The Ordinariate for Catholics of Armenian Rite in Greece or Armenian Catholic Ordinariate of Greece (informally Greece of the Armenians ) is an

Armenian Catholic Church , native_name_lang = hy , image = St Elie - St Gregory Armenian Catholic Cathedral.jpg , imagewidth = 260px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Saint Elias and Saint Gregory the Illuminat ...

ecclesiastical territory or

ordinariate for the faithful of eastern rite An ordinariate for the faithful of Eastern rite is a geographical ecclesiastical structure for Eastern Catholic communities in areas where no eparchy of their own particular Church has been established. This structure was introduced by the apostol ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

for its faithful in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. It is exempt 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 ...

, specifically to 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 ...

and is not part of any

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

The ordinariate was established on December 21, 1925, by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

to serve Armenian Catholics who arrived in Greece during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. This Armenian Catholic

Ordinariate In the organisation of the Catholic Church and of the Anglican CommunionSee, for example, thAnglican Military Ordinariate in Canada an ordinariate is a pre- or pseudo-diocesan ecclesiastical structure, of geographical or personal nature, headed by a ...

of Greece was created to the

particular church In metaphysics, particulars or individuals are usually contrasted with universals. Universals concern features that can be exemplified by various different particulars. Particulars are often seen as concrete, spatiotemporal entities as opposed to a ...

''sui iuris'' had no proper Ordinary. From 1950 to 2002, the ordinariate, shaped by its

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

situation, increased from 450 to 550 Armenian Catholic Christians, cared for by the only

diocesan priest In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. A secular priest (sometimes known as a diocesan priest) is a priest who commits themselves to a certain geogra ...

of the Ordinariate in the only municipality in the country. Between January 7, 2003, and March 21, 2015, the

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...

(

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

) was the

Apostolic Administrator 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 ...

of the Ordinariate.

Territory and statistics

The Ordinariate extends its jurisdiction over the Armenian Catholics of the whole Greece. There are 200 Catholics belonging to this ordinariate. Its

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

is the Armenian Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator, in the

episcopal see An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...

and Greek capital

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. Another parish is present in

Nikaia Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and se ...

Ordinaries

(all

Armenian Rite The Armenian Rite () is an independent liturgy used by both the Armenian Apostolic and Armenian Catholic Churches. Liturgy The liturgy is patterned after the directives of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, first official head and patron saint ...

) ;''Ordinaries of Greece'' * Father Giuseppe Khantzian (1949.06.18 – death 1973) * Fr. Giovanni Koyounian (1973.06.21 – death 1991) * Neshan Karakéhéyan,

Patriarchal Clergy Institute of Bzommar Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical anthropological term for families or clans controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males a ...

(I.C.P.B.) (1991 – 2000.09.27 ''see below''), later Eparch (Bishop) of Ispahan of the Armenians (Iran) (2000.09.27 – 2005.04.02), ''remained

of Greece of the Armenians (Greece) (2000.09.27 – 2015.03.21)'', Ordinary of East Europe of the Armenians (Armenia) (2005.04.02 – 2010.01.06), remaining

Patriarchal Administrator Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical anthropological term for families or clans controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males a ...

of Ispahan of the Armenians (Iran) (2005.04.02 – 2015.10.01),

Titular Archbishop 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 ...

of Adana of the Armenians (2005.04.02 – ...) *

Neshan Karakéhéyan, I.C.P.B. (''see above'' 2000.09.27 – 2015.03.21) *

Fr. Hovsep Bezazian (Bezouzou) (2015.03.21 – ...), no other office

Sources

Annuario Pontificio The ''Annuario Pontificio'' (Italian for ''Pontifical Yearbook'') is the annual directory of the Holy See of the Catholic Church. It lists the popes in chronological order and all officials of the Holy See's departments. It also provides names ...

, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Città del Vaticano, 2003, .

References

External links

GCatholic with incumbent bio links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greece, Armenian Catholic Ordinariate Eastern Catholic dioceses in Greece Armenian Catholic Church Armenian diaspora Armenia–Greece relations Ordinariates for Eastern Catholic faithful