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Apostolic Exarchate of the Czech Republic Exarchatus Apostolicus Reipublicae Cechae Apoštolský exarchát v České republice | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | Czech Republic |
Metropolitan | Immediately Subject to the Holy See |
Population - Catholics | (as of 2013) 17,000 |
Information | |
Sui iuris church | Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church |
Rite | Byzantine Rite |
Established | 18 January 1996 |
Cathedral | St. Clement's Cathedral, Prague |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Bishop | Ladislav Hučko |
Website | |
www |
The Apostolic Exarchate of the Greek Catholic Church in the Czech Republic [1] is an exarchate of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church that was erected by Pope John Paul II on 13 March 1996. Its geographic remit includes the Czech Republic. As an Eastern Catholic Church, it is in full communion with the Catholic Church. The exarchate is exempt, which means that it does have a metropolitan bishop but is directly subject to the Holy See. It is supervised by the Roman Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, a Roman Curia dicastery acting on behalf of the Pope. Its parishes observe the Byzantine Rite, which is also celebrated by the majority of Orthodox Christians. The episcopal seat is the Cathedral of St. Clement in the city of Prague.
The church was built on territory previously covered by a Byzantine Rite metropolis — the Slovak Catholic Metropolitan Archeparchy of Prešov.
An exarchate is the initial stage of an eparchy (the equivalent of a diocese in the Latin rites), which is exempt (i.e. not part of an ecclesiastical province but directly subject to the Holy See). The exarchate is governed by a bishop who has the same rights as a diocesan bishop.
According to the 2011 census, there were 9,927 Byzantine Catholics in the Czech Republic. [2] In July 2016 according to the Statistics from the Annuario Pontificio 2016 compiled by Ron Roberson there is a combined Byzantine or Constantinopolitan Tradition (“Greek Catholic”) count of 7,677,373 for which the Ruthenian Apostolic Exarchate in the Czech Republic in Prague makes up 17,000 of. [3] Currently there are 20 parishes and 12 chapels organized into seven deaneries and served by 25 priests.
Additionally, significant proportion of believers are workers and refugees from Ukraine. [4]
The following is a list of the hierarchs of the Apostolic Exarchate and their terms of service:
An exarch was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical.
The Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, also known in the United States as the Byzantine Catholic Church, is a sui iuris (autonomous) Eastern Catholic church based in Eastern Europe and North America. As a particular church of the Catholic Church, it is in full communion with the Holy See. It uses the Byzantine Rite for its liturgies, laws, and cultural identity.
The Metropolis of Pittsburgh is a sui juris metropolitan see of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church that is located in the United States of America and Canada. The Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church is one of 23 sui juris Eastern Catholic particular churches in the Catholic Church that is in full communion with the Holy See. The metropolis uses the Byzantine Rite in its liturgies. It was erected as a metropolis (archdiocese) by Pope Paul VI in 1969. The metropolis has jurisdiction over those communities that originated from the regions of Carpathian Ruthenia, Slovakia, Hungary and the former Yugoslavia. Worshipers come from several Byzantine Catholic groups: Rusyn Americans, Slovak Americans, Hungarian Americans, and Croatian Americans. In 2022, governance of the Exarchate of Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto in Canada passed to the metropolis of Pittsburgh from the Slovak Greek Catholic Church.
The Holy Protection of Mary Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix, commonly known as the Eparchy of Phoenix and formerly known as the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Van Nuys, is a Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church territory jurisdiction or eparchy of the Catholic Church in the western United States. Its episcopal see is Phoenix, Arizona. The last bishop was the Most Reverend John Stephen Pazak.
The Hungarian Greek Catholic Church or the Byzantine Catholic Church in Hungary is a sui iuris (autonomous) Eastern Catholic church based in Hungary. As a particular church of the Catholic Church, it is in full communion with the Holy See. Its liturgical usage is that of the Byzantine Rite in the Hungarian language.
The Macedonian Greek Catholic Church or Macedonian Byzantine Catholic Church is a sui juris Eastern Catholic church in full union with the Catholic Church which uses the Macedonian language in the liturgy. The Macedonian Greek Catholic Church comprises a single eparchy, the Macedonian Catholic Eparchy of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Strumica-Skopje.
The Slovak Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine Catholic Church in Slovakia, is a sui iuris (autonomous) Eastern Catholic church based in Slovakia. As a particular church of the Catholic Church, it is in full communion with the Holy See. The church is organised as a single ecclesiastical province with one metropolitan see. Its liturgical rite is the Byzantine Rite. In 2008 in Slovakia alone, the Greek Catholic Church in Slovakia had some 350,000 faithful, 374 priests and 254 parishes. In 2017, the Catholic Church counted 207,320 Greek Catholics in Slovakia worldwide, representing roughly one percent of all Eastern Catholics.
The Archeparchy of Pittsburgh is an archeparchy of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church that is located in the southern part of the United States of America. It is part of the Metropolis of Pittsburgh. The geographical remit of the archeparchy includes the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia. The incumbent archeparch is the Most Reverend William C. Skurla. The episcopal seat is situated in the city of Pittsburgh.
The Eparchy of Parma is an eparchy (diocese) of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church in the midwestern part of the United States. Its episcopal seat is the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Parma, Ohio. The eparchy's liturgies utilize the Byzantine Rite.
The Eparchy of San Nicola di Ruski Krstur is a Greek Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Catholic Church in Serbia. It was founded in 2003 as apostolic exarchate with territory in Serbia and Montenegro, and was reduced to the territory of Serbia in 2013. In 2018, it was elevated to an eparchy by Pope Francis. Since 2003, it is headed by bishop Đura Džudžar.
The Eparchy of Križevci is a Greek Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia eparchy of the Catholic Church in Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its current eparch is Milan Stipić. The cathedra is in the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, in the episcopal see of Križevci, Croatia.
Đura Džudžar is a Serbian eparchial bishop of the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Ruski Krstur since 2018. He was previously titular bishop of Acrassus (2001-2018), auxiliary bishop of the Ruthenian Eparchy of Mukachevo (2001-2003), apostolic exarch of Serbia and Montenegro (2003-2013) and Serbia (2013-2018).
The Eparchy of Miskolc is an eparchy (diocese) of the Hungarian Greek Catholic Church which is a particular church sui iuris of the Catholic Church. It uses the Byzantine Rite in the Hungarian language in its liturgical services.
The Exarchate of Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto is a ecclesiastical territory or exarchate that serves the Slovak Greek Catholic Church — a sui juris or self governing Eastern Catholic Church. Its geographical remit includes the whole territory of Canada. In 2022, Pope Francis transferred the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the exarchate from the Slovak Greek Catholic Church to the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church. It became part of the ecclesiastical Metropolis of Pittsburgh. This changed the territory's status from an eparchy to an exarchate at the same time.