The Armenian Catholic Ordinariate of Eastern Europe is an Ordinariate (quasi-diocese) of the

Armenian Catholic Church , native_name_lang = hy , image = St Elie - St Gregory Armenian Catholic Cathedral.jpg , imagewidth = 260px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Saint Elias and Saint Gregory the Illuminat ...

(

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 ...

Armenian Rite The Armenian Rite () is an independent liturgy used by both the Armenian Apostolic and Armenian Catholic Churches. Liturgy The liturgy is patterned after the directives of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, first official head and patron sain ...

Armenian language Armenian ( classical: , reformed: , , ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is the official language of Armenia. Historically spoken in the Armenian Highlands, today Armenian is widely spoken th ...

) for its faithful in certain

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

an ex-Soviet countries without proper Ordinary for their

particular church In metaphysics, particulars or individuals are usually contrasted with universals. Universals concern features that can be exemplified by various different particulars. Particulars are often seen as concrete, spatiotemporal entities as opposed to a ...

''sui iuris''. It is exempt, i.e. immediately subject to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

(notably the Roman

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 ...

), 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 ...

History

Between 1720 and 1760 large communities of Armenian Catholic refugees from Turkey and

Persia 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 ...

settled in the territory of the North Caucasus. The flow of Armenian immigrants to Christian Russia increased with the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

executed by the Turkish authorities, especially since the late nineteenth century. Some of the faithful were able to take refuge in southern Armenia and Georgia. From 1907 in

Krasnodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southe ...

there was a special vicar for priests of the Armenian Catholic rite. In 1760 the Catholics in Astrakhan were 1/5 of the population of the city and they had a parish. Armenian Catholic communities were established in Astrakhan, Voronezh, Penza, Rostov-on-Don, Saratov, Samara and Tsaritsyn. Another region of mass residence of Armenian Catholics was Georgia, in Ajaltsije, Ajalkalaki, Bogdanovsky and Chirac. In 1848 the Diocese of Tiraspol was created with headquarters in Saratov, to which the Armenian Catholic parishes were added in Russian territory as a dean. In 1850 Pope Pius IX established an Armenian eparchy of Artvin for the Catholic Armenian faithful of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

and Russia. In 1878 Russia occupied all the territory of this eparchy and, by decision of the authorities, subjected its parishes to the Latin eparchy of

Tiraspol Tiraspol or Tirișpolea ( ro, Tiraspol, Moldovan Cyrillic: Тираспол, ; russian: Тира́споль, ; uk, Тирасполь, Tyraspol') is the capital of Transnistria (''de facto''), a breakaway state of Moldova, where it is the th ...

. However, this situation was not recognized by Rome until 1912, but the eparchy of Artvin formally continued to exist until 1972. In 1909 the pope appointed Sarkis Der Aprahamian as apostolic administrator for Armenian Catholics, as a formal part of Artvin's non-existent eparchy. In the 7 ecclesiastical districts of the administration there were 86 parishes: Alexandropol or Gyumri (16 parishes), Lori (6 parishes), Ajalkalaki (12 parishes), Ajaltsije (17 parishes), Artvin (17 parishes), Karin (12 parishes) and Crimea (6 parishes). The current Armenian Catholic community in the Caucasus and southern Russia and Ukraine arose during the Armenian emigration from

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

after the peace treaties at the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. With the fall of the communist regime, which had almost suppressed the Armenian Catholic Church in the Soviet Union, on 13 July 1991,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

established the Ordinariate for the faithful of the Armenian rite who live in countries of Eastern Europe (except Poland, Romania and Greece) for Armenian Catholics in the former Soviet republics of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. The priest of the

Mekhitarist Order , image = , image_size = , caption = , abbreviation = C.A.M. , nickname = Mechitarists , established = , founder = Abbot Mekhitar of Sebaste, C.A.M. , foundin ...

, Nerses Der Nersessian, was appointed first ordinary and consecrated bishop on 17 November 1992.

Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Lviv and its incorporation to ordinariate

In 1630 in

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

the Armenian Apostolic Archbishop Mikołaj Torosowicz united his Church with the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and received the Metropolitan title of Archbishop of Poland, Moldavia and Wallachia of the Armenian Archdiocese of Lviv. It existed until its suppression by the Soviet communist authorities in 1945 in the areas of western Ukraine that had belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and were annexed by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

at the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. The faithful were transferred to

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

or took refuge in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and the bishop died in prison. After the end of communism the archeparchy was not revived - although it was not suppressed, its cathedral of the Assumption of Mary was delivered by the Government to the

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

and its territory incorporated into the Ordinariate.

Territory and statistics

The ordinariate includes the jurisdiction over all Armenian Catholics in Armenia, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine. The Cathedral of the Holy Martyrs in

Gyumri Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...

, northwest of Armenia, is the cathedral episcopal see of the ordinariate. In Russia, the faithful of the Armenian Catholic Church live mainly in the southern regions of the country and in large cities: Pskov, Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, Sochi, Irkutsk, Omsk, Ulan Ude and Chita. Because of the lack of their own Armenian Catholic hierarchy and clergymen, the faithful of the Armenian Catholic Church mostly visit the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

es. In every Latin eparchies of Russia, there are clergymen (mostly Armenians) who are ordained by the Ordinariate of Eastern Europe with jurisdiction over the faithful of the Armenian Catholic Church residing in these Latin dioceses. In Moscow there is the "Parish of St. Grigor the Illuminator", whose services are performed in the Latin Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Also in Ukraine, due to the smallness of the Armenian clergy, the communities are often entrusted to the Latin-rite clergy. In Georgia there is the parish of Saint Gregory the Illuminator in Tbilisi. In 2016, there were 618,000 believers in 44 parishes. Especially in Russia and Ukraine, the faithful are entrusted to the Latin priests because of their small number.

Ordinaries

;Ordinaries of East Europe (

) * Nerses Der Nersessian, C.A.M. (1991.07.13 – 2005.04.02), Archbishop ad personam (1991.07.13 – 1992.07.09), then (also emeritate)

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 Sebaste of the Armenians (1992.07.09 – death 2006.12.24) ** Coadjutor Ordinary Vartan Kechichian, C.A.M. (2001.02.17 – 2005.04.02) * Neshan Karakéhéyan, I.C.P.B. (2005.04.02 – 2010.01.06), Titular Archbishop of Adana of the Armenians (2005.04.02 – death 2021.02.15) **

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic adm ...

Father Vahan Ohanian, C.A.M. (2010.01.06 – 2011.06.24) * Raphaël François Minassian, I.C.P.B. (2011.06.24 – 2021.09.23), Titular Archbishop of Cesarea in Cappadocia of the Armenians (2011.06.24 – 2021.09.23) **

Father Mikael Bassalé, I.C.P.B. (since 2022.05.17)

References

Sources and external links

Official website

Older site

armeniancatholic.org

Armenian Catholics of Russia
{{Roman Catholic Church in Russia