Macedonian Greek Catholic Church
The Macedonian Greek Catholic Church is a Byzantine Rite sui juris Eastern Catholic Church in full union with the Catholic Church which uses the Macedonian language in the liturgy.
Macedonian Greek Catholic Church | |
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Classification | Eastern Catholic |
Polity | Episcopal |
Structure | Eparchy[1] |
Pope | Francis |
Bishop | Kiro Stojanov[2] |
Region | North Macedonia |
Liturgy | Byzantine Rite |
Headquarters | Assumption of Mary Cathedral, Strumica, North Macedonia |
Founder | John Paul II |
Origin | 2001 |
Separated from | Byzantines of Križevci |
Congregations | 7 |
Members | 2,000 |
Ministers | 11[3] |
Other name(s) | Macedonian Greek Catholic Eparchy of the Blessed Virgin Mary Assumed in Strumica-Skopje[1] |
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The Macedonian Church comprises a single eparchy, the Macedonian Catholic Eparchy of the Blessed Virgin Mary Assumed in Strumica-Skopje.[1]
History
An 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 Exarchate 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 immediately 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
As of 2019, the Church's membership was estimated at approximately 2,000 faithful, with one bishop, 7 parishes, 11 priests, and 18 religious sisters.[3]
Year | Members | Priests | Parishes |
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2000 | 10,000 | 10 | 8 |
2001 | 6,320 | 9 | 5 |
2002 | 11,000 | 8 | 5 |
2003 | 11,367 | 8 | 5[7] |
2004 | 11,367[8] | 9 | 5[7] |
2005 | 11,398 | 9 | 5[8] |
2006 | 11,483 | 8 | 5[9] |
2007 | 11,491 | 8 | 5[10] |
2008 | 15,175 | 10 | 6[11] |
2009 | 15,041 | 11 | 7[12] |
2010 | 15,037 | 11 | 7[3] |
List of Hierarchs
Apostolic 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[7][2]
Eparchs of Strumica
- Kiro Stojanov (2018 – present), Latin Church Bishop of Skopje
See also
References
- "Macedonian Church". Catholic Dioceses in the World. GCatholic. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- "Apostolic Exarchate of Macedonia". Catholic Dioceses in the World. GCatholic. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- 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.
- 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.
- Cheney, David M. "Apostolic Exarchate of Macedonia". All Dioceses. catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
- 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.