The Ethiopian Catholic Eparchy of Emdeber ( la, Emdeberen(sis)) is an

eparchy 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 th ...

(

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 t ...

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

Ethiopian Catholic Church The Ethiopian Catholic Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ካቶሊክ ቤተ ክርስቲያን; la, Ecclesia Catholica Aethiopica) is a metropolitan ''sui iuris'' Eastern particular church within the Catholic Church, established in 1930 in Eth ...

, a metropolitan Eastern Catholic Church. It is a

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 ...

of the Ethiopian Catholic Archeparchy of Addis Ababa. It is named after the town of

Emdibir Emdibir is a town south-west of Addis Ababa, in the central part of Ethiopia. Located in the Gurage Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation between 2130 and 216 ...

, where it has 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 ...

, St. Anthony Cathedral, Endibir. Its name, like that of the town, is transliterated in different ways: Eparchy of Emdibir, Endibir, EndeberSee

Apostolic Prefecture of Endeber The Apostolic Prefecture of Endeber was a short-lived (1940-1951) Latin Church missionary jurisdiction named after the town of Endeber in western Ethiopia. Not being of diocesan rank, it was not part of an ecclesiastical province and was directly ...

and Indibir.

History

* 25 November 2003: Established as Eparchy of Emdeber with territory taken from the Metropolitan Archeparchy of Addis Ababa.

Ordinaries

(Ethiopian rite) ''Eparchs of Emdeber * Musie Ghebreghiorghis, O.F.M. Cap. (November 25, 2003 – present)

The Eparchy

Emdibir Eparchy was established in late November 2003, becoming the third eparchy within Ethiopia of the Ethiopian Catholic Church. Its setting up followed long years of Catholic presence and service in the area. Located southwest of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, the eparchy covers the Guraghe Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Regional State (SNNPRS) and part of South–Western Shoa Zone of Oromiya Regional State. It is bordered to the northwest by the Western Shoa Zone of Oromiya Regional State, to the south by the Hadiya and the Kembata Timbaro Zones of SNNPRS, to the east by Silte Zone of SNNPRS, and to the west by the Gibe River. The total land area of the eparchy is about 12,000 square kilometers with an estimated population of 4 million. The major ethnic groups are the Guraghe and the Oromo, with a variety of minority ethnic communities.

Emdibir Catholic Secretariat (EmCS)

Emdibir Catholic Secretariat (EmCS) was established in April 2004 with the mandate to coordinate and facilitate all pastoral, social and development activities of the Catholic Church in the Eparchy of Emdibir. The overall goal and objective of EmCS is promoting “Human Integral Development” which implies the development of people both materially and spiritually. The Secretariat has two main wings/departments. One is the Pastoral Activities Co-Coordinating wing, which deals with pastoral activities of the Church in general. The other wing is the Social and Development Coordination wing, which mainly deals with the socio-economic and development promotion activities of the Church within the jurisdiction of the Eparchy. The Secretariat Office is now well equipped by qualified professional personnel to discharge its duties and responsibilities in pastoral activities and promoting socio-economic development activities of the Church for the communities/societies in the Eparchy.

References

Sources and external links