The Diocese of Mexico ( es, Diócesis de México) is a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

of the

Orthodox Church in America The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian church based in North America. The OCA is partly recognized as Autocephaly, autocephalous and consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, commun ...

(OCA). Its territory includes

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

es,

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

, and missions located in four states in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

(as well as

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

) –

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

México Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

, and

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

. The

diocesan chancery A diocesan chancery is the branch of administration which handles all written documents used in the official government of a Catholic or Anglican diocese. It is in the diocesan chancery that, under the direction of the bishop or his representativ ...

is located in Mexico City. The current ruling bishop of the

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 ...

Alejo (Pacheco-Vera) Alejandro de Vivar (1635–1660), better known as Mestizo Alejo, was a Chilean mestizo, who fought in the Arauco War. He was the son of the Mapuche cacique Curivilú and the Spanish Isabel de Vivar y Castro who was captured during a Mapuche ra ...

, Bishop of Mexico City.

History

The Mexican Exarchate was created through the mass

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

(some 10,000-20,000 persons) of an entire diocese of the

Mexican National Catholic Church The Mexican Catholic Apostolic Church ( es, Iglesia Católica Apostólica Mexicana (ICAM)) is an Independent Catholic denomination founded in 1925, by separating from the Catholic Church. It was created to bolster revolution with the support of ...

to Orthodoxy in 1972. The Mexican National Catholic Church still has four other existing dioceses. Bishop

Dmitri (Royster) Archbishop Dmitri (November 2, 1923 – August 28, 2011) was a hierarch of the Orthodox Church in America. He served as archbishop of the church's Diocese of the South from 1978 to 2009 and was the ruling bishop of the Mexican Exarchate from ...

was the

Exarch 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 ...

of Mexico from 1972 to 2008. October 16, 2008, the exarchate reorganized as the Diocese of Mexico and Bishop Alejo (consecrated on May 28, 2005) was elected as the ruling bishop and installed in Ascension Cathedral in

on January 18, 2009.

Deaneries

The diocese is grouped geographically into five

deaneries A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

, each consisting of a number of parishes. Each deanery is headed by a parish

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

, known as a

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

. The deans coordinate activities in their area's parishes, and report to the diocesan bishop. The current deaneries of the Exarchate of Mexico are: *

, D.F. * State of Mexico * State of Jalisco * State of Veracruz * State of Chiapas

External links

Official site
(in Spanish) {{coord missing, Mexico City Churches in Mexico

Christian organizations established in 1972 Dioceses established in the 20th century Eastern Orthodox organizations established in the 20th century

Eastern Orthodoxy in Mexico