In the Roman Catholic Church, a major archbishop is an Eastern Rite hierarch who has the same jurisdiction in his autonomous (sui juris) particular Church that an Eastern-rite patriarch has in his, but whose episcopal see is less prestigious than a patriarchal see. Consequently, there are ceremonial differences between the two:

• Major archbishops rank below patriarchs but immediately precede primates, and
• If made members of the College of Cardinals, major archbishops join the Cardinal Priests, whereas Eastern-Rite Patriarchs join the Cardinal Bishops.

Like patriarchs, major archbishops are elected by the synod of the sui iuris Church. But unlike patriarchs, their election requires confirmation by the Pope. The title major archbishop in the

By December 2005, the number of major archbishops had grown to four, each leading a major archiepiscopal autonomous (sui iuris) Church:

Großerzbischof Arhiepiscop Major