Ordinariate for Catholics of Armenian Rite in Greece


The Ordinariate for Catholics of Armenian Rite in Greece or Armenian Catholic Ordinariate of Greece is an Ordinariate for the faithful of eastern rite of the Armenian Catholic Church for its faithful in Greece.
It is exempt, i.e. directly dependent on the Holy See ; not part of any ecclesiastical province.

History

The ordinariate was established on December 21, 1925 by Pope Pius XI to serve Armenian Catholics who arrived in Greece during the First World War. This Armenian Catholic Ordinariate of Greece was created to the particular church sui iuris had no proper Ordinary.
From 1950 to 2002, the ordinariate, shaped by its extreme diaspora situation, increased from 450 to 550 Armenian Catholic Christians, cared for by the only diocesan priest of the Ordinariate in the only municipality in the country.
Between January 7, 2003 and March 21, 2015, the Armenian bishop of Isfahan was the Apostolic Administrator of the Ordinariate.

Territory and statistics

The Ordinariate extends its jurisdiction over the Armenian Catholics of the whole Greece. There are 200 Catholics belonging to this ordinariate.
Its cathedral episcopal see is the Armenian Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator, in the Greek capital Athens. Another parish is present in Nikaia, near Piraeus.

Ordinaries

;Ordinaries of Greece