The Ordinariate for Catholics of Armenian Rite in Greece or Armenian Catholic Ordinariate of Greece (informally Greece of the Armenians ) is an
Armenian Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or
ordinariate for the faithful of eastern rite of the
Catholic Church for its faithful in
Greece.
It is
exempt to the
Holy See, specifically to the
Congregation for the Oriental Churches and is not part of any
ecclesiastical province.
History
The ordinariate was established on December 21, 1925, by
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...
to serve Armenian Catholics who arrived in Greece during the
First World War. This Armenian Catholic
Ordinariate In the organisation of the Catholic Church and of the Anglican CommunionSee, for example, thAnglican Military Ordinariate in Canada an ordinariate is a pre- or pseudo-diocesan ecclesiastical structure, of geographical or personal nature, headed by a ...
of Greece was created to the
particular church ''sui iuris'' had no proper Ordinary.
From 1950 to 2002, the ordinariate, shaped by its
diaspora
A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...
situation, increased from 450 to 550 Armenian Catholic Christians, cared for by the only
diocesan priest of the Ordinariate in the only municipality in the country.
Between January 7, 2003, and March 21, 2015, the
Armenian bishop of
Isfahan
Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...
(
Iran) was the
Apostolic Administrator of the Ordinariate.
Territory and statistics
The Ordinariate extends its jurisdiction over the Armenian Catholics of the whole Greece. There are 200 Catholics belonging to this ordinariate.
Its
cathedral is the
Armenian Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator, in the
episcopal see
An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...
and Greek capital
Athens. Another parish is present in
Nikaia
Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and seve ...
.
Ordinaries
(all
Armenian Rite)
;''Ordinaries of Greece''
* Father Giuseppe Khantzian (1949.06.18 – death 1973)
* Fr. Giovanni Koyounian (1973.06.21 – death 1991)
*
Neshan Karakéhéyan,
Patriarchal Clergy Institute of Bzommar (I.C.P.B.) (1991 – 2000.09.27 ''see below''), later Eparch (Bishop) of
Ispahan of the Armenians (Iran) (2000.09.27 – 2005.04.02), ''remained
Apostolic Administrator of Greece of the Armenians (Greece) (2000.09.27 – 2015.03.21)'', Ordinary of
East Europe of the Armenians (Armenia) (2005.04.02 – 2010.01.06), remaining
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 ...
of
Ispahan of the Armenians (Iran) (2005.04.02 – 2015.10.01),
Titular Archbishop of
Adana of the Armenians
Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana Province, Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million.
Adana lies in the heart ...
(2005.04.02 – ...)
*
Apostolic Administrator Neshan Karakéhéyan, I.C.P.B. (''see above'' 2000.09.27 – 2015.03.21)
*
Apostolic Administrator Fr. Hovsep Bezazian (Bezouzou) (2015.03.21 – ...), no other office
Sources
*
Annuario Pontificio, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Città del Vaticano, 2003, .
References
External links
GCatholic with incumbent bio links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greece, Armenian Catholic Ordinariate
Eastern Catholic dioceses in Greece
Armenian Catholic Church
Armenian diaspora
Armenia–Greece relations
Ordinariates for Eastern Catholic faithful