Editing Primus inter pares (section)

== Religion ==

=== Catholic Church ===
{{See also|Apostolic succession}}In [[Latin Church|Latin]] and [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Eastern Catholic]] Churches, the [[Pope]] (Bishop of Rome) is seen as the [[Vicar of Christ]] and "first among equals", the successor of [[Saint Peter]], and leader of the Christian world, in accordance with the rules of [[Apostolic succession]] to the [[Apostles in the New Testament|apostles]]. In the [[Catholic Church]], the Pope holds the office with supreme authority in [[canon law]] over all other bishops.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Barbu |first=Stefanita |title=Primus inter pares? A historical-theological analysis of the question of papal primacy in the Orthodox-Roman Catholic dialogue from an Orthodox perspective}}</ref>
 
In the Catholic Church, the [[Dean of the College of Cardinals]] is the first among equal Prince of the Church in the college, which is the pope's highest-ranking council and elects the papal successor, generally from its own ranks.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-12-21 |title=Pope issues Motu proprio regarding Dean of College of Cardinals - Vatican News |url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-12/pope-francis-motu-proprio-dean-cardinals-sodano.html |access-date=2025-01-17 |website=www.vaticannews.va |language=en}}</ref>

Various episcopal sees were granted or claim the title of [[Primate (bishop)|primate]] (usually of a past or present political entity), which grants such a ''primas'' (usually a metropolitan archbishopric, often in a former/present capital) precedence over all other sees in its circumscription, outranking (other) metropolitan sees, but the incumbent primates can be trumped by personal ranks, as they rank below cardinals. More commonly, dioceses are geographically grouped in an [[ecclesiastical province]], where only one holds the rank of [[metropolitan archbishop]], which outranks his colleagues, who are therefore called his [[suffragan]]s, even if these include (fairly rarely) another archbishop.

=== Eastern Orthodox Churches ===
{{See also|Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople#Prerogatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate}}{{Primary sources|date=May 2023}}
The phrase "first among equals" is also used to describe the role of the [[patriarch of Constantinople]], who, as the "ecumenical patriarch", is the first among all the [[bishop]]s of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]. He has no direct jurisdiction over the other [[patriarch]]s or the other [[autocephalous]] Orthodox churches and cannot interfere in the election of bishops in autocephalous churches, but he alone enjoys the right of convening extraordinary synods consisting of them or their delegates to deal with ad hoc situations, and he has also convened well-attended pan-Orthodox Synods in the last forty years. His title is an acknowledgement of his historic significance and of his privilege to serve as primary spokesman for the [[Eastern Orthodox Church organization|Eastern Orthodox Communion]]. 

[[Eastern Christianity|Eastern Christians]] considered the bishop of Rome to be the "first among equals" during the first thousand years of Christianity<ref name="Ware 214">Timothy Ware, ''The Orthodox Church'' (Oxford: Penguin, 1993), 214–17.</ref> according to the ancient, first millennial order (or "taxis" in Greek) of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, known as the [[Pentarchy]] that was established after Constantinople became the eastern capital of the Byzantine Empire.<ref name="Ware 214" /><ref>[https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/ch_orthodox_docs/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20071013_documento-ravenna_en.html Ecclesiological and Canonical Consequences of the Sacramental Nature of the Church: Ecclesial Communion, Conciliarity and Authority (The Ravenna Document)], ''Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Church'', 13 October 2007, n. 35.</ref> 

