The Apostolic Administration of Kazakhstan and Central Asia is an

Apostolic Administration An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

(pre-diocesan jurisdiction) and is exempt, i.e. directly subject to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

, that extends its jurisdiction over all the Eastern Catholic faithful of the

Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople. Th ...

who live in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

and

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

Pre-History

The presence of Catholic faithful of the Byzantine rite in

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

dates back to the 17th century, but was sporadic until the 20th century, when their number increased considerably due to the forced mass deportations carried out in the

Stalinist era Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...

. From 1939 to 1953, some 150,000 faithful of the

Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church , native_name_lang = uk , caption_background = , image = StGeorgeCathedral Lviv.JPG , imagewidth = , type = Particular church ( sui iuris) , alt = , caption = St. George's ...

were transferred to Central Asia: most of them were to Kazakhstan. About 150 priests were deported with the faithful, including the blessed martyrs Oleksiy Zarytskyi and

Nykyta Budka Nykyta Budka ( ua, Никита Будка aka Nikita, Mykyta, or Nicetas Budka; June 7, 1877 in Dobromirka, Austria-Hungary – October 1, 1949 in Karaganda, USSR) was a clergyman of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church who lived and worked in A ...

, and the

Servant of God "Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in th ...

Alexander Chira Bishop Alexander Chira was a bishop of the Ruthenian Catholic Church. His immediate predecessor was Bishop Theodore G. Romzha. He is designated as a Confessor of the Faith. Personal information Chira was born January 17, 1897, in the village of I ...

. After 1991, with the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

the activities of the Catholic Church, even of the Byzantine rite, became normal. Greek-Catholic parishes were erected in

Karaganda Karaganda or Qaraghandy ( kk, Қарағанды/Qarağandy, ; russian: Караганда, ) is the capital of Karaganda Region in the Republic of Kazakhstan. It is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, fourth most populous city in Kaza ...

Pavlodar Pavlodar ( ; ) is a city in northeastern Kazakhstan and the capital of Pavlodar Region. It is located 450 km northeast of the national capital Astana and 405 km southeast of the Russian city of Omsk along the Irtysh River. , the cit ...

Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmo ...

, Satbayev, Shiderty and

Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...

: in addition to these parishes the Byzantine rite Catholics form a dozen communities, scattered in other places. In 1996 here was appointed by the Holy See an Apostolic Visitor, who was replaced in 2002 by

Apostolic Delegate An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international o ...

and depended from the

Congregation for the Oriental Churches The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (also called Dicastery for the Oriental Churches), previously named Congregation for the Oriental Churches or Congregation for the Eastern Churches ( la, Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus), is a dicaste ...

History

It was established on 1 June 2019 by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

for all the Byzantine Rite (mainly

Ukrainian Greek Catholic , native_name_lang = uk , caption_background = , image = StGeorgeCathedral Lviv.JPG , imagewidth = , type = Particular church (sui iuris) , alt = , caption = St. George's C ...

) parishes. The circumscription encompasses

and others four

states. The Holy Protection of the Mother of God church, that is located in

, in Kazakhstan, become as the Cathedral.

Hierarches

Apostolic Visitor

* Wasyl Medwit,

O.S.B.M. The Order of Saint Basil the Great ( uk, Чин Святого Василія Великого, translit=Chyn Sviatoho Vasyliia Velykoho; la, Ordo Sancti Basilii Magni, abbreviated OSBM), also known as the Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat, is ...

(December 1996 – 11 November 2002), Titular Bishop of Hadriane

Apostolic Delegate

*Rev. Vasyl Hovera (11 November 2002 – 1 June 2019)

Apostolic Administrator

*Rev. Vasyl Hovera (since 1 June 2019), Apostolic Administrator

References

External links

Profile at catholic-hierarchy.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Apostolic Administration of Kazakhstan and Central Asia Apostolic administrations Eastern Catholic dioceses 2019 establishments in Asia Catholic dioceses in Kazakhstan Christian organizations established in 2019