The Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Basra, Iraq and the Gulf is an

exarchate An exarchate is any territorial jurisdiction, either secular or ecclesiastical, whose ruler is called an exarch. The term originates from the Greek word ''arkhos'', meaning a leader, ruler, or chief. Byzantine Emperor Justinian I created the firs ...

( Eastern Catholic missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction) of the

Syriac Catholic Church The Syriac Catholic Church ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝܬܐ, ʿĪṯo Suryayṯo Qaṯolīqayṯo, ar, الكنيسة السريانية الكاثوليكية) is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Christianity ...

''sui iuris'' (

Antiochian Rite Antiochene Rite or Antiochian Rite refers to the family of liturgies originally used by the Patriarchate of Antioch. Liturgies in the Antiochene Rite The Antiochian Rite, or the Antiochian Rite family, consists of Apostolic Liturgies including ...

Syriac language The Syriac language (; syc, / '), also known as Syriac Aramaic (''Syrian Aramaic'', ''Syro-Aramaic'') and Classical Syriac ܠܫܢܐ ܥܬܝܩܐ (in its literary and liturgical form), is an Aramaic language, Aramaic dialect that emerged during ...

) for southern

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and the Gulf states, notably

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

. It depends directly on the Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, without belonging to his or any other

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

History

It was established in 1991 on territory previously without proper Ordinary of the particular church ''sui iuris''.

Ordinaries

(all West Syriac Rite) ;''Patriarchal Exarchs of Basra and the Gulf'' * Athanase Matti Shaba Matoka (1997 – 2001), while Archeparch (Archbishop) of

Baghdad of the Syriacs The Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Baghdad is a Syriac Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or archeparchy of the Catholic Church in Iraq. It is not a metropolitan see and is directly exempt to the Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, thou ...

(Iraq) (1983.07.15 – retired 2011.03.01); previously

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Dara Syrorum of the Syriacs Dara or Daras ( el, Δάρας, syr, ܕܪܐ) was an important East Roman fortress city in northern Mesopotamia on the border with the Sassanid Empire. Because of its great strategic importance, it featured prominently in the Roman-Persian conf ...

(1979.08.25 – 1983.07.15) & Auxiliary Eparch of Baghdad of the Syriacs (Iraq) (1979.08.25 – 1983.07.15) * Father Charbel Issou (2001 – 2003) * Father Eshak Marzena (2003 – 2014) * Monsignor Emad Ekleemes (2014 – 2020) * Firas Dardar (2020.09.10 – ...), while

of Tagritum of the Syriacs (2020.09.10 – ...)

Source and External links

GCatholic, with incumbent bio links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basra and the Gulf, Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...

Eastern Catholicism in Iraq Catholic Church in Kuwait