The Mérida Cathedral in Mérida, Yucatán , Mexico, is one of the oldest cathedrals in the Americas.
41-604: Construction of the cathedral of Mérida began in 1561, and it was completed in 1598. It was the second cathedral to be completed in the Americas (the Cathedral of Santo Domingo , completed in 1550, was the first). It is a unique monument with clear antecedents in Andalusia . The seat of the bishopric of Yucatán, the cathedral was built on the site of Mayan ruins T'ho . The bishopric of Yucatán had an uncertain start. The Yucatán peninsula
82-540: A de facto government, without having been granted by law; but since "Primate" is today a title, not a function, there is no such thing as a " de facto " primate. The pre-reformation metropolitan Archbishop of Nidaros was sometimes referred to as Primate of Norway, even though it is unlikely that this title ever was officially granted to him by the Holy See. The heads of certain sees have at times been referred to, at least by themselves, as primates: Source In
123-568: A canonical visitation, if necessary, in any congregation of the order, and to exercise a general supervision for the regular observance of monastic discipline. The Primatial powers are only vested in the Abbot Primate to act by virtue of the proper law of its autonomous Benedictine congregation, which at the present is minimal to none. However, certain branches of the Benedictine Order seem to have lost their original autonomy to some extent. In
164-536: A metropolitan tribunal is "the tribunal which the metropolitan has designated in a stable manner with the approval of the Apostolic See". The closest equivalent position in the Eastern Churches in 1911 was an Exarch . The Holy See has continued in modern times to grant the title of Primate. With the papal decree Sollicitae Romanis Pontificibus of 24 January 1956 it granted the title of Primate of Canada to
205-589: A nation or region, are now exercised by the president of the conference of bishops : "The president of the Conference or, when he is lawfully impeded, the vice-president, presides not only over the general meetings of the Conference but also over the permanent committee." The president is generally elected by the conference, but by exception the President of the Italian Episcopal Conference is appointed by
246-524: A second wave of anti-Spanish sentiment led to the entire coat of arms being buried beneath a slab on cement. The cement was later removed to reveal the coat of arms as can be seen today. On the cathedral facade there are statues of St. Peter and St. Paul. The statue of St. Paul is distinguished by the sword and the book he is holding. St. Peter is depicted holding the keys to the Church. Cathedral of Santo Domingo The Cathedral of Santa María la Menor in
287-479: A similar way the Confederation of Canons Regular of St. Augustine , elects an Abbot Primate as figurehead of the Confederation and indeed the whole Canonical Order. The Abbots and Superiors General of the nine congregations of confederated congregations of Canons Regular elect a new Abbot Primate for a term of office lasting six years. The Current Abbot Primate is Rt Rev. Fr Jean-Michel Girard, CRB, Abbot General of
328-524: A vast artistic treasure made up of altarpieces , paintings (including a panel of the Virgin of la Altagracia dated 1523), old cabinetry, furniture, monuments and tombstones, among other objects. The mausoleums of the archbishops of the colonial period stand out, it is also worth mentioning the tombstone of Simón Bolívar , one of the predecessors of the Liberator. The remains of Christopher Columbus were housed in
369-421: Is built with calcareous stone, although some walls are made of masonry and bricks, and it has twelve side chapels, three free naves and a main nave. The roof of the central nave is pitched. Those of the side naves are made up of ribbed vaults that face the outside, as if they were hemispherical domes. The greatest length of the basilica is 54 m from the central nave to the bottom of the presbytery . The width of
410-796: The Colonial City of Santo Domingo is dedicated to St. Mary of the Incarnation. It is the oldest existing cathedral in the Americas , begun in 1504 and was completed in 1550, and the second constructed, after the Garðar Cathedral Ruins in Greenland. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Santo Domingo who has the honorary title of Primate of the Indies because this cathedral was the first diocese and
