Question

What does patriarch mean ?

Answer 1

noun
1.
the male head of a family or tribal line.
2.
a person regarded as the father or founder of an order, class, etc.
3.
any of the very early Biblical personages regarded as the fathers of the human race, comprising those from Adam to Noah (antediluvian patriarchs) and those between the Deluge and the birth of Abraham.
4.
any of the three great progenitors of the Israelites: Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob.
5.
any of the sons of Jacob ((the twelve patriarchs),) from whom the tribes of Israel were descended.
6.
(in the early Christian church) any of the bishops of any of the ancient sees of Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, Jerusalem, or Rome having authority over other bishops.
7.
Greek Orthodox Church. the head of any of the ancient sees of Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, or Jerusalem, and sometimes including other sees of chief cities.