Maronite Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Jerusalem and Palestine 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 fir ...

of the

Maronite Patriarchate The Maronite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch (in Latin: Patriarchatus Antiochenus Maronitarum) is the seat of the Patriarch of the Maronite Church. It is currently governed by the Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, OMM. The Maronite ...

of the

Maronite Church The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic ''sui iuris'' particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. Th ...

immediately subject to the Patriarchate of Antioch of the Maronites. In 2017 there were 504 members. It is currently governed by archeparch

Moussa El-Hage Moussa El-Hage ( ar, موسى الحاج, born on 19 February 1954, in Aintoura, Lebanon), is a Maronite Catholic eparch, now Archbishop of the Archeparchy of Haifa and the Holy Land The Archeparchy of Haifa and the Holy Land (in Latin: Archiepa ...

, OAM.

Territory and statistics

The exarchate extends its jurisdiction over the Maronite Catholic faithful living in

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the sector of Jerusalem that was held by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to the western sector of the city, West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Jerusalem was envisaged as a separat ...

and in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. It includes three parishes and in 2017 there were 504 members served by one priest.

History

On 5 May 1895, two years after the International Eucharistic Congress held in Jerusalem, was inaugurated in the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

a Patriarchal

Vicariate A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

to meet

Lebanese Maronites Lebanese Maronite Christians ( ar, المسيحية المارونية في لبنان; syc, ܡܫܝܚܝ̈ܐ ܡܪ̈ܘܢܝܐ ܕܠܒܢܢ) are adherents of the Maronite Church in Lebanon, which is the largest Christian denomination in the countr ...

that lived there until then directly dependent on the

Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Tyre Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Tyre (in Latin: Archeparchia Tyrensis Maronitarum) is an Archeparchy of the Maronite Church immediately subject to the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch. In 2014 there were 42,500 baptized. It is currently ruled by Arch ...

. Since its erection the

patriarchal exarchate An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'', meaning “leader”) was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and ea ...

on 5 October 1996 it was entrusted to the pastoral care of Archeparch of the

Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Haifa and the Holy Land The Archeparchy of Haifa and the Holy Land (in Latin: Archieparchia Ptolemaidensis Maronitarum in the Holy Land) is a branch of the Maronite Church immediately subject to the Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites. Since 2012, it has been governed ...

, who is its

in persona episcopi ''In persona episcopi'' ( en, In the person of the bishop) is a Latin expression used by the Roman Catholic Church to indicate a union of two or more dioceses in which the dioceses are administered by a single bishop but undergo no alteration to t ...

Patriarchal Vicars

Titular list of the Maronite Patriarchal Vicariate of Jerusalem since its founding in 1895: * Youssef Mouallem, 1895-1896. He went to America. * Estephan Hobeish, 1896-1897. * Boulos Aweiss, 1897-1898. * Khairalla Estephan, 1898-1901. * Youssef Mouallem, 1901-1911. For the second time. * Gerges Doumit, 1911-1928. After his resignation, he became a monk. * Boulos Aweiss, 1929-1934. For the second time. He died during his homily and is buried on Zion Hill. * Boulos Eid, 1934-1938. * Youssef Ghanem, 1939-1941. On 12 April 1939, he was appointed by a Patriarchal Decree as temporary Vicar. On 8 September 1939, a letter from the Patriarch removed him from his office because of serious problems he had caused. The Vicariate remained without an actual titular until 1950 and the Maronite community of Jerusalem was abandoned. Between 23 September 1940 and 4 June 1950, therefore, only one christening took place; this occurred on 25 November 1945 and was performed by a delegate priest. This task was nominally assumed by a priest from Jaffa or Haifa (Boulos Meouchi or Francis Moubarac). ** ''Boulos Meouchi'', 1941-1945. The monk responsible for the monastery of Jaffa. On 25 September 1941, a Patriarchal Decree appointed him president of the Court of First Instance in Jaffa. ** ''Francis Moubarac'', 1945-1949. *

Elias Ziadé Elias is the Greek equivalent of Elijah ( he, אֵלִיָּהוּ‎ ''ʾĒlīyyāhū''; Syriac: ܐܠܝܐ ''Eliyā''; Arabic: الیاس Ilyās/Elyās), a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th century BC, mentioned in several holy ...

or Ziadeh, 1949-1975. The number of faithful right before the war of 1948 was 800, after which it dropped to about 60. On 11 July 1949, Elias Ziadé was appointed Vicar in Jerusalem by Patriarchal decree. On 11 August, another decree extended this office to Transjordan. Father Ziadé stayed in charge until his death on 23 April 1975. ** Also in 1949, ''Michel Edde'' was appointed as the first "Moukhtar" of the community. On 15 June 1958, the Jordanian Government officially recognized the Maronite Church. On 15 May 1964, Patriarch Meouchi placed

Monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

Elias Ziadé in charge as parish priest of the Maronites in Jordan. A welfare society run by eight members was established and, on 28 July 1964, the society was recognized by the Jordanian Ministry of Interior Affairs. *

Augustin Harfouche Augustin may refer to: * Augustin (name), male name, variant of Augustine * Augustin (typography), English or 14-point type * Augustin, Brașov, a commune in Brașov County, Romania * Dacian fortress of Augustin, ruined Dacian fortified town in ...

, 1975-1996.

Patriarchal Exarchs

Paul Nabil El-Sayah Paul Nabil El-Sayah (in Arabic: بولس نبيل الصياح, born on 26 December 1939 in Aïn el Kharroubé, Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is ...

(5 October 1996 - 6 June 2011 appointed archbishop, personally, of the curia of the Patriarchate of Antioch of the Maronites) *

,Sala Stampa della Santa Sede, ed. (16 June 2012). «DALLE CHIESE ORIENTALI». Bollettino della Sala Stampa della Santa Sede (en italiano)
/ref> OAM, (since 16 June 2012)

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20021112053322/http://www.maronitejerusalem.org/ * http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dgema.html {{Maronite Church Catholic Church in Jerusalem Maronite Catholic patriarchal exarchates Organizations based in Jerusalem Christian organizations established in 1996