[pa.tri.arch] n [ME patriarche, fr. OF, fr. LL patriarcha, fr. Gk patriarches, fr. patria lineage (fr. patr-, pater father) + -arches -arch--more at father] (13c) 1 a: one of the scriptural fathers of the human race or of the Hebrew people b: a man who is father or founder c (1): the oldest member or representative of a group (2): a venerable old man d: a man who is head of a patriarchy
2. a: any of the bishops of the ancient or Eastern Orthodox sees of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem or the ancient and Western see of Rome with authority over other bishops b: the head of any of various Eastern churches c: a Roman Catholic bishop next in rank to the pope with purely titular or with metropolitan jurisdiction
3: a Mormon of the Melchizedek priesthood empowered to perform the ordinances of the church and pronounce blessings within a stake or prescribed jurisdiction