Ordinariate for the faithful of eastern rite

An ordinariate for the faithful of eastern rite is a geographical ecclesiastical structure for Eastern Catholic communities in areas where no eparchy of their own particular Church has been established. This structure was introduced by the apostolic letter Officium supremi Apostolatus of 15 July 1912.[1]

In the Annuario Pontificio the eight existing ordinariates of this kind are listed together with the fifteen apostolic exarchates. Of these ordinariates, four (in Argentina, Brazil, France and Poland) are generically for all Eastern Catholics who lack a diocesan jurisdiction of their own rite in the particular country and who are therefore entrusted to the care of a Latin archbishop in the country. The one in Austria is for Catholics belonging to any of the fourteen particular Churches that use the Byzantine Rite. The other three (Eastern Europe, Greece and Romania) are for members of the Armenian Catholic Church.

Existing ordinariates

Ordinariate Geographical area Jurisdiction Ordinary Date(s) of founding
Ordinariate for Eastern Catholics in Argentina Argentina All Eastern Catholics Archbishop of Buenos Aires 1959-02-19
Ordinariate for Byzantine-rite Catholics in Austria Austria Byzantine-rite Catholics Archbishop of Vienna 1945-10-03 and 1956-06-13
Ordinariate for Eastern Catholics in Brazil Brazil All Eastern Catholics Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro 1951-11-14
Ordinariate for Armenian-rite Catholics in Eastern Europe Eastern Europe Armenian-rite Catholics Armenian bishop of a titular see 1991-07-13
Ordinariate for Eastern Catholics in France [2][3] France All Eastern Catholics Archbishop of Paris 1954-06-16
Ordinariate for Armenian-rite Catholics in Greece Greece Armenian-rite Catholics vacant (under an apostolic administrator) 1925-12-21
Ordinariate for Eastern Catholics in Poland Poland All Eastern Catholics Archbishop of Warsaw 1991-01-16
Ordinariate for Armenian-rite Catholics in Romania Romania Armenian-rite Catholics vacant (under an apostolic administrator) 1930-06-05

See also

References

  1. Annuario Pontificio 2012 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2008 ISBN 978-88-209-8722-0), p. 1811
  2. Catholic-Hierarchy
  3. GCatholic