An auxiliary bishop is a Catholic or Eastern Orthodox bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions.

Roman Catholicism

History

The history of the auxiliary bishop in the Catholic Church starts in the 6th century in Christian North Africa. At that time, the invasion of North Africa by Muslim Arab armies forced the bishops in that region to flee to Rome. The Catholic Church did not want to acknowledge that these dioceses had been permanently lost, so the popes kept reappointing their bishops. Over the centuries, these exiled bishops lived out their tenures in Rome, receiving financial support from the Vatican without exercising any real responsibilities. By the 15th century, the popes started assigning the bishops on a temporary basis to vacant dioceses in Europe.

In the 16th century, Pope Pius V decreed that these auxiliary bishops could only be assigned to dioceses run by cardinals or archbishops. The dioceses were required to provide financial support for these clerics, freeing the Vatican from their upkeep.

During the 20th and 21st centuries, the following clerics became cardinals after serving as auxiliary bishops earlier in their careers:

In 2017, Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chávez became one of the first Catholic auxiliary bishops to be appointed cardinal. At that time, he was serving as an auxiliary bishop of José Luis Escobar Alas, the archbishop of San Salvador.

Functions

In the Catholic Church, auxiliary bishops serve in a diocese under the authority of the diocesan bishop. However, the auxiliary bishops are fully consecrated, the same as the bishop, with the abilities to perform all the church sacraments and masses.

The bishop assigns the roles and duties of the auxiliary bishop. In many dioceses, the auxiliary bishop serves as the vicar general or episcopal vicar, both top administrative posts. Larger dioceses may have several auxiliary bishops, assigned as administrators of vicariates, deaneries or geographic regions. Auxiliary bishops are frequently appointed to minister to a particular ethnic group within the diocese.Auxiliary bishops frequently represent the bishop at parish events and official ceremonies.

A bishop can remove an auxiliary bishop from assigned positions or responsibilities, but only the pope can remove that cleric from the diocese.

Appointment

To receive an auxiliary bishop in his diocese, the bishop must first convince the apostolic nuncio, the pope's ambassador to that country, of the need for an auxiliary. If the nuncio approves the need, the bishop then gives him a terna, or list, of three candidates. They must be priests or monsignors, normally cleric who are already assigned to the diocese.

After investigating the candidates, the nuncio sends his recommendations to the Dicastery for Bishops in the Vatican. A cardinal relator within the Dicastery studies the nuncio's report and then makes his recommendations to the Dicastery. If the Dicastery approves the recommendation, it is then submitted to the pope for final approval.

Because the auxiliary bishop does not have his own territorial see, the pope appoints him as bishop of a titular see. A titular see is a defunct diocese within the church, frequently in any area that no longer has a Catholic population

Canon law stipulates that an auxiliary bishop does not have the right to automatically succeed a bishop who dies or retires. That right only belongs to the coadjutor bishop. For an auxiliary bishop to succeed a bishop, the pope must appoint him to that position. As with bishops, auxiliary bishops must submit a letter of resignation from their diocese to the pope when they reach age 75. The pope will then decide when to accept that resignation. However, the retired cleric will remain an auxiliary bishop for life.

Eastern Orthodoxy

In Eastern Orthodox Churches, auxiliary bishops are also called vicarian bishops or simply vicar bishops. In the Serbian Orthodox Church, the office of auxiliary (vicar) bishop is entrusted to titular bishops, who are assigned with assisting diocesan bishops in various aspects of diocesan administration.

The Greek word protosyncellus defines an auxiliary bishop who has been elevated to the dignity of vicarian of another titular bishop, and who is assigned to assist and act on behalf of his episcopal authority over the jurisdiction of the episcopal see. For example, Teodosije Šibalić (titular bishop of Lipljan) was appointed auxiliary bishop to the Eparchy of Raška and Prizren in 2004.

See also

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