451-453: The Latin Church , a primate is an archbishop —or, rarely, a suffragan or exempt bishop —of a specific (mostly metropolitan) episcopal see (called a primatial see ) who has precedence over the bishoprics of one or more ecclesiastical provinces of a particular historical, political or cultural area. Historically, primates of particular sees were granted privileges including
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#1733093768634492-465: The primate of Poland holds no jurisdictional authority over other Polish bishops or their dioceses, but is durante munere a member of the standing committee of the episcopal conference, and has honorary precedence among Polish bishops (e.g., in liturgical ceremonies). The Holy See has also granted Polish primates the privilege of wearing cardinal's crimson attire, except for the skullcap and biretta , even if they have not been made cardinals . Where
533-513: The Archbishop of Quebec . As stated above, this is merely an honorary title involving no additional power. A right of precedence over other bishops and similar privileges can be granted even to a bishop who is not a Primate. Thus, in 1858, the Holy See granted the Archbishop of Baltimore precedence in meetings of the United States bishops. The Archbishop of Westminster has not been granted
574-733: The Benedictines were ordo sine ordine ("an order without order"). The powers of the Abbot Primate are specified, and his position defined, in a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Bishops and Regulars dated 16 September 1893. The primacy is attached to the global Benedictine Confederation whose Primate resides at Sant'Anselmo in Rome . He takes precedence of all other abbots, is empowered to pronounce on all doubtful matters of discipline, to settle difficulties arising between monasteries, to hold
615-546: The Canons Regular of the Grand St Bernard. Anglican usage styles the bishop who heads an independent church as its "primate", though commonly they hold some other title (e.g. archbishop, presiding bishop, or moderator). The primates' authority within their churches varies considerably: some churches give the primate some executive authority, while in others they may do no more than preside over church councils and represent
656-559: The Mayan temple of Yajam Cumu to build the cathedral. Two known Mayan workers were Francisco Pool, and Diego Can. Although architect Juan Miguel de Agüero completed the cathedral, it was Don Pedro de Aulestia who led the initial construction. The coat of arms on the cathedral facade was originally designed to reflect the Spanish royal coat of arms. The original royal coat consisted of four sections containing symbols of gold castles and crowned lions. At
697-691: The Pope, and the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference has the Primate of All Ireland as president and the Primate of Ireland as vice-president. Other former functions of primates, such as hearing appeals from metropolitan tribunals , were reserved to the Holy See by the early 20th century. Soon after, by the norm of the Code of Canon Law of 1917, confirmed in the 1983 Code, the tribunal of second instance for appeals from
738-457: The Spanish Crown but neither could be consecrated for entirely accidental reasons. A third candidate, fray Francisco Toral, was eventually consecrated and took possession on August 14, 1562. He was the first of a long line of bishops, later archbishops, of Yucatán. The system of vaulting used throughout the building was based on the ideas of Andres de Vandelvira, first applied to the building of
779-509: The authority to call and preside at national synods , jurisdiction to hear appeals from metropolitan tribunals, the right to crown the sovereign of the nation, and presiding at the investiture (installation) of archbishops in their sees. The office is generally found only in older Catholic countries, and is now purely honorific, enjoying no effective powers under canon law —except for the archbishop of Esztergom (Gran) in Hungary. Thus, e.g.,
820-557: The capital of the new colony. The colonial city was set amidst the ruins of the Maya settlement of Ichcansiho (T'ho for short), and work for the church was begun shortly after Toral's arrival. The church was to be built on the eastern side on the main town square, where a temporary building with a roof of palms was erected. It was not until 1562 that construction of the cathedral began. Labor for this construction came from Mayans, some of who still practiced their own religion. Laborers used stones from
