Roman Catholic Diocese of Prizren-Pristina

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Prizren and Prishtina is an ecclesiastical territory or Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Kosovo.[a] It is centred in the city of Prizren. It was erected as an Apostolic Administration in 2000, after being split from the Diocese of Skopje and Prizren and elevated in rank of Diocese in 2018.[1]

Diocese of Prizren

Dioecesis Prisrianensis e Pristinensis

Administrata Apostolike e Prizrenit
Призренска апостолска администратура
Location
TerritoryKosovo[a]
Ecclesiastical provinceImmediately Subject to the Holy See
Statistics
Area10,887 km2 (4,203 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		(as of 2008)
2,100,000
65,000 (3.1%)
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
Established24 May 2000
CathedralCathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour,
Cathedral of Blessed Mother Teresa in Prishtina
Patron saintBlessed Virgin Mary
Current leadership
BishopDodë Gjergji
Website
kishakatolike.org

First Apostolic Administrator of Prizren was titular bishop Marko Sopi of Celerina, who served from 2000 to 2006.[2] He was succeeded by former bishop Dodë Gjergji of Sapë, who served as Apostolic Administrator of Prizren and currently serves as the first diocesan bishop.[3]

History

Modern Apostolic Administration of Prizren covers the approximate territory of the former Roman Catholic Diocese of Prizren that was a titular see known as Prisriana.[4] During the later period of Ottoman rule in 19th century there were several initiatives for organization of a regular diocese. In 1912, region of Prizren came under the rule of Kingdom of Serbia. In order to regulate status of Catholic Church, government of Serbia concluded official agreement (concordat) with the Holy See on 24 June 1914. By the Second Article of Concordat, it was decided that Diocese of Skopje shall be created as a regular diocese for all newly annexed regions (including Prizren), and it was also agreed that it would be placed under jurisdiction of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Belgrade that was about to be created.[5] Because of the breakout of First World War, those provisions could not be fully implemented, and only after 1918 new arrangements were made.

During the time of first Yugoslavia (1918-1941), there were some new initiatives towards the creation of a local diocese in Prizren. During the Second World War, the last titular bishop of Prisriana was appointed in 1942 (Ivan Romanoff), but he never came to Prizren.[6] Only in 1969, the name of Prizren Diocese was joined with the name of the Skopje Diocese, thus creating Roman Catholic Diocese of Skopje and Prizren.[7] In 2000, jurisdictions were split, and the portion in Kosovo became the Apostolic Administration of Prizren, while the Diocese of Skopje returned to its former name.[8]

On September 5, 2018, the Apostolic Administration was elevated in the rank of Diocese, but remained as an Immediately Subject to the Holy See.[9]

See also

Notes
a. ^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on 17 February 2008, but Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. The two governments began to normalise relations in 2013, as part of the 2013 Brussels Agreement. Kosovo is currently recognized as an independent state by 97 out of the 193 United Nations member states. In total, 112 UN member states recognized Kosovo at some point, of which 15 later withdrew their recognition.

References
  1. Catholic Hierarchy: Apostolic Administration of Prizren
  2. Catholic Hierarchy: Bishop Marko Sopi
  3. Catholic Hierarchy: Bishop Dodë Gjergji
  4. Catholic Hierarchy: Prisriana (Titular See)
  5. Concordat between the Holy See and the Realm of Serbia in 1914
  6. Catholic Hierarchy: Bishop Ivan Romanoff
  7. Catholic Hierarchy: Diocese of Skopje
  8. Catholic Hierarchy: Apostolic Administration of Prizren
  9. Erezione della diocesi di Prizren-Prishtina e nomina del primo Vescovo

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