Baratz

Baratz a document granted by the Turkish sultan to the Greek patriarchs and bishops, sanctioning them in the exercise of their ecclesiastical functions. It gives them power to appoint or depose the inferior clergy, to grant licenses for marriages, to issue divorces, to collect the revenues belonging to the churches, to receive the legacies bequeathed to them-in short, to enjoy all the privileges, and to perform all the duties, belonging to their high station.

⇒Definition of bar