Roman Catholicism in Greece

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The Roman Catholic Church in Greece is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and Curia in Rome.

Indigenous Catholic Greeks number about 50,000[1] and are a religious and not an ethnic minority. During recent years however, the number of foreign Catholics, permanent residents of Greece, has continuously increased making the total number of Catholics in Greece exceed 200,000.[1]

In addition to the Catholics of the Latin Rite who represent the majority of the faithful, there are about 5,000 of the Greek Rite,[1] and a few hundred Armenian Catholics.

The majority of Catholics are resident in Athens, a city of about four million people, however Catholics can be found all over Greece. Most indigenous Catholics live in the Cyclades, where Syros and Tinos have some entirely Catholic villages and parishes. There are also Catholics in Corfu, Patras, Thessaloniki, Giannitsa, Kavala, Volos, and more distant islands like Rhodes, Kos, Crete, Naxos, Santorini, Samos, Chios, Kephalonia, Zakynthos etc.

Contents

[edit] Bishops' Conference

The Bishops' Conference of Greece (Conferentia Episcopalis Graeciae) has six members:

  • The Archbishop of Corfu and Vicar Apostolic of Thessaloniki
  • The Archbishop of Naxos and Tinos and Vicar Apostolic of Chios
  • The Archbishop of Athens and Vicar Apostolic of Rhodes
  • The Bishop of Syros and Santorini and Vicar Apostolic of Crete
  • The Exarch of the Greek Catholics (based in Athens)
  • The Ordinary of the Armenian Catholics (based in Athens)

[edit] Papal representatives to Greece

Type Name Dates
Apostolic Nuncio Patrick Coveney 25 January 2005 -
Apostolic Nuncio Paul Fouad Tabet 2 January 1996 - 25 January 2005
Apostolic Pro-Nuncio Luciano Storero 28 June 1990 - 15 November 1995
Apostolic Pro-Nuncio Giovanni Mariani 25 April 1980 - 5 May 1990
Apostolic Delegate Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli 12 January 1935 - 23 December 1944
Apostolic Delegate Carlo Margotti 12 February 1931 - 25 July 1934
Apostolic Delegate Louis Petit 4 March 1912 - 24 June 1926
Apostolic Delegate Antonio Delenda 25 August 1900 - ? August 1911
Apostolic Delegate Giovanni Marango 9 June 1874 - ? 1900

[edit] Organization

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Religious Freedom in Greece (September2002) (RTF). Greek Helsinki Monitor Minority Rights Group - Greece. Retrieved on 2007-09-15.

[edit] External links

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