vessels and vestments by patriarchal delegation. He reports directly to the patriarch. He has the same episcopal authority and dignity as a regular bishop. He can also be the abbot of a monastery, if assigned by the patriarch, and in this case he is given the title of bishop abbot, and ceases to be a general bishop or exarch of the throne. The title of general bishop is not in conformity with the Holy and Apostolic Canon Laws of the Orthodox Church. On the other hand, an exarch was and still is a permissible form of patriarchal delegation or representation. Auxiliary bishop/assistant bishop/suffragan bishop A suffragan hierarch who has been delegated by the patriarch or a metropolitan archbishop to serve a district or part of the patriarchal or metropolitan archdiocese or jurisdiction, or a suffragan diocese to the metropolitan archdiocese; if suffragan diocese is in question based on a quasi-permanent, occasional or as a temporal helper, then it is within patriarchal diocesan jurisdiction, although in this case, he would be called assistant bishop. He shepherds the congregation of that particular diocese (if suffragan) or district (if within the patriarchal diocese), reporting directly to the metropolitan archbishop or the pope of Alexandria respectively. He can also be assigned as an assistant by the pope of Alexandria to help a metropolitan bishop in his metropolitanate, which is not divided into smaller subdivisions of suffragan dioceses, and based upon the metropolitan bishop's or the metropolitan archbishop's request, if the latter requires an assistant. In this case, he is called an assistant bishop, he reports to the diocesan hierarch, i.e. the metropolitan bishop or the metropolitan archbishop. He does not, however, inherit (take over) the metropolis after the departure of the metropolitan bishop or the metropolitan archbishop. In the case that this bishop is chosen as a "coadjutor bishop" to a particular metropolis/archdiocese or a suffragan diocese of the metropolis in the capacity of coadjutor bishop, in assistance to the metropolitan bishop or the metropolitan archbishop, thus being second in command; then he has the right of succession when the latter reposes in the Lord. However, this form of governance is not favored and seldom applied nowadays in the Alexandrine tradition. If the metropolitan bishop or the metropolitan archbishop of a large metropolis or archdiocese is in need of one or more general helpers in all kinds of services and to delegate to serve