Thecoat of arms of a territorial abbot are distinguished by a greengalero with twelve tassels and a goldcrozier with a veil attached.
Aterritorial abbey (orterritorial abbacy) is aparticular church of theCatholic Church comprising defined territory which is not part of adiocese but surrounds anabbey ormonastery whoseabbot orsuperior functions asordinary for all Catholics andparishes in the territory. Such an abbot is called aterritorial abbot orabbotnullius diœceseos (abbreviatedabbotnullius and Latin for "abbot of no diocese"). A territorial abbot thus differs from an ordinary abbot, who exercises authority only within the monastery's walls or tomonks orcanons who have taken theirvows there. A territorial abbot isequivalent to a diocesan bishop inCatholic canon law.
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 a mandate from thepope, just as a bishop cannot be ordained and installed as ordinary of a diocese without such a mandate.[1]
After theSecond 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, abbeysnullius have been phased out in favor of the erection of new dioceses or the absorption of the territory into an existing diocese. A few ancientterritorial abbeys still exist inEurope, and one inKorea.[2]
Tŏkwon (currently the only territorial abbey outside Europe) has been vacant for many years. The Abbot of Waegwan is its present apostolic administrator. It has not been united with any Korean diocese on account of the effective vacancy of the dioceses of North Korea and the lack of effective jurisdiction exercised by the Church based in South Korea.[3]
Belmont Abbey – Mary, Help of Christians, which was the jurisdiction governing half ofNorth Carolina from 1910 until 1960, when it lost its last piece of territory. The jurisdiction as a territorial abbey was formally suppressed in 1977, and the house is now a normal monastery located within theDiocese of Charlotte.[4]
Abbacy Nullius ofCebu (1565-1578) - an abbacyvere nullius dioecesis [Eng. "of no diocese"], which is a kind of abbacy where the religious superior has jurisdiction over the clergy and laity of a district or territory which forms no part whatever of any diocese,[6] was established in 1565 by theAugustinian missionaries to the Philippines who came with theLegazpi expedition to evangelize the natives of the islands. The Augustinians were led by their superior,Andrés de Urdaneta, who consequently became the first prelate of Cebu.[7] The territory of the abbacy covered the entirety of theSpanish East Indies which included the Philippine Islands and other Pacific Islands. The abbacy ceased to exist with the establishment of theDiocese of Manila in 1578 which took over the same territory.
^Cheney, David M. (2007), "Territorial Abbey of Saint Peter-Muenster",Catholic-Hierarchy.org, retrieved2007-08-17
^Oestereich, T. (1907). Abbot. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved April 11, 2022 from New Advent:http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01015c.htm
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Abbot".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Abbot".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
