Catholic | |
---|---|
Incumbent: Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian elected 23 September 2021 | |
Location | |
Headquarters | Beirut |
Information | |
First holder | Abraham Petros I Ardzivian (Independent) |
Denomination | Eastern Catholic |
Sui iuris church | Armenian Catholic Church |
Rite | Armenian Rite |
Established | 1742 |
Cathedral | Cathedral of St Elias and St Gregory the Illuminator |
Website | |
www.armeniancatholic.org/ |
The Patriarchate of Cilicia (Latin : Patriarchatus Ciliciae Armenorum) is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction and the only patriarchate of the Armenian Catholic Church of the Catholic Church. The territorial jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Cilicia is the Archeparchy of Beirut, over which the Patriarch of Cilicia holds ordinary authority. The St. Elie and St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Catholic Cathedral in Beirut, Lebanon, is the cathedra of the Patriarchate. [1] The Patriarchate is headed by Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian elected in September 2021.
While the diocese of Cilicia dates back to 294, [1] it was promoted to a patriarchate in 1742. [2] In 1866, the seat of the patriarchate was moved to Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (now Istanbul, Turkey), and in 1928 to Beirut, Lebanon, where it remains today. [3]
The ecumenical patriarch is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul) and New Rome, and primus inter pares among the heads of the several autocephalous churches which compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. The ecumenical patriarch is regarded as the representative and spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide. The term ecumenical in the title is a historical reference to the Ecumene, a Greek designation for the civilised world, i.e. the Roman Empire, and it stems from Canon 28 of the Council of Chalcedon.
Patriarchate is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, designating the office and jurisdiction of an ecclesiastical patriarch. According to Christian tradition three patriarchates were established by the apostles as apostolic sees in the 1st century: Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria(recognized by the Council of Nicaea). Constantinople was added in the 4th century and Jerusalem in the 5th century. Eventually, together, these five were recognised as the pentarchy by the Council of Chalcedon in 431.
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 Catholic Church.
An exarch was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical.
The Armenian Apostolic Church is the national church of the Armenian people. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christian institutions. The Kingdom of Armenia was the first state to adopt Christianity as its official religion under the rule of King Tiridates III, of the Arsacid dynasty in the early 4th century. According to tradition, the church originated in the missions of Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus of Edessa in the 1st century. St. Gregory the Illuminator was the first official primate of the church. It is sometimes referred to as the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church, Armenian Church or Armenian Gregorian Church.
The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic particular churches sui iuris of the Catholic Church. It accepts the leadership of the bishop of Rome, and is therefore in full communion with the universal Catholic Church, including the Latin Church and the 22 other Eastern Catholic Churches. The Armenian Catholic Church is regulated by Eastern canon law, summed up in the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.
Christianity in Lebanon has a long and continuous history. Biblical Scriptures purport that Peter and Paul evangelized the Phoenicians, whom they affiliated to the ancient patriarchate of Antioch. Christianity spread slowly in Lebanon due to pagans who resisted conversion, but it ultimately spread throughout the country. Even after centuries of Muslim rule, it remains the dominant faith of the Mount Lebanon region and has substantial communities elsewhere.
The Armenian Catholic Archeparchy of Istanbul, also known as Armenian Catholic Archdiocese of Constantinople, serves Armenian Catholics in Turkey and is under the Armenian Catholic Patriarch of Cilicia. Its cathedral is St. Mary of Sakızağaç Cathedral in Istanbul.
The Council of Catholic Patriarchs of the Orient is an agency of the Catholic Church that meets the patriarchs of Eastern Catholic Churches and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. Permanent seat of the organisation is the Maronite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch in Bkerke, Lebanon.
The Armenian Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Jerusalem and Amman is the missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction of the Armenian Catholic Church sui iuris in the Holy Land (Palestine/Israel) and (Trans)Jordan.
The Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Alexandria (or Iskanderiya) is a suffragan eparchy (Eastern Catholicdiocese) of the Armenian Catholic Church sui iuris (Armenian Rite in Armenian language), in the Patriarch's own 'ecclesiastical province of Cilicia' (actually based in Beirut, Lebanon), covering Egypt and Sudan.
Colonia or Koloneia, also called Colonia in Armenia to distinguish it from other towns of the same name, was a town of ancient Lesser Armenia, inhabited during Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine times. It became important enough to be the seat of a bishop, a suffragan in the Late Roman Province of Armenia Prima, but faded like most in Asia Minor. No longer a residential bishopric, it remains, under the name Colonia in Armenia, a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Maronite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch is the seat of the Patriarch of the Maronite Church. It is currently governed by the Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, OMM.
The Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Sainte-Croix-de-Paris is an eparchy for the faithful in France of the Armenian Catholic Church sui iuris, which uses the Armenian Rite in Armenian, in full communion with the universal Pope of Rome.
Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, I.C.P.B. is a Lebanese-born hierarch who serves as the 21st patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church. He previously served as ordinary of the Ordinariate for Catholics of Armenian Rite in Eastern Europe, which covers Armenia, Georgia, Russia, and Ukraine, from 24 June 2011 to 23 September 2021 and as a Patriarchal Exarch of the Armenian Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Jerusalem and Amman from 26 September 2005 to 24 June 2011.
The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic sui iuris particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. The current head of the Maronite Church is Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, who was elected in March 2011 following the resignation of Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir. The current seat of the Maronite Patriarchate is in Bkerke, northeast of Beirut, Lebanon. Officially known as the Antiochene Syriac Maronite Church, it is part of Syriac Christianity by liturgy and heritage.
Andon Bedros IX Hassoun was an Ottoman prelate of the Armenian Catholic Church, the Armenian rite Catholic Church, who was the Patriarch of Cilicia from 1866 to 1881; he was at the center of a schism that lasted from 1870 to 1879. He was previously archbishop of Constantinople of the Armenians for twenty years.