The Diocese of Prizren and Pristina (, , ) is a

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

ecclesiastical territory or

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, prov ...

of the Catholic Church in Kosovo. It is centered in the city of

Prizren Prizren ( sq-definite, Prizreni, ; sr-cyr, Призрен) is the second List of cities and towns in Kosovo, most populous city and Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality of Kosovo and seat of the eponymous municipality and District of Prizren, ...

. It was erected as an

apostolic administration 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 admi ...

in 2000, after being split from the Diocese of Skopje and Prizren, and elevated to the rank of diocese in 2018. The first apostolic administrator of Prizren was titular bishop Marko Sopi of

Celerina Celerina/Schlarigna (German language, German/Italian language, Italian ''Celerina''; Romansh language, Romansh ) is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Maloja Region in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Grau ...

, who served from 2000 to 2006. He was succeeded by former bishop

Dodë Gjergji Dodë Gjergji (born 16 January 1963) is a Kosovo, Kosovan prelate of the Catholic Church. Since 2006, he serves as Apostolic Administrator of Apostolic Administration of Prizren, Prizren. In 2018, when the apostolic administration was elevated t ...

of Sapë, who served as apostolic administrator of Prizren and currently serves as the first diocesan bishop.

History

The modern ''Apostolic Administration of Prizren'' covers the approximate territory of the former

Roman Catholic Diocese of Prizren The Diocese of Prizren and Pristina (, , ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Kosovo. It is centered in the city of Prizren. It was erected as an apostolic administration in 2000, after being split from ...

that was a titular see known as ''Prisriana''. During the later period of Ottoman rule in the 19th century, there were several initiatives for organization of a regular diocese. In 1912, the region of Prizren came under the rule of the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

. To regulate the status of the Catholic Church, the government of Serbia concluded an official agreement (

concordat A concordat () is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960 ...

) with the Holy See on 24 June 1914. By the second article of the Concordat, it was decided that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Skopje">Diocese of Skopje should be created as a regular diocese for all newly annexed regions (including Prizren), and it was also agreed that it would be placed under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Belgrade that was about to be created. Because of the breakout of the First World War, those provisions could not be fully implemented, and only after 1918 new arrangements were made. During the time of the first

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

(1918–1941), there were some new initiatives towards the creation of a local diocese in Prizren. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the last titular bishop of ''Prisriana'' was appointed in 1942 (Ivan Romanoff), but he never came to Prizren. Only in 1969 was the name Prizren Diocese joined with the name Skopje Diocese, thus creating Roman Catholic Diocese of Skopje and Prizren. In 2000, jurisdictions were split, and the portion in

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

became the Apostolic Administration of Prizren, while the Diocese of Skopje returned to its former name. On September 5, 2018, the apostolic administration was elevated to the rank of diocese but remained as an immediately subject to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

.Erezione della diocesi di Prizren-Prishtina e nomina del primo Vescovo
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References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy: Apostolic Administration of Prizren

{{authority control Catholic Church in Kosovo Culture in Prizren

History

See also

References

External links