Phrasangkaraat (พระสังฆราช)

Thai term for the Supreme Patriarch of the Buddhist church. The position is formally appointed by the King, although the actual selection is made by senior clergymen. It was purportedly first established in 1782, at the founding of the Chakri Dynasty by King Rama I, though some sources mention that a Supreme Patriarch was living at Wat Rakhang in the Thonburi Period. Hence, some sort of similar postion must apparently have existed ‒be it perhaps with a different name or in another form‒ prior to the Rattanakosin Period. Since 1989 and for the Theravada Sect, though with legal authority to also oversee other Thai Buddhist sects, including the Mahayana, this post is held by Somdet Phra Yannasangwon, the 19th Supreme Patriarch since the beginning of the Rattanakosin Period. Born on 3 October 1913 in Kanchanaburi he became 100 years old in 2013, yet passed away just three weeks after his centenary, on 24 October 2013. He was the longest serving Supreme Patriarch up-to-date. The designation Somdet Phra means ‘holiness’ and is equal to that of royalty. It is used as a prefix to both his name and his title of Supreme Patriarch (Sangkaraat) and points to his high status. Yannasangworn, is a Pali name and could be translated as ‘Mindful Vision’ or ‘Careful Perception’. His name is usually followed by the suffix Sagon Maha Sang(ka) Parinayok (สกลมหาสังฆปริณายก), meaning the ‘Universal Great Leader of the Sangha’. His full name and title is hence Somdet Phra Yahnsangwon Somdet Phrasangkaraat Sagon Maha Sangkaparinayok, although officially he has many more titles and names, as Thai ecclesiastic titles often take the form of additions or alterations to existing monastic names and are granted to monks as they rise through the ranks of the Sangha. He is also referred to by his religious nickname Suvaddhano (สุวฑฺฒโน) and his birth name is Charoen Khotchawat (เจริญ คชวัตร). Sometimes his name is transcribed Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara Suvaddhana Mahathera. In 1956, at the age of 43 and under the titular name Phra Dhammavarabhorn, he was appointed guardian and advisor to King Rama IX during his royal ordination and in 1961 he became abbot of Wat Bowonniwet Wihaan Rachaworawihaan. In 2005, due to the failing health of the aging Patriarch, a representative to act on his behalf was chosen and appointed to serve as Acting Supreme Patriarch. He is known as Somdet Phra Phuttacharn (สมเด็จพระพุฒาจารย์) the abbot of Wat Saket, commonly known as Kiaw Upasenoh (เกี่ยว อุปเสโณ) and previously as Kiaw Chokechai (เกี่ยว โชคชัย). Also transcribed Phra Sangharaja. It derives from Pali and literally means ‘King (Raja) of the Buddhist Order (Sangha)’, a title that in Cambodia is referred to as Phreah Sangkhoreach (សង្ឃរាជ - fig.). 回