Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Akka
| Archeparchy of Israel (Melkite Greek) Archieparchia Ptolemaidensis Melchitarum | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country | Israel |
| Statistics | |
| Population - Catholics |
(as of 2012) 76,700 |
| Parishes | 33 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Melkite Greek Catholic Church |
| Rite | Byzantine Rite |
| Established | 1753 |
| Cathedral | Saint Elias Cathedral |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Patriarch | Gregory III Laham |
| Archeparch | George Bacouni |
| Emeritus Bishops | Elias Chacour |
Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Akka (in Latin: Archieparchia Ptolemaidensis Melchitarum) is an Eastern Catholic diocese of Melkite Greek Catholic Church. It is part of the largest Christian community in Israel - the Melkites amount to 40% of Israel's 153,000 Christian citizens.[1][2]
Territory and statistics
The archeparchy extends its jurisdiction to Melkites of Israel, especially of Galilee. Headquarters of archeparchy is Haifa, where is the Saint Elias Cathedral. Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Akka counted 76,700 baptized members, and had a territory subdivided in 33 parishes in 2012.
History
Ancient Ptolemais-Akre was the site of the visit of Paul of Tarsus during his trip described in Acts of Apostles.[3] Soon, the city was a strong Christian community. In the third century was established headquarters of an ancient episcopal see here and the capital of the bishop of the diocese, which is suffragan of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Tyre, referring to the ancient period in Ptolemais in Phoenicia, called Acre in the Crusader period.
In 1753, the see was restored as a Melkite diocese by Patriarch Cyril VI Tanas and attached once again to Tyre, which had become independent from Jerusalem. However, the Melkite bishops of Acre began to reside there only in 1804.[4]
Before 1932, the jurisdiction of Acre included Transjordan. The see became an Archeparchy on November 18, 1964 with the Bull Apostolic constitution of Pope Paul VI[5] and includes all Galilee.
List of Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchs of Akka
- Macaire Ajemi (1759 - December 25, 1774 resigned)
- Michel (Germanos) Adam (December 25, 1774 consecrated - July 1777 appointed Archeparchy of Aleppo)
- Makarios Fakhoury (? - 1794?)
- Makarios Nahas (1795 - 1809?)
- Habib Theodosius (1809 - 1833?)
- Michel Clement Bahouth, B.S. (August 10, 1836 consecrated - June 16, 1856 confirmed as Patriarch of Antioch)
- Hanna (Gregory) Youssef-Sayour (November 13, 1856 consecrated - March 27, 1865 confirmed as Patriarch of Antioch)
- Agapio Dumani, B.S. (December 4, 1864 - 1893 deceased)
- Grégoire Haggiar (March 24, 1901 - October 30, 1940 deceased)
- Georges Hakim (March 13, 1943 - November 26, 1967 confirmed the Patriarch of Antioch)
- Joseph-Marie Raya (9 September 1968 - August 21, 1974 resigned)
- Maximos Salloum (August 20, 1975 - July 23, 1997 withdrawn)
- Pierre Boutros Mouallem, S.M.S.P. (29 July 1998 - July 18, 2003 withdrawn)
- Vacant (2003-2006)
- Elias Chacour (7 February 2006 - January 27, 2014 withdrawn)
- Moussa El-Hage, O.A.M. (January 27, 2014 - June 21, 2014) (Apostolic Administrator)
- George Bacouni, (from June 21, 2014)
See also
References
- ↑ Mansour, Johnny (2012) Palestinian Christians in Israel. Facts, Figures and Trends. Dyar. ISBN 978-9950-376-14-4. pp 20,23
- ↑ http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2014/01/27/0062/00127.html
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