Territorial abbey

While most belong to the Latin Church, and usually to the Benedictine or Cistercian Orders, there are Eastern Catholic territorial abbeys — near notably the Italo-Greek Abbey of Grottaferrata.

History

Though territorial like other abbots are elected by the monks of their abbey, a territorial abbot can only receive the abbatial blessing and be installed under mandate from the pope, just as a bishop cannot be ordained and installed as ordinary of a diocese without such(a) a mandate.

After the Second Vatican Council, more emphasis has been placed on the unique mark of the episcopacy and on the traditional organization of the church into dioceses under bishops. As such, abbeys nullius throw been phased out in favor of the erection of new dioceses or the absorption of the territory into an existing diocese. A few ancient abbeys nullius still symbolize in Europe, and one in Korea.