The canons relative to the universal primacy of honor of the [[List of ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople|patriarch of Constantinople]] are the 9th canon of the [[synod of Antioch]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/site/canonsoc/home/-canons-of-the-particular-councils/antioch-council-341|title=Antiochean Council (341) - The Canons of the Eastern Orthodox Church|website=sites.google.com|access-date=2018-12-06|quote=Canon 9. The presiding Bishop in a metropolis must be recognized by the Bishops belonging to each province (or eparchy), and undertake the cure of the entire province, because of the fact that all who have any kind of business to attend to are wont to come from all quarters to the metropolis. Hence it has seemed best to let him have precedence in respect of honor, and to let the rest of the Bishops do nothing extraordinary without him, in accordance with the ancient Canon of the Fathers which has been prevailing, or only those things which are imposed upon the parish of each one of them and upon the territories under it.|archive-date=2020-10-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009181211/https://sites.google.com/site/canonsoc/home/-canons-of-the-particular-councils/antioch-council-341|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{Non-primary source needed|date=May 2023}} and the 28th canon of the [[Council of Chalcedon]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0835/_P1W.HTM|title=Canons of the seven ecumenical councils: text - IntraText CT|website=www.intratext.com|access-date=2018-12-07|quote=Everywhere following the decrees of the Holy Fathers, and aware of the recently recognized Canon of the one hundred and fifty most God-beloved [[Bishops in the Catholic Church|Bishops]] who convened during the reign of [[Theodosius I|Theodosius the Great]] of pious memory, who became emperor in the imperial city of Constantinople otherwise known as New Rome; we too decree and vote the same things in regard to the privileges and priorities of the most holy Church of that same Constantinople and [[New Rome]]. And this is in keeping with the fact that the Fathers naturally enough granted the priorities to the throne of Old Rome on account of her being the imperial capital. And motivated by the same object and aim the one hundred and fifty most God-beloved Bishops have accorded the like priorities to the most holy throne of New Rome, with good reason deeming that the city which is the seat of an empire, and of a senate, and is equal to old imperial Rome in respect of other privileges and priorities, should be magnified also as she is in respect of ecclesiastical affairs, as coming next after her, or as being second to her.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://orthodoxie.com/en/ukraine-orthodoxy-the-war-of-the-patriarchs-interview-with-father-jivko-panev/|title="Ukraine - Orthodoxy: The war of the patriarchs", interview with Father Jivko Panev|last=Cazabonne|first=Emma|date=2018-12-06|website=Orthodoxie.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://orthodoxie.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/interview-Father-Panev-and-Il-Regno.pdf|title="Ukraine - Orthodoxy: The war of the patriarchs", interview with Father Jivko Panev|website=orthodoxie.com|page=5|access-date=2018-12-07}}</ref>{{Non-primary source needed|date=May 2023}}

===Lutheran Churches===
In the Lutheran [[Church of Sweden]], the [[Archbishop of Uppsala]] is considered by the church as {{lang|la|primus inter pares}}.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Vad gör en ärkebiskop? - Svenska kyrkan|url=https://www.svenskakyrkan.se/arkebiskopen/vad-gor-en-arkebiskop|website=Church of Sweden Website (in Swedish)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Church Structures and Regulations|url=https://www.svenskakyrkan.se/SVK/eng/structur.htm|website=www.svenskakyrkan.se|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080317055426/http://www.svenskakyrkan.se/SVK/eng/structur.htm|archive-date=17 March 2008}}</ref> As such, the Archbishop of Uppsala has no powers over the other 13 bishops but has some additional administrative and spiritual duties, as specified in the [[Church Order (Lutheran)|Church Order]] of the Church of Sweden.<ref name=":0" /> According to the chapter 8 of the Church Order, only the Archbishop of Uppsala can ordain a bishop. The other bishops of the Church of Sweden are peers, not subordinate, to the Archbishop of Uppsala. Among the Archbishop of Uppsala's other duties is the obligation to convene and chair the Episcopal Assembly. Unlike the other bishops, who are elected to office by members of their diocese, the Archbishop of Uppsala is elected by the entire body of the church. There is a peculiar regulation that stipulates that the total votes cast in the archdiocese of Uppsala, when electing an archbishop, "shall be divided by ten, with decimals removed", before being added to the national vote.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.svenskakyrkan.se/filer/9a3c1a83-62ce-43e4-9141-82558ea3ed97.pdf|title=Kyrkoordning för Svenska kyrkan (1 januari 2021)|publisher=Svenska kyrkan|website=Church of Sweden Website (in Swedish)}}</ref>

