Roman Catholicism in Greece
The Catholic Church in Greece is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
Indigenous Catholic Greeks number about 50,000[1] and are a religious and not an ethnic minority. One very old but still common term used to refer to them is Φράγκοι, or "Franks", referring to the religion of Franks and other Western Europeans during the Middle Ages, as opposed to practitioners of the Orthodox faith, who were somewhat confusingly called Ρωμαιοι, or "Romans" (as they belonged to the Greek-cultured Eastern Roman Empire). Since the early 1990s however, the number of Catholic permanent residents of Greece, has continuously increased making the total number of Catholics in Greece more than 200,000.[1] These Catholics are immigrants from Eastern Europe, especially Poland, or from the Philippines. Many of the Germans and French that settled in the Greek Islands also follow the Roman Catholic faith.
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, Cefalonia, Zante, etc.
Bishops' Conference
The Bishops' Conference of Greece (Hiera Synodos Katholikis Hierarkhias Hellados) has six members:
- The Archbishop of Corfu and Apostolic Administrator of Thessaloniki
- The Archbishop of Naxos and Tinos and Apostolic Administrator of Chios
- The Archbishop of Athens and Apostolic Administrator of Rhodes
- The Bishop of Syros and Santorini and Apostolic Administrator of Crete
- The Exarch of the Greek Catholics of Byzantine Rite (based in Athens)
- The Ordinary of the Armenian Catholics (based in Athens)
Papal representatives to Greece
Type | Name | Dates |
---|---|---|
Apostolic Nuncio | Edward Joseph Adams | 22 Feb 2011 - |
Apostolic Nuncio | Luigi Gatti | 16 Jul 2009 - 22 Feb 2011 |
Apostolic Nuncio | Patrick Coveney | 25 January 2005 - 16 July 2009 |
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 |
Organization
- Archdiocese of Athens
- Archdiocese of Rhodos
- Archdiocese of Corfù, Zante and Cefalonia
- Archdiocese of Naxos, Andros, Tinos and Mykonos
- Diocese of Chios
- Diocese of Crete
- Diocese of Santorini
- Diocese of Syros and Milos
- Apostolic Vicariate of Thessaloniki
Notable Greek Roman Catholics
- Demetrios Kydones, theologian
- Thomas Palaiologos, Despot of Morea
- Basilius Bessarion, theologian
- Ioannis Argyropoulos, scholar
- Marcus Musurus, scholar
- Ioannis Andreas Kargas, bischop of Syros
- Dominikos Theotokopoulos ("El Greco"), painter
- Ioannis Marangos, archbishop
- Markos Vamvakaris, musician
Popes from Greece
See also
Gallery
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St. Andrew in Patras
-
Catholic church of the Immaculate Conception in Thessaloniki
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Catholic Cathedral of St. James and St. Christopher in Corfu (city)
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Church of Presentation of the Lord (Naxos)
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Cathedral of Saint John The Baptist (Fira)
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St. Nicolaus in Argostoli
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Religious Freedom in Greece (September2002)" (RTF). Greek Helsinki Monitor Minority Rights Group - Greece. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
External links
Dioceses
- Catholic Archdiocese of Corfu
- Catholic Archdiocese of Rhodes
- Catholic Archdiocese of Naxos - Tinos
- Greek Catholic Exarchate
Parishes
- Catholic parish of Heraklion
- Catholic parish of Kavala
- Catholic parish of Patras
- Catholic parish of Thessaloniki
- German-speaking Catholic community in Greece
- Polish Catholic community in Greece
Others
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