can trace the genuine documentation route.

The different classes of prelates in order of rank; The Pope, who is the supreme Prelate; the Cardinals, Patriarchs, Archbishops and Bishops, Regular Prelates.

Every Catholic knows who the Pope is and the high rank he holds in the Church. He is the “Bishop of Bishops,”11 the “Prelate of Prelates.” He possesses supreme and infallible authority to teach and govern the Church. He is above laws and canons,12 and though he has been despoiled of his temporal power, he is still recognized as a Sovereign by nearly all civilized nations.

In the present study, we have but to remark that the Pope, being the Supreme Prelate, wears a special prelatical costume, and that certain materials and colours are reserved for him

The title of Patriarch was first given to the Bishops of Rome “although since the reign of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI this is no longer used“, Alexandria and Antioch, three Episcopal sees the foundation of which is ascribed to St. Peter.

The Commonwealth nations comprises of 53 independent sovereign states. Most of these states were earlier territories of the British Empire. It includes about a quarter of the world's population and land surface. They share a common language and a similar system of government and law. The organization promotes democracy, the rule of law, good governance and human rights.

The members of the commonwealth are Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Cameroon, Canada, Cyprus, Dominica, Fiji Islands, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Kingdom, Vanuatu and Zambia.

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