Rite
Greek Byzantine Catholic Church
Byzantine tradition · Church sui iuris
A tiny Byzantine-rite Church sui iuris of Greek Catholics, organised in apostolic exarchates at Athens and Istanbul.
History
Greek Catholics of the Byzantine tradition gathered in the late nineteenth century