Melkite (Greek) Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Kuwait
/ref> (informally Kuwait of the (Greek)-Melkites) is a Patriarchal Exarchate
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 ...
(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 ...
missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction, not entitled to a titular bishop
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 ...
) of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church ''sui iuris'' ( Byzantine rite in Greek language
Greek ( el, label= Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy ( Calabria and Salento), southe ...
).
It is immediately subject to the Patriarch of Antioch of the Melkites, not part of his or any other 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 ...
, and in Rome depends on 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 ...
.
It is currently governed by Exarch Boutros Gharib.
Territory and statistics
The Exarchate extends its jurisdiction over the Melkite Greek Catholic faithful Catholic in Kuwait.
It comprises a single parish in Kuwait City, which had 800 baptized Melkite Catholics in 2005.
History
From the second half of the twentieth century was formed in Kuwait a community of Melkite Greek Catholics, mostly Arab workers of the nearby region. The church service was assured, at least initially, by Latin apostolic vicars. It was governed as a Patriarchal Vicariate of Antioch.
On 25 March 1972 the Patriarch Maximos V Hakim
Maximos V Hakim ( ar, ماكسيموس الخامس حكيم; May 18, 1908, in Tanta, Egypt – June 29, 2001, Beirut, Lebanon) was elected Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and Alexandria and Jerusalem of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church i ...
erected the Patriarchal Exarchate, naming as the first Exarch Archimandrite Basile Kanakri of the clergy of Damascus, the incumbent patriarchal vicar, who was succeeded, on 9 August 2002, by Boutros Gharib, clergyman of Beirut.
Ordinaries
;''Patriarchal Exarchs''
* Archimandrite
The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") wh ...
Basil(ios) Kanakri (25 March 1972 - 2002 withdrawn), previously Patriarchal Exarch of Iraq of the Greek-Melkites
Melkite (Greek) Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Iraq (informally Iraq of the (Greek-)Melkites) is a Patriarchal exarchate (Eastern Catholic pre-diocesan missionary jurisdiction) of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church ''sui iuris'' ( Byzantine Rit ...
(Iraq) (1971 – 1978) and last Patriarchal Vicar of Kuwait of the Greek-Melkites (Kuwait) (1972.03.25 – 1991)
* Archimandrite Boutros Gharib (since 9 August 2002 - ...)
References
Sources and external links
* http://www.rcckw.com/
* http://www.pgc-lb.org/fre/melkite_greek_catholic_church/Patriarchal-Exarchate-in-Kuwait
GCatholic with incumbent bio links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuwait, Melkite Patriarchal Exarchate
Eastern Christianity in Asia
Melkite Greek Catholic patriarchal exarchates
Christian organizations established in 1972