861-464: The cathedral for a time, which were transferred in 1795 to the Cathedral of Havana and finally, between 1898 and 1899, to the Cathedral of Seville . The valuable archiepiscopal throne, in the Plateresque style, dates from 1540. It was part of the lower choir, dismantled at the end of the last century to place the marble monument in which the remains of Christopher Columbus were kept. The cathedral
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#1733093768634902-561: The cathedral of Jaen. Indeed, there is every possibility that Vandelvira's schemes were brought to the Mérida project by the first bishop of Yucatán, fray Francisco Toral, who hailed from Ubeda, a town in the Jaen province. References to the cathedral can be found in the Books of Chilam Balam . Land had been set aside for the cathedral at Mérida, the place recycled by the Spanish under Francisco de Montejo as
943-659: The church ceremonially. In the context of the Anglican Communion Primates' Meeting , the chief bishop of each of the thirty-nine churches (also known as provinces) that compose the Anglican Communion acts as its primate, though this title may not necessarily be used within their own provinces. Thus the United Churches of Bangladesh, of North India, of Pakistan and of South India, which are united with other originally non-Anglican churches, are represented at
984-472: The city of Santo Domingo de Guzmán. The Cathedral of Santo Domingo is the oldest existing in the Americas, built by order of Pope Julius II in 1504. Headquarters of the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo , its construction began in 1512, under the pastoral government of the first bishop of Santo Domingo, Friar García Padilla, who never came to the island; based on plans by the architect Alonso de Rodríguez. With
1025-613: The crypt of the Archbishops and the lateral Baptismal chapel. Among the works, the painting of Our Lady of la Antigua, donated by the Admiral. The organ was brought to Magdeburg in 1860. The architecture of the building of the Cathedral of Santo Domingo is characterized by a Gothic style with ribbed vaults , solid walls and three doors, two of them Gothic in contrast to the third and main of Gothic- Plateresque style. The cathedral contains
1066-402: The founding of Portugal , the Archbishop of Braga held precedence over all other archbishops in the country, though his role declined under the rise of the Archdiocese of Lisbon , which culminated in 1716, when Archbishop Tomás de Almeida (1670–1754) was elevated to Patriarch . Some of the leadership functions once exercised by Primates, specifically presiding at meetings of the bishops of
1107-563: The meetings by their moderators. In both the Church of England and the Church of Ireland , two bishops have the title of primate: the archbishops of Canterbury and York in England and of Armagh and Dublin in Ireland. Only the bishop of the senior primatial see of each of these two churches participates in the meetings. The archbishop of Canterbury, who is considered primus inter pares of all
1148-631: The modern confederation of the Benedictine Order , all the Black Monks of St. Benedict were united under the presidency of an Abbot Primate (Leo XIII, Summum semper , 12 July 1893); but the unification, fraternal in its nature, brought no modification to the abbatial dignity, and the various congregations preserved their autonomy intact. The loose structure of the Benedictine Confederation is claimed to have made Pope Leo XIII exclaim that
1189-534: The oldest cathedral established in the New World in the post-Columbus era. The cathedral is fronted with a golden-tinted coral limestone façade. The building is Gothic , a notable example of real Gothic architecture outside Europe. There is also a treasury which has an excellent art collection of ancient woodcarvings, furnishings, funerary monuments, silver, and jewelry. It is located between Calle Arzobispo Merino and Isabel la Católica, next to Columbus Park in
1230-652: The participants, convokes the meetings and issues the invitations. Primates and archbishops are styled "The Most Reverend". All other bishops are styled "The Right Reverend", with the exception of the Bishop of Meath and Kildare in the Church of Ireland. Historically, the primatial title in Western Christianity corresponded to the title and office of supra-metropolitan exarch in Eastern Christianity . Such exarchs, or primates, were archbishops of Ephesus (for
1271-591: The rank of Metropolitan Cathedral and Primate of America at the request of King Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor . Another promotion came in 1920 when Pope Benedict XV elevated it to "Minor Basilica of the Virgin of the Annunciation". In the second half of the 16th century, the Cloister sector was built on the south side, with the cells of the canons; another example is found in the Cathedral of Salamanca in Spain. In 1547
