Macedonian Greek Catholic Church | |
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Classification | Eastern Catholic |
Polity | Episcopal |
Structure | Eparchy [1] |
Pope | Francis |
Bishop | Kiro Stojanov [2] |
Region | North Macedonia |
Language | Macedonian |
Liturgy | Byzantine Rite |
Headquarters | Assumption of Mary Cathedral, Strumica, North Macedonia |
Founder | John Paul II |
Origin | 2001 |
Separated from | Macedonian Orthodox Church |
Congregations | 7 |
Members | 11,374 [3] |
Ministers | 17 [3] |
Other name(s) | Macedonian Greek Catholic Eparchy of the Blessed Virgin Mary Assumed in Strumica-Skopje [1] |
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The Macedonian Greek Catholic Church [lower-alpha 1] 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. [1]
An Apostolic Exarch was appointed for Bulgarian Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Macedonia as early as 1883 and lasting until 1922/1924 as part of the Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church. [4] After the end of World War I and the foundation of Yugoslavia, the Vicariate was absorbed into the Eparchy of Križevci.
In January 2001, a separate Greek Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Macedonia was formed for Eastern Catholics of the Byzantine Rite in North Macedonia. It was separated from the Eparchy of Križevci and constituted as directly subject to the Holy See. [5] On the same day (11 January 2001), the Holy See appointed the Latin Bishop of Skopje as the first Apostolic Exarch of North Macedonia. [6]
As of 2017 [update] , the Church's membership was estimated at approximately 11,374 faithful, with one bishop, 8 parishes, 16 priests, and 18 religious sisters. [7]
Year | Members | Priests | Parishes |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | 10,000 | 10 | 8 |
2001 | 6,320 | 9 | 5 |
2002 | 11,000 | 8 | |
2003 | 11,367 | 5 [8] | |
2004 | 11,367 [9] | 9 | |
2005 | 11,398 | 5 [9] | |
2006 | 11,483 | 8 | 5 [10] |
2007 | 11,491 | 5 [11] | |
2008 | 15,175 | 10 | 6 [12] |
2009 | 15,041 | 11 | 7 [13] |
2010 | 15,037 | 7 [7] | |
2016 | 11,336 | 16 | 8 [3] |
2017 | 11,374 |
Apostolic Exarchs
Eparchs of Strumica
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 particular churches of the Catholic Church, in full communion with the Pope in Rome. Although they are distinct theologically, liturgically, and historically from the Latin Church, they are all in full communion with it and with each other. Eastern Catholics are a minority within the Catholic Church; of the 1.3 billion Catholics in communion with the Pope, approximately 18 million are members of the eastern churches. The largest numbers of Eastern Catholics may be found in Eastern Europe, Eastern Africa, the Middle East, and India. As of 2022, the Syro-Malabar Church is the largest Eastern Catholic Church, followed by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
An exarch was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical.
Eparchy is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an eparch, who is a bishop. Depending on the administrative structure of a specific Eastern Church, an eparchy can belong to an ecclesiastical province, but it can also be exempt. Each eparchy is divided into parishes, in the same manner as a diocese in Western Churches. Historical development of eparchies in various Eastern Churches was marked by local distinctions that can be observed in modern ecclesiastical practices of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches.
Sui iuris, also spelled sui juris, is a Latin phrase that literally means "of one's own right". It is used in both the Catholic Church's canon law and secular law. The term church sui iuris is used in the Catholic Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO) to denote the autonomous churches in Catholic communion. The Catholic Church consists of 24 churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic churches.
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The Greek Byzantine Catholic Church or the Greek-Catholic Church of Greece is a sui iuris Eastern Catholic particular church of the Catholic Church that uses the Byzantine Rite in Koine Greek and Modern Greek. Its membership includes inhabitants of Greece and Turkey, with some links with Italy and Corsica.
The Catholic Church in North Macedonia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome and is one of the major religious communities that exist on the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia. Catholic believers from North Macedonia mostly include Albanians, Macedonians and Croats and are most concentrated in the Skopje Statistical Region and the Southeastern Statistical Region of North Macedonia.
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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 Winnipeg is a Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or archeparchy of the Catholic Church in Manitoba, a province of Canada. Currently, its archeparch is Lawrence Huculak.
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.
Kiro Stojanov is the Roman Catholic Bishop of Skopje and the Eparchial Bishop of the Macedonian Catholic Eparchy of the Blessed Virgin Mary Assumed in Strumica-Skopje of the Macedonian Greek Catholic Church.
Greek Catholics in Montenegro are Eastern Catholic Christians who are practicing liturgy in the Byzantine Rite. Since 2013, there is no longer any Eastern Catholic jurisdictions covering Montenegro, and all Byzantine Rite Catholics in the country are under jurisdiction of local bishops of the Latin Church.
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).
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The Macedonian Catholic Eparchy of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Strumica-Skopje is the only eparchy of the Macedonian Greek Catholic Church. It is situated in North Macedonia. The eparchy is an Immediately subject to the Holy See.