I am currently writing a story in which the archbishop (of Nashville) is exiled (from Nashville), and must move to the town where the main character lives. He is exiled because the ruling class (of Nashville) take issue with the Catholic Church. What would happen in this circumstance? Would he be forced to move his archdiocese? Who would come with him, in this circumstance? I will apologize, I’m not very well versed in these things.
My narrow specialty, medieval Scandinavia, had three (including the last during the Reformation, four) archbishops exiled out of the archbishopric.
My answer below is mainly based on their experience, but I suppose that the easiest comparative example would be the Latin (Catholic) Patriarch of Jerusalem after the fall of the Holy Land in the Later Middle Ages, I suppose.
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Would he be forced to move his archdiocese?
Generally speaking, no (unless forced by superior authority - the pope).
He essentially becomes "titular" (arch) bishop, residing somewhere else in the original seat of the cathedral as assigned with the title. Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, not resided in Jerusalem and instead resided in Cyprus "in exile" in the 13th and 14th centuries would be the best example. After the Reformation across Europe, some Scandinavian archbishops were also stay in Rome in exile, without losing their original title like "Archbishop of Uppsala".
To what extent the exiled archbishop keeps his original jurisdiction might not be so simple, but as for the temporary exile of medieval Norwegian archbishops, they still tended to be regarded as the head of suffragans in the church province. To give an example, Bishop-Elect Páll Jónsson of Skálholt, southern Iceland, took a visit in Eirik in Denmark in 1195 to get consecrated as stipulated in Canon Law.
It is worth noting that the archbishop in exile would not be the normal condition, so the church province (archbishopric) in question was often either under the interdiction or its secular ruler(s) was banned by the Pope, especially if the church province still keeps Catholic.
Who would come with him, in this circumstance?
It depends on case by case, but the exiled archbishop often took some important documents and liturgical manuscripts with them.
It is also worth noting that the archbishop usually has several suffragans (subordinate bishops) in his church province, and at least some of them often accompany (or forced to accompany) the archbishop in exile. As for the case of Norwegian Archbishop Eirik Ivarsson, he repeatedly urged his suffragans to estrange his rival, King Sverre, and the suffragans at first staying in Norway one by one complied this call and joined in Eirik in Denmark. On the other hand, in case of Archbishop Jon Raude, his most staunch supporter, Bishop Andres of Oslo, also followed him to Sweden.
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