Definition of: patriarch

(pā′trē·ärk) noun
1. The leader of a family or tribe who rules by paternal right.
2. One of the earliest fathers of the human race, from Adam to Noah: in full: antediluvian patriarch.
3. One of the fathers of the Hebrew race, Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob.
4. One of the twelve sons of Jacob considered as the progenitors of the tribes of Israel.
5. A venerable man; especially the founder of a religion, order, etc.
6. In later Jewish history, the title of the president of the Sanhedrin in Syria and Babylon.
7. Eccl. a In the primitive Christian church, any of the bishops of Antioch, Alexandria, Rome, Constantinople, or Jerusalem. b In the Roman Catholic Church, a prelate inferior only to the pope and the cardinals, appointed as head of one of the ancient eastern patriarchates or of some modern Uniat churches. c In the Greek Orthodox Church, any of the bishops of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, or Jerusalem, sometimes also a prelate of other cities. The bishop of Constantinople, the highest ranking dignitary in the Greek Church, is titled the ecumenical patriarch. d The title of the heads of other Eastern churches, as the Coptic, Armenian, Jacobite, or Nestorian churches.
8. In the Mormon Church, one of the superior order of priests, with special authority and jurisdiction in bestowing blessings. [<OF patriarche <L patriarcha <Gk. patriarchēs head of a family <patria family, clan + archein rule]