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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.
In the 2000s, there are around 25,000 Roman Catholics, [1] constituting 0.05% of the population. The faithful follow the Latin, Byzantine, Armenian and Chaldean Rites. Most Latin Church Catholics are Levantines of mainly Italian or French background, with a few are ethnic Turks, who are usually either converts via marriage to Levantines or other non-Turkish Catholics, or are returnees from Europe who converted there, and who may often be still registered as Muslim by the government. Byzantine, Armenian, and Chaldean rite Catholics are generally members of the Greek, Armenian, and Assyrian minority groups respectively. Turkey's Catholics are concentrated in Istanbul.
By 2020, there were approximately 70 priests and 50 nuns serving in 52 parishes; [2] the church also ran 6 hospitals and homes for the old and infirm.
The Catholic Christian community was shocked when Father Andrea Santoro, an Italian missionary working in Turkey for 10 years, was shot twice in February 2006 at his church near the Black Sea. [4] He had written a letter to the Pope asking him to visit Turkey. [5] Pope Benedict XVI visited Turkey in November 2006. [6] Relations had been rocky since Pope Benedict XVI had stated his opposition to Turkey joining the European Union. [7] Turkey's Council of Catholic Bishops met with the Turkish prime minister in 2004 to discuss restrictions and difficulties such as property issues. [8] On June 6, 2010, Bishop Luigi Padovese, the Vicar Apostolic of Turkey, was killed.
An exarch was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical.
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, or is a diocese, archdiocese, eparchy or similar permanent ordinariate that either has no bishop or archbishop or, in very rare cases, has an incapacitated (arch)bishop.
The Catholic Church in Egypt is considerably small as compared to the rest of the Christian population in Egypt, which is a significant minority among Muslims. The Catholic population in Egypt is said to have begun during the British control of Egypt. However, many emigrated after the 1952 Revolution in Egypt, which also caused the overthrow and exile of King Farouk of Egypt. Catholics in Egypt belong to seven distinct ritual Particular Churches sui iuris, the largest being the Coptic Catholic Church, led by its Patriarch of Alexandria.
The Catholic Church in Syria is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
The Catholic Church in Israel is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, in full communion with the Holy See in Rome. The Catholic Church in Israel is divided into three main jurisdictions: the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, and the Salesian Mission. Each of these jurisdictions has its own responsibilities and areas of operation.
Christianity in Turkey has a long history dating back to the early origins of Christianity in Asia Minor during the 1st century AD. In modern times the percentage of Christians in Turkey has declined from 20 to 25 percent in 1914 to 3–5.5 percent in 1927, to 0.3–0.4%, roughly translating to 200,000–320,000 devotees. The percentage of Christians in Turkey fell mainly as a result of the late Ottoman genocides: the Armenian genocide, Greek genocide, and Assyrian genocide, the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, the emigration of Christians that began in the late 19th century and gained pace in the first quarter of the 20th century, and due to events such as the 1942 Varlık Vergisi tax levied on non-Muslim citizens in Turkey and the 1955 Istanbul pogrom against Greek and Armenian Christians. Exact numbers are difficult to estimate as many former Muslim converts to Christianity often hide their Christian faith for fear of familial pressure, religious discrimination, and persecution.
The Apostolic Vicariate of Anatolia is a Roman Catholic Latin apostolic vicariate in the eastern half of Anatolia.
A particular church is an ecclesiastical community of followers headed by a bishop, as defined by Catholic canon law and ecclesiology. A liturgical rite, a collection of liturgies descending from shared historic or regional context, depends on the particular church the bishop belongs to. Thus the term "particular church" refers to an institution, and "liturgical rite" to its ritual practices.
Melkite Greek Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Venezuela is a Melkite Greek Catholic Church missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction or apostolic exarchate of the Catholic Church in Venezuela.
The Apostolic Vicariate of Beirut is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or apostolic vicariate of the Catholic Church in Lebanon, where Eastern Catholics are far more numerous. In 2010, there were 15,000 baptized. Its current bishop is Cesar Essayan.
The Greek Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Constantinople is an Apostolic Exarchate of the Greek Byzantine Catholic Church which is an Eastern Catholic Church. As a sui iuris (autonomous) Church, it is in full communion with the Holy See. In its liturgical services it uses the Byzantine Rite in the Greek language. It is effectively defunct.
The Ordinariate for Eastern (Rite) Catholics in France is a Catholic Ordinariate for Eastern Catholic faithful, jointly for Eastern Catholics in various rites and languages of particular churches sui iuris without proper jurisdiction there.
Catholic dioceses in the Holy Land and Cyprus is a multi-rite, international episcopate in Israel and Cyprus.
Holy Trinity Greek Catholic Cathedral in Istanbul, also called Holy Trinity Rum Catholic Church, is the cathedral of the Greek Byzantine Catholic Church in Istanbul, Turkey. It is located on Hamalbaşı Caddesi in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul and is currently used as a church for the local Chaldean Catholic community.
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