Patriarch of the East Indies

The Titular Patriarch of the East Indies (Latin: Patriarcha Indiarum Orientalium; Patriarchatus Indiarum Orientalium for Titular Patriarchate of the East Indies) in the Catholic hierarchy is the title of the Archbishop of Goa and Daman in India; another title of his is that of the Primate of the East. Unlike the patriarchs and the major archbishops of the Eastern Catholic Churches sui juris, the Patriarch of the East Indies only enjoys honorary title and is fully subject to the pope. He has a place within the Latin Church similar to the Patriarchs of Venice and Lisbon. The Patriarch of the East Indies is the diocesan ordinary of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman and the metropolitan archbishop of the Province of Goa and Daman

This title of Patriarch of the East Indies was conferred upon the Archbishop of Goa as part of a settlement between the Holy See and the Portuguese government concerning the link between religious and political aspects of Portuguese colonial expansion. Later, with Portugal's decline as a colonial power, a difficult period resulted that was resolved by a further agreement by which Portugal renounced its rights of patronage (Padroado). In this way the episcopal appointments in actual or former Portuguese colonial territory reverted to the common provisions of ecclesiastical law, and hence to the unhampered decisions of the Holy See. As regards India, this meant that the Holy See was free to make appointments to the episcopate there that took account of the growth of British expansion.

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