The Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Ahvaz (or Ahwaz)(informally called Ahvaz of the Chaldeans) is a non-Metropolitan
archeparchy
Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the ...
(
Eastern Catholic
The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of ...
archdiocese) of the particular
Chaldean Catholic Church ''sui iuris'' (
Syro-Oriental Rite in
Syriac language) in
Ahvaz
Ahvaz ( fa, اهواز, Ahvâz ) is a city in the southwest of Iran and the capital of Khuzestan province. Ahvaz's population is about 1,300,000 and its built-up area with the nearby town of Sheybani is home to 1,136,989 inhabitants. It is hom ...
,
Khuzestan Province
Khuzestan Province (also spelled Xuzestan; fa, استان خوزستان ''Ostān-e Xūzestān'') is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the southwest of the country, bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Its capital is Ahvaz and it covers ...
, southwest
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 ...
.
It is directly dependent on the
Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Babylon
Bab or BAB can refer to:
*Bab (toponymy), a component of Arabic toponyms literally meaning "gate"
* Set (mythology) (also known as Bab, Baba, or Seth) ancient Egyptian God
* Bab (Shia Islam), a term designating deputies of the Imams in Shia Islam ...
, not part of any
ecclesiastical province
An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...
.
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 denominatio ...
archiepiscopal see is Surp Mesrob Church, in
Ahvaz
Ahvaz ( fa, اهواز, Ahvâz ) is a city in the southwest of Iran and the capital of Khuzestan province. Ahvaz's population is about 1,300,000 and its built-up area with the nearby town of Sheybani is home to 1,136,989 inhabitants. It is hom ...
.
History
It was established on 3 January 1966, on territory split off from the Metropolitan
Archeparchy of Sehna (now Teheran).
Episcopal ordinaries
(all
Chaldean Rite
The East Syriac Rite or East Syrian Rite, also called the Edessan Rite, Assyrian Rite, Persian Rite, Chaldean Rite, Nestorian Rite, Babylonian Rite or Syro-Oriental Rite, is an Eastern Christian liturgical rite that employs the Divine Litur ...
)
* Thomas Michel Bidawid (1966.01.06 – 1970.08.24), later
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
Nisibis of the Chaldeans (1970.08.24 – death 1971.03.29) &
Auxiliary Bishop of
Baghdad of the Chaldeans (Iraq) (1970.08.24 – 1971.03.29)
* Samuel Chauriz,
O.S.H. (1972.01.18 – 1974.05.01), later Metropolitan Archbishop of
Urmyā of the Chaldeans (Iran) (1974.05.01 – death 1981.06.14) and Eparch of
Salmas of the Chaldeans (Iran) (1974.05.01 – 1981.06.14)
*
Hanna Zora Hanna Zora (15 March 1939, Batnaia, Tel Keppe, Iraq – 2 October 2016) was a Chaldean Catholic archbishop. He died in Tbilisi.
Ordained to the priesthood in 1962, Zora served as archbishop of Ahvaz of the Chaldeans, Iran, from 1974 to 2011. F ...
(1974.05.01 – 2011.06.10), later first
Archbishop-Bishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
of newly established
Mar Addai of Toronto of the Chaldeans (Canada) (2011.06.10 – retired 2014.05.03)
*''
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 ...
''
Ramzi Garmou (2013? – ...), while
Apostolic Visitor
In the Catholic Church, an apostolic visitor (or ''Apostolic Visitator''; Italian: Visitatore apostolico) is a papal representative with a transient mission to perform a canonical visitation of relatively short duration. The visitor is deputed ...
in Europe of the Chaldeans (2013.07.20 – ...), President of Iranian Episcopal Conference (2015 – ...); previously
Coadjutor Archeparch
Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on t ...
of
Tehran of the Chaldeans (Iran) (1995.05.05 – 1999.02.07), succeeded as Metropolitan Archbishop of Tehran of the Chaldeans (1999.02.07 – ...), also President of Iranian Episcopal Conference (2007 – 2011.11)
See also
*
Catholic Church in Iran
The Catholic Church in Iran is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. There are about 21,380 Catholics in Iran out of a total population of about 78.9 million. They follow the Chaldean, Arm ...
*
Chaldean Catholic Church
References
External links
GCatholic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahvaz, Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy
Christian organizations established in 1966
Chaldean Catholic dioceses