The Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Basra, Iraq and the Gulf is an
exarchate
An exarchate is any territorial jurisdiction, either secular or ecclesiastical, whose ruler is called an exarch. The term originates from the Greek word ''arkhos'', meaning a leader, ruler, or chief. Byzantine Emperor Justinian I created the firs ...
(
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) of the
Syriac Catholic Church ''sui iuris'' (
Antiochian Rite
Antiochene Rite or Antiochian Rite refers to the family of liturgies originally used by the Patriarchate of Antioch.
Liturgies in the Antiochene Rite
The Antiochian Rite, or the Antiochian Rite family, consists of Apostolic Liturgies including ...
in
Syriac language) for southern
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
and the Gulf states, notably
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
.
It depends directly on the
Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, without belonging to 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 ...
.
History
It was established in 1991 on territory previously without proper Ordinary of the
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''.
Ordinaries
(all
West Syriac Rite
The West Syriac Rite, also called Syro-Antiochian Rite, is an Eastern Christian liturgical rite that employs the Divine Liturgy of Saint James in the West Syriac dialect. It is practised in the Maronite Church, the Syriac Orthodox ...
)
;''Patriarchal Exarchs of Basra and the Gulf''
* Athanase Matti Shaba Matoka (1997 – 2001), while Archeparch (Archbishop) of
Baghdad of the Syriacs
The Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Baghdad is a Syriac Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or archeparchy of the Catholic Church in Iraq. It is not a metropolitan see and is directly exempt to the Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, thou ...
(Iraq) (1983.07.15 – retired 2011.03.01); previously
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
Dara Syrorum of the Syriacs
Dara or Daras ( el, Δάρας, syr, ܕܪܐ) was an important East Roman fortress city in northern Mesopotamia on the border with the Sassanid Empire. Because of its great strategic importance, it featured prominently in the Roman-Persian conf ...
(1979.08.25 – 1983.07.15) &
Auxiliary Eparch of Baghdad of the Syriacs (Iraq) (1979.08.25 – 1983.07.15)
* Father Charbel Issou (2001 – 2003)
* Father Eshak Marzena (2003 – 2014)
* Monsignor Emad Ekleemes (2014 – 2020)
* Firas Dardar (2020.09.10 – ...), while
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 Tagritum of the Syriacs (2020.09.10 – ...)
Source and External links
GCatholic, with incumbent bio links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basra and the Gulf, Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate
Basra
Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...
Basra
Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...
Eastern Catholicism in Iraq
Catholic Church in Kuwait