Cathedral of Mérida, Yucatán - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-510: The south, the cloister called Plazoleta de los Curas. The annexes around the courtyard allow a passage called Callejón de Curas. Primate (bishop) Primate ( / ˈ p r aɪ m ə t / ) is a title or rank bestowed on some important archbishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority ( title of authority ) or (usually) ceremonial precedence ( title of honour ). In
1353-465: The three naves is 23 m. The highest height from floor to vault reaches 16 meters, and the built area exceeds 3,000 square meters. Fourteen side chapels were built throughout the cathedral's history. The surroundings of the cathedral are formulated in three independent spaces, to the north the Plaza de Armas, the battlemented atrium is like an antechamber that marks the main entrance to the religious complex. To
1394-566: The title of Primate of England and Wales, which is sometimes applied to him, but his position has been described as that of "Chief Metropolitan" and as "similar to" that of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The title of Primate is sometimes applied loosely to the Archbishop of a country's capital, as in the case of the Archbishops of Seoul in South Korea and of Edinburgh in Scotland. Functions can sometimes be exercised in practice ( de facto ), as by
1435-414: The title of primate exists, it may be vested in one of the oldest archdioceses in a country, often based in a city other than the present capital, but which was the capital when the country was first Christianized. The city may no longer have the prominence it had when the title was granted. The political area over which primacy was originally granted may no longer exist: for example, the Archbishop of Toledo
1476-409: The very top of the coat was a representation of the royal crown of Spain. After Mexico's independence, the shield was partially destroyed due to anti-Spanish sentiment. The central piece of the shield containing the castles and lions were removed using a pickaxes and chisels. In 1824, the empty shield was filled with a Mexican eagle wearing the imperial crown of Iturbide. After the redesign of the shield,
1517-535: The work on the bell tower was interrupted, because its height, surpassing the Homage tower , had caused disturbances to the sentinels. It was the headquarters of the troops of Sir Francis Drake during his invasion of 1586, who sacked it. Apparently in 1665 there was a second consecration. Initially without chapels , in 1740 it had 9 and currently it has 14. The Chapels of Alonso de Suazo, Rodrígo, Bastídas, Geraldini and Diego Caballero deserve special mention, as well as
1558-465: The work stopped, they continued with a new design by Luis de Moya and Rodrigo de Liendo in 1522 with the intervention of Bishop Alessandro Geraldini . The architect Alonso González, inspired by the Seville Cathedral , partially completed the church in 1550. Successively Alonso de Fuenmayor , promoted the works and on August 31, 1541, it was consecrated. In 1546 Pope Paul III elevated it to
1599-675: Was designated "Primate of the Visigothic Kingdom ", and the Archbishop of Lyon is the " Primate of the Gauls ". The title of Primate can, therefore, also be disputed between different Archdioceses who, at some point, held proeminence over a shifting territory; such is the dispute over the Primacy of the Spains that was fought over by the Archdioceses of Braga , Toledo and Santiago de Compostela . After
1640-468: Was explored by Francisco Hernandez de Córdoba and Juan de Grijalva on behalf of Diego Velazquez de Cuellar, the adelantado of Cuba, in 1517 and 1518. The creation of a diocese in the recently discovered country was urged by Velazquez, who presumed to have jurisdiction over the region and hoped to colonize it. An episcopal see known as "Carolense" was indeed created by Pope Leo X in 1519 (later renamed "Our Lady of Remedies" by Clement VII ). But said diocese
1681-400: Was not implemented in the territory of Yucatán but in that of Tlaxcala instead and later on was moved to Puebla. It cannot therefore be considered the predecessor of the diocese of Yucatán. The diocese of Yucatán proper, named "Yucatan and Cozumel," was created by Pius IV in 1561. St. Ildephonsus of Toledo was invoked as the patron. Two prelates for the new see were nominated in succession by