Catholic Church in Iraq

Last updated

The modern history of Catholicism in Iraq began in the 17th century when Emir Afrasiyab of Basra allowed the Portuguese to build a church outside of the city Basra, Galerie agreable du Monde.jpg
The modern history of Catholicism in Iraq began in the 17th century when Emir Afrasiyab of Basra allowed the Portuguese to build a church outside of the city

Catholics in Iraq follow several different rites, but in 2022, most (82%) are members of the Chaldean Catholic Church; about 17% belong to the Syriac Catholic Church, and the remainder are primarily Armenian, Greek and Latin-rite Catholics. [1]

Contents

There has not been a census in Iraq since 2010, and there is no exact number of Christians in the country. Local leaders suggest that there were 150,000 Christians in 2022; [2] however, other estimates suggested that there were 295,000 Catholics. [1] All figures suggest that Catholics make up less than 1% of the country's population.

In 2020, there were 170 priests and 364 nuns serving across 143 parishes. [1] In 2023, there are 15 currently active dioceses in Iraq and a Patriarchal See. [3] [4]

In 2019, the Archbishop of Erbil, in Kurdistan, warned that Catholicism and Christianity in general was in danger of becoming 'extinct' in Iraq due to persistent persecution from militant Islamic groups such as Daesh. [5]

Pope Francis visited Iraq in March 2021. [6]

In July 2023, Louis Sako, the Chaldean Catholic Patriarchate of Baghdad, announced that he would leave Baghdad for Iraqi Kurdistan after an ongoing dispute with the Iraqi government. [7] [8]

Dioceses and Eparchies

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syriac Catholic Church</span> Eastern Catholic church of the West Syriac Rite

The Syriac Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Christian jurisdiction originating in the Levant that uses the West Syriac Rite liturgy and has many practices and rites in common with the Syriac Orthodox Church. Being one of the twenty-three Eastern Catholic Churches, the Syriac Catholic Church is a self-governed sui iuris particular church, while it is in full communion with the Holy See and with the entirety of the Roman Catholic Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exarch</span> Former political and military office; now an ecclesiastical office

An exarch was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaldean Catholic Church</span> Eastern Catholic Church

The Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic particular church in full communion with the Holy See and the rest of the Catholic Church, and is headed by the Chaldean Patriarchate. Employing in its liturgy the East Syriac Rite in the Syriac dialect of the Aramaic language, it is part of Syriac Christianity. Headquartered in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows, Baghdad, Iraq, since 1950, it is headed by the Catholicos-Patriarch Louis Raphaël I Sako. In 2010, it had a membership of 490,371, of whom 310,235 (63.27%) lived in the Middle East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Church in Turkey</span>

The Catholic Church in Turkey is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and the canonical leadership of the curia in Rome that is submitted to the Pope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Church in Syria</span>

The Catholic Church in Syria is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Tehran</span> Eastern Catholic archeparchy in Iran

The Chaldean Catholic Metropolitan Archeparchyof Tehran is an Archeparchy of the Chaldean Catholic church in Iran, with its archiepiscopal see, St. Joseph's Cathedral, in the national capital Tehran. Despite its Metropolitan rank, it has no suffragan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christianity in Iraq</span>

The Christians of Iraq are considered to be one of the oldest continuous Christian communities in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaldean Catholics</span> Adherents of the Chaldean Catholic Church

Chaldean Catholics, also known as Chaldeans, Chaldo-Assyrians or Assyro-Chaldeans, are ethnic Assyrian adherents of the Chaldean Catholic Church, which originates from the historic Church of the East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dioceses of the Church of the East after 1552</span>

Dioceses of the Church of the East after 1552 were dioceses of the Church of the East and its subsequent branches, both traditionalist and pro-Catholic.

The Syriac Catholic Church, established in the second half of the 17th century as an Eastern Catholic offshoot of the Syriac Orthodox Church, had around a dozen dioceses in the eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries. Three of these dioceses were ruined during the First World War in the Assyrian and Armenian massacres, and the 20th century also saw the growth of an important Syriac Catholic diaspora in America, Europe and Australasia. As of 2012 the Syriac Catholic Church has fifteen dioceses, mostly in the Middle East, and four patriarchal vicariates for the diaspora communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Arbil</span> Eastern Catholic archeparchy in Kurdistan, Iraq

The Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil is a Chaldean Catholic diocese with its seat in Erbil, Kurdistan Region. Erected in 1968 with territory taken from the Archeparchy of Kirkuk, it is immediately subject to the Patriarchal See of Babylon. The see of the archbishop is the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Ankawa, a suburb of Erbil.

The Archbishop of Erbil of the Chaldeans is the most senior member of the Catholic clergy in the Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Erbil. The current archbishop of Erbil is Bashar Matti Warda. He is well known for his wide-ranging support for the Christian refugees in Iraq, and for promoting inter-religious dialogue and environmental protection in Iraq.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Basra</span> Eastern Catholic archeparchy in Iraq

The Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Basra is a non-metropolitan Archeparchy of the Chaldean Catholic Church in southern Iraq.

The Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Ahvaz (or Ahwaz)(informally called Ahvaz of the Chaldeans) is a non-Metropolitan archeparchy (Eastern Catholic archdiocese) of the particular Chaldean Catholic Church sui iuris (Syro-Oriental Rite in Syriac language) in Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, southwest Iran.

The Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Basra, Iraq and the Gulf is an exarchate of the Syriac Catholic Church sui iuris for southern Iraq and the Gulf states, notably Kuwait. It serves the extremely small Christian minority in Basra however recently the population has slightly increased due to some Christian refugees from the war torn Northern Iraq settling in Basra fleeding conflict with ISIL.

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, though not part of his or any other ecclesiastical province, and in Rome depends on the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.

Catholic dioceses in the Holy Land and Cyprus is a multi-rite, international episcopate in Israel and Cyprus.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Catholics and Culture website, retrieved 2023-08-08
  2. ↑ US State Dept 2022 report
  3. ↑ GCatholic.org website: Catholic Dioceses in Iraq, retrieved 2023-08-28
  4. ↑ Catholic-Hierarchy website: Current Dioceses in Iraq, retrieved 2023-08-28
  5. ↑ Gardner, Frank (23 May 2019). "Iraq's Christians 'close to extinction'". BBC News.
  6. ↑ Lowen, Mark (2021-03-05). "Pope Francis on Iraq visit calls for end to violence and extremism". BBC News . Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  7. ↑ Vatican News website, article dated July 2023
  8. ↑ The National News website, article dated July 16, 2023
  9. ↑ GCatholic.org: Catholic Dioceses in Iraq
  10. ↑ Catholic-Hierarchy: Current Dioceses in Iraq
  11. ↑ "Union Between Christians website: Christianity in Iraq - Catholic 2022" . Retrieved 2022-07-04.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.