In the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland]], the [[Archbishop of Turku and Finland]] serves as the ''primus inter pares''.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Archbishop |url=https://evl.fi/en/the-church/organisation/the-archbishop/ |publisher=[[Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland]] |access-date=6 December 2024}}</ref>

The bishop of the [[Slovak Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Serbia]] is the primus inter pares of that denomination.<ref>{{cite web |title=Serbia: Passing on the Slovak language and the message of faith |url=https://lutheranworld.org/news/serbia-passing-slovak-language-and-message-faith |access-date=6 December 2024 |language=en |date=20 August 2021}}</ref>

=== Anglican Communion ===
According to the [[Anglican Covenant]], the [[archbishop of Canterbury]] is "first among equals" in his presidency over the [[Anglican Communion]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.anglicancommunion.org/media/99905/The_Anglican_Covenant.pdf|title=The Anglican Covenant|publisher=Anglican Communion Office|website=Anglican Communion Website}}</ref> The senior bishop of the seven diocesan bishops of the [[Scottish Episcopal Church]] bears the truncated title [[Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church|primus]] from {{lang|la|primus inter pares}}. Leading bishops or primates in other Anglican 'national' churches are often said to be {{lang|la|primus inter pares}} within their provinces (e.g. Church of Ireland), while the (first) primatial see of Canterbury remains primus among them.

However, on 20 February 2023, the [[Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches]] declared the Archbishop of Canterbury had lost its mantle of first among equals due to him accepting the [[Church of England]]'s incorporation into the [[Christian liturgy#Anglican Communion|Anglican liturgy]] of [[Blessing of same-sex unions in Christian churches|blessings of same-sex unions]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=McKeown |first=Jonah |date=23 February 2023 |title=Conservative Anglican leaders reject archbishop of Canterbury over same-sex union blessings |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253715/anglican-leaders-reject-archbishop-of-canterbury-over-decision-to-bless-same-sex-couples |access-date=2023-02-25 |website=Catholic News Agency |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Rocca |first=Francis X. |title=Conservative Anglican Leaders Call for Break With Church of England Over Same-Sex Blessings |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/conservative-anglican-leaders-call-for-break-with-church-of-england-over-same-sex-blessings-7215b707 |access-date=2023-02-25 |date=20 February 2023|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-02-20 |title=Justin Welby rejected as leader by conservative Anglicans over same-sex blessings |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-64711815 |access-date=2023-02-25|first1=Harry|last1=Farley}}</ref>

The International Anglican-Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission, in its 2007 agreed statement ''Growing Together in Unity and Mission,'' "urge[s] Anglicans and Catholics to explore together how the ministry of the Bishop of Rome might be offered and received in order to assist our Communions to grow towards full, ecclesial communion".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Commentary and study guide on Growing Together in Unity and Mission: An Agreed Statement by the International Anglican – Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission |url=https://www.anglicancommunion.org/media/104618/Paul-Richardson-commentary.pdf |website=Anglican Communion}}</ref>

===Reformed and Presbyterianism===
The [[Moderator of the General Assembly]] in a [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian church]] is similarly designated as a {{lang|la|primus inter pares}}. This concept holds also for the Moderators of each [[Presbyterian polity|Synod]], [[Presbyterian polity|Presbytery]], and [[Session (Presbyterianism)|Kirk Session]]. As all elders are ordained – some for teaching and some for ruling – none sit in higher status, but all are considered equal behind the one and only head of the church Jesus Christ.<ref>[[:s:The Confession of Faith of the Assembly of Divines at Westminster#Chapter 25|Westminster Confession of Faith Chapter XXV, article vi]]</ref>

In churches and denominations with a three office view (i.e., there are three ecclesiastical offices; namely minister, elder, and deacon), the minister does not hold more ruling authority than the elders, but has additional duties of administering the sacraments and preaching. He is also expected to lead the session or consistory of elders.