The Chaldean Catholic Metropolitan Archeparchy of Tehran ( la, Archidioecesis Teheranensis Chaldaeorum) is an Archeparchy (Eastern Archdiocese) of the Chaldean Catholic church (

Syro-Oriental 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 Liturgy ...

) in

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 ...

, with its archiepiscopal see, St. Joseph's Cathedral, in the national capital

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

. Despite its Metropolitan rank, it has no

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

History

The archeparchy was established in 1853 in the city of

Sanandaj Sanandaj (Persian: سنندج, ; ku, سنە, Sine, often romanized as Senneh, is the capital of Kurdistan Province in Iran. With a population of 414,069, Sanandaj is the twenty third largest city in Iran and the second largest Kurdish city. San ...

(Sehna, Sinna),

for the Iranian Christians in and around Senaya, on territory split off from the Metropolitan

Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Kirkuk The Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Kirkuk ( ar, ابرشية كركوك الكلدانية) is an archeparchy of the Chaldean Catholic Church in communion with the Pope in Rome. The archeparchy was created in the early years of the nineteenth c ...

(in

Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of "Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also incl ...

). In 1944, the archdiocese moved its headquarters to

, the capital of

. On 3 January 1966, it lost territory to establish the non-Metropolitan

Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Ahvaz The Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Ahvaz (or Ahwaz)(informally called Ahvaz of the Chaldeans) is a non-Metropolitan archeparchy (Eastern Catholic archdiocese) of the particular Chaldean Catholic Church ''sui iuris'' ( Syro-Oriental Rite in Syr ...

, also in Iran. The Assyrian community of Sanandaj gradually migrated to Tehran from 1960 to 1968, lived in the same district of Agha Zaman (now Namak), and frequently visits Sanandaj as their birthplace. There are still some Assyrian houses from the early 1900s intact and in use today. It enjoyed a papal visit from

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

in November 1970. On 16 March 1971, the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Sehna was renamed the Archdiocese of Tehran.catholic-hierarchy.org
/ref>

Metropolitan Archeparchs (archbishops)

; ''Metropolitan Archeparchs of Sehna (Sanandaj, Sinna) * Girolamo Shimun Kashat † (Ordained Bishop on 7 September 1857) * Youhanna Nissan† (12 May 1914 - 20 April 1937) * Abraham Elias, C.M. † (Appointed 6 September 1938 - Died 15 February 1940) * Yosep Sheikho † (Appointed 22 May 1944 - Retired 7 Mar 1970) * Zaia Datchou (between 1960-mid 1970s) ; ''Metropolitan Archbishops of Tehran'' * Youhanna Semaan Issayi † (Succeeded 7 Mar 1970 - Died 7 Feb 1999) *

Ramzi Garmou Ramzi Garmou (born in Zakho, Iraq on 5 February 1945), is the Assyro- Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Tehran on the Assyro-Chaldean Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tehran. Garmou was consecrated a priest on 13 January 1977 and joined the Eparc ...

(Succeeded 7 Feb 1999 - ), also Patriarchal Administrator of Ahvaz of the Chaldeans (Iran) and

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 depute ...

of the

Chaldean Catholics Chaldean Catholics () ( syr, ܟܲܠܕܵܝܹ̈ܐ ܩܲܬܘܿܠܝܼܩܵܝܹ̈ܐ), also known as Chaldeans (, ''Kaldāyē''), Chaldo-Assyrians or Assyro-Chaldeans, are modern Assyrian adherents of the Chaldean Catholic Church, which originates fr ...

in Europe (where they have no proper ordinary).

Diocesan properties

* Mart Maryam Church, located in the Aqa Zaman district (turned into historical building) * Sharif Abad Garden (Amiryeh Park) located at

Abidar Abidar (; ) is a mountain to the West of Sanandaj, in Rojhelat of Kurdistan, situated in Iran. With an elevation of 2550 metres, Mount Abidar is made of Upper Cretaceous rocks and is located in the Sanandaj-Sirjan Sirjan ( fa, سيرجان, ...

mountain * Public Bath located in the Aqa Zaman district (now Namak district) The Pahlavi School, built in 1916 in the Aqa Zaman district, is no longer there as it has been destroyed for a main street in recent development.

References

External links

* http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/tehr0.htm

Source and External links

GigaCatholic, with incumbent biography links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tehran, Metropolitan Archeparchy Chaldean Catholic dioceses Eastern Catholicism in Iran Religious organizations established in 1853 1853 establishments in Iran Assyrians in Iran