Catholicos, plural
Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain
churches in some
Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies
autocephaly and in some cases is borne by the designated head of an autonomous church, in which case the holder might have other titles such as
Patriarch. In other cases a catholicos heads a
Particular Church and is subject to a patriarch or other church head. The word comes from
ancient Greek καθολικός, pl. καθολικοί, derived from καθ' ὅλου (
kath'olou, "generally") from κατά (
kata, "down") and ὅλος (
holos, "whole"), meaning "concerning the whole, universal, general"; it originally designated a financial or civil office in the
Roman Empire. The name of the
Catholic Church comes from the same word.