In the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop is a title for an hierarch to whose archiepiscopal see is granted the same jurisdiction in his autonomous (sui juris) particular Church that an Eastern patriarch has in his.

The title is used for archbishops of episcopal sees that were founded more recently than the patriarchal sees and are therefore less prestigious. Consequently, there are differences between the two offices. Major archbishops rank immediately below patriarchs in the order of precedence of the Catholic Church. If made members of the College of Cardinals, major archbishops join the order of Cardinal-Priests, whereas patriarchs of the east join the highest order, Cardinal-Bishops. Like patriarchs, major archbishops are elected by the synod of the sui iuris Church, but their election requires confirmation by the Pope, not mere notification and granting of communion required of patriarchs.

The title was first granted to the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in 1963. The Syro-Malabar Church became major archiepiscopal in 1992, followed by the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church and the Romanian Greek Catholic Church in 2005, resulting in four major archbishops each leading a major archiepiscopal autonomous Church:

Sviatoslav Shevchuk (born 5 May 1970, Ukrainian: Святосла́в Шевчу́к) is the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church since 25 March 2011.

Sviatoslav Shevchuk was born in 1970, in Stryi, Ukrainian SSR. He was ordained as a priest on 26 June 1994. From 2002 to 2005 he worked as head of the secretariat of Major Archbishop Lubomyr Husar. In 2006 he obtained a Doctorate in theology from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas and he was rector of the seminary of Lviv.

On January 14, 2009, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Eparchy of Santa María del Patrocinio en Buenos Aires and consecrated bishop on 7 April 2009, by Archbishop Ihor Vozniak. On 10 April 2010, he was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the same diocese. In addition to Ukrainian and Spanish, he knows Polish, Russian, English, Italian, Greek, Latin and Old Slavonic.

On 23 March 2011, he was elected Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church to replace the retired Lubomyr Husar. This decision was confirmed by Pope Benedict XVI on 25 March 2011. He was enthroned on 27 March 2011. The patriarchs of two of Ukraine's three main Orthodox communities (including UOC-MP) and a leading hierarch of the other were present for the enthronement in the church's new seat, the Cathedral of the Resurrection.

His Beatitude Mar George Alencherry (Malayalam: ആലഞ്ചേരീല്‍ മാര്‍ ഗീവര്‍ഗിസ്) is the current Major archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamali and the head of Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. He was appointed as the Oriental (Eastern) Cardinal of the Catholic Church and the titular Archpriest of San Bernardo alle Terme in Rome and ordained on 18th February 2012 in Rome. Elected by the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church Holy Synod, and ratified by Pope Benedict XVI, Mar George Allencherry is the current Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly succeeding Mar Varkey Vithayathil.

Mar George Alencherry was born on 19 th April 1945 in the parish of Thuruthy in the archdiocese of Changancherry as the sixth child of the ten children of Mr. Philipose and Mary Alencherry of whom two others are priests (Fr. Jose Alencherry and Fr. Francis Alencherry, SDB) and one, a religious sister Sr.Cherupushpam ,S.A.B.S.). Geevarghese is his baptismal name. Mar George Alencherry had his primary schooling at St Mary’s School, Thuruthy and secondary education at St Berchman’s High School, Changanacherry. He began his priestly formation in 1961 at the archdiocesan minor seminary at Parel, Changanacherry. While he pursued his studies in the minor seminary, he obtained his BA in economics with second rank from St Berchman’s College. After the minor seminary studies he was sent to St Joseph’s Pontifical Seminary, Aluva where he completed his philosophical and theological studies.

Moran Mor Baselios Cleemis (Malayalam: മോറന്‍ മോര്‍ ബസേലിയോസ് ക്ലിമ്മിസ് കാതോലിക്കോസ് ബാവ) (born Isaac Thottunkal on June 15, 1959) is the Major Archbishop Catholicos of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.

Mor Cleemis was born at Mukkoor, Tiruvalla, Kerala, India.

He attended the Minor Seminary Formation in Tiruvalla from 1976 to 1979. He received a B.Phil. degree from St. Joseph's Pontifical Institute, Mangalapuzha, Aluva where he attended from 1979 to 1982. He received a B.Th. degree from the Papal Seminary, Pune where he attended from 1983 to 1986. Thottunkal was ordained a priest on June 11, 1986. He studied for the Master of Theology in Dharmaram College, Bangalore where he attended from 1986 to 1989. Thottunkal took his Doctorate in Ecumenical Theology from Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), Rome in 1997.

On his return from Rome he became the Vicar General (Proto Syncellus) of the Eparchy of Bathery. Pope John Paul II nominated Thottunkal as Apostolic Visitor and the Auxiliary Bishop of Trivandrum on 18 June 2001 for the Syro-Malankarites residing in North America and Europe. He was consecrated on 15 August 2001 at Tirumoolapuram, Tiruvalla, assuming the name Isaac Mar Cleemis.

Benedict XVI (Latin: Benedictus PP. XVI; Italian: Benedetto XVI; German: Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger on 16 April 1927) is the 265th Pope, a position in which he serves dual roles as Sovereign of the Vatican City State and leader of the Catholic Church. As pope he is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter. Benedict XVI was elected on 19 April 2005 in a papal conclave, celebrated his Papal Inauguration Mass on 24 April 2005, and took possession of his cathedral, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, on 7 May 2005. A native of Bavaria, Pope Benedict XVI has both German and Vatican citizenship.

After a long career as an academic, serving as a professor of theology at various German universities—the last being the University of Regensburg—he was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising and cardinal by Pope Paul VI in 1977. In 1981, he settled in Rome when he became Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, one of the most important dicasteries of the Roman Curia. From 2002 until his election as Pope, he was also Dean of the College of Cardinals, and as such the primus inter pares among the cardinals. Prior to becoming Pope, he was "a major figure on the Vatican stage for a quarter of a century" as "one of the most respected, influential and controversial members of the College of Cardinals"; he had an influence "second to none when it came to setting church priorities and directions" as one of Pope John Paul II's closest confidants.