Territorial abbot

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Coat of arms of a territorial abbot

A territorial abbot or abbot nullius (short for abbot of an abbey nullius diœceseos, Latin: "belonging to no diocese") heads a territorial abbey or territorial abbacey, which is a type of particular church within the Roman Catholic Church.

Normally an abbot is the superior of a monastery, and exercises authority over a religious family of monks - his authority extends only as far as the monastery's walls, or only to the monks who have taken their vows in his monastery. A territorial abbot, on the other hand, additionally functions as the ecclesiastical governor for a territory around the monastery, in much the same way a bishop does for a diocese.

The practice arose in part because abbeys have sometimes served as missions: a monastery was sometimes erected in territories where Christianity was first being preached, or in remote and poor areas or areas still being settled. As the monastery was the only ecclesiastical presence in this area, and as the monks sometimes served as the parish clergy in parishes near the monastery, with even the monastery's own chapel being a worship space for the laity who had settled nearby, the abbot of the monastery, though having received only the priesthood in the sacrament of Holy Orders, was invested with the same administrative authority under Canon law as a diocesan bishop for a given territory around the abbey. Thus, with the exception of actually ordaining new priests himself, the abbot so empowered could do almost everything else a diocesan bishop would for those under his care, including incardinate (that is, enroll under his jurisdiction) even non-monastic priests and deacons for service in parishes.

Territorial abbeys still exist in some parts of the world: in sparsely settled or missionary areas, and in Europe where some ancient abbeys nullius still retain their rights.

Though territorial (like other) abbots are elected by the monks of their abbey, a territorial abbot can only receive the abbatial blessing and be installed under mandate from the Pope, just as a bishop cannot be installed as ordinary of a diocese without such a mandate.

After the Second Vatican Council, more emphasis has been placed on the unique nature of the episcopacy and on the traditional organization of the church into dioceses under bishops. As such, abbeys nullius have been phasing out in favor of the erection of new dioceses or absorption of the territory into an existing diocese. A few ancient abbeys nullius still exist in Europe, and one in Brazil.

[edit] List of territorial abbacies

In July 2006, there were only eleven, nearly all Latin rite, in fact titular sees that have kept their title as bows to their history. Most are in Europe:

Italy (list to be updated):

Farfa (united with Sabina – Poggio Mirteto diocese) in Italy
Fontevivo (united with Parma)
Pomposa (united with Ferrara – Comacchio)
San Columbano Abbey (united with Piacenza – Bobbio)
San Martino al Monte Cimino (united with Viterbo)
San Michele Arcangelo di Montescaglioso (united with Matera – Irsina)
San Salvatore Maggiore (united with Rieti)
Santa Maria di Polsi (united with Locri – Gerace)
Santissimo Salvatore (united with Messina – Lipari – Santa Lucia del Mela)

In other European countries:

Cluny (in Burgundy; now united with Autun diocese) is the only one in France; historically Cluny was the mother house of the Congregation of Cluny as result of the Cluniac monastic reform of the 11th Century, primarily in that it removed many Benedectine abbeys under its jurisdiction from local feudal allegiances (hence establishing their independence) and had new one founded; it became extremely rich and influential within and beyond the Church.
Maria Einsiedeln and Saint-Maurice are in Switzerland
Pannonhalma is the only one in Hungary
Wettingen-Mehrerau is the only one in Austria

Outside Europe:

Tokwon in North Korea (ecclesiastically united with South Korea) had been vacant for over fifty years until 2005, when Fr. Francis Ri was appointed as the abbot. It has not been united with any diocese in either south or north Korea due to the effective vacancy of the ones in North Korea and the lack of effective jurisdiction applied by South Korean church.

Historically there have been more, such as

St. Peter-Muenster ^[1], which from 1921 until 1998 served a remote area of Saskatchewan, Canada (the abbey still exists, but its territorial jusrisdiction and duties were absorbed by the Diocese of Saskatoon
St. Alexander Orosci, enclaved in the Albanian diocese of Alessio
Pinerolo, a prince-abbacy in Piedmont later transformed into a bishopric.
Abbey of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome (surpressed in 2005).