The Macedonian Greek Catholic Church [a] or Macedonian Byzantine Catholic Church is a sui juris Eastern Catholic church in full union with the Catholic Church, which uses the Macedonian language in the liturgy. The Macedonian Greek Catholic Church comprises a single eparchy: the Macedonian Catholic Eparchy of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Strumica-Skopje.[1]
| Macedonian Greek Catholic Church | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Classification | Eastern Catholic |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Structure | Eparchy[1] |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Kiro Stojanov[2] |
| Region | North Macedonia |
| Language | Macedonian |
| Liturgy | Byzantine Rite |
| Headquarters | Assumption of Mary Cathedral, Strumica, North Macedonia |
| Founder | John Paul II |
| Origin | 2001 |
| Separated from | Macedonian Orthodox Church |
| Congregations | 7 |
| Members | 11,374[3] |
| Ministers | 17[3] |
| Other name(s) | Macedonian Greek Catholic Eparchy of the Blessed Virgin Mary Assumed in Strumica-Skopje[1] |
History
editAn Apostolic Exarch was appointed for Bulgarian Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Macedonia as early as 1883 and lasting until 1922/1924 as part of the Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church.[4] After the end of World War I and the foundation of Yugoslavia, the Vicariate was absorbed into the Eparchy of Križevci.
In January 2001, a separate Greek Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Macedonia was formed for Eastern Catholics of the Byzantine Rite in North Macedonia. It was separated from the Eparchy of Križevci and constituted as directly subject to the Holy See.[5] On the same day (11 January 2001), the Holy See appointed the Latin Bishop of Skopje as the first Apostolic Exarch of North Macedonia.[6]
Statistics
editAs of 2017[update], the Church's membership was estimated at approximately 11,374 faithful, with one bishop, 8 parishes, 16 priests, and 18 religious sisters.[7]
| Year | Members | Priests | Parishes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 10,000 | 10 | 8 |
| 2001 | 6,320 | 9 | 5 |
| 2002 | 11,000 | 8 | |
| 2003 | 11,367 | 5[8] | |
| 2004 | 11,367[9] | 9 | |
| 2005 | 11,398 | 5[9] | |
| 2006 | 11,483 | 8 | 5[10] |
| 2007 | 11,491 | 5[11] | |
| 2008 | 15,175 | 10 | 6[12] |
| 2009 | 15,041 | 11 | 7[13] |
| 2010 | 15,037 | 7[7] | |
| 2016 | 11,336 | 16 | 8[3] |
| 2017 | 11,374 |
List of Hierarchs
editApostolic Exarchs
- Lazar Mladenov (1883–1895), Titular Bishop of Satala
- Epiphany Shanov (1895–1922 or 1924), Titular Bishop of Livias
- Joakim Herbut (2001–2005), Latin Church Bishop of Skopje
- Kiro Stojanov (2005–2018), Latin Church Bishop of Skopje[8][2]
Eparchs of Strumica
- Kiro Stojanov (2018–present), Latin Church Bishop of Skopje
See also
edit
Notes
edit- ^ Latin: Ecclesiae Graecae Catholico Macedonica; Macedonian: Македонска грчка католичка црква
References
edit- ^ a b c "Macedonian Church". Catholic Dioceses in the World. GCatholic. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- ^ a b "Apostolic Exarchate of Macedonia". Catholic Dioceses in the World. GCatholic. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- ^ a b c "The Eastern Catholic Churches" (PDF). Catholic Near East Welfare Association. 2017.
- ^ Кратка история на Католическата апостолическа екзархия. (In English: A conscise history of the Catholic Apostolic Exarchate - retrieved from the official website of the Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church on January 16, 2012.)
- ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 93 (2001), p. 339.
- ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 94 (2002), p. 152.
- ^ a b Ronald Roberson. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2010 Statistics" (PDF). Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
- ^ a b Cheney, David M. "Apostolic Exarchate of Macedonia". All Dioceses. catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
- ^ a b Ronald Roberson. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2005 Statistics" (PDF). Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- ^ Ronald Roberson. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2006 Statistics" (PDF). Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- ^ Ronald Roberson. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2007 Statistics" (PDF). Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- ^ Ronald Roberson. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2008 Statistics" (PDF). Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- ^ Ronald Roberson. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2009 Statistics" (PDF). Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 December 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2012.