Pope

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Pope is a title of honor, meaning papa or father in Greek, given to the primatial bishop of the Church of Alexandria.

The title was also used historically by the pre-schism Church of Rome (and its modern descendent, the Roman Catholic Church) and continues to be used by the Oriental Orthodox Coptic Orthodox Church. The Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria holds the title of Pope, but often uses Patriarch.

Old Believers, Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Malovan, and Ukrainian Churches use the word pope (поп, піп) as a synonym for priest, though when addressing a priest they will usually call him batiushka (father). However, depending on the speaker, this term might be one that is used derogatorily against the priest.


Current popes