Sangharaja - Sangharaja in Burma

Sangharaja in Burma

In pre-colonial Burma, the office of Sangharaja was known as the Thathanabaing (သာသနာပိုင်, literally 'Keeper of the Sāsana') or formally Mahasangharaja (မဟာသံဃာရာဇ), typically rendered into English as 'Primate' or 'Supreme Patriarch.' The office, in its last incarnation, was established by King Bodawpaya in 1784, after the constitution of the Sudhamma Council, a council of four elder monks (thera). Subsequent monarchs expanded the council to eight members, of which the Thathanabaing was the head. The Thathanapaing was responsible for the kingdom's religious affairs, including appointment of monastery abbots, monk orders according to the Vinaya, management of breaches of discipline, preparation of an annual report of the order, and administration of Pali examinations.

In 1895, soon after the abdication of the country's last king, Thibaw Min, the Taungdaw Sayadaw, then the Thathanapaing of Burma, died. A subsequent election elected the Pakhan Sayadaw as Thathanabaing-elect, although the British refused to acknowledge or recognize his title. In 1903, the lieutenant-governor of British Burma, Hugh Shakespear Barnes, reinstated the title by sanad charter, giving the Thathanapaing nominal authority over internal administration of the Sangha in Upper Burma and over Buddhist ecclesiastical law. (Lower Burma, which had been annexed in 1852, remained without a religious head.) The Taunggwin Sayadaw was appointed, but the position was abolished after his death and no successor was ever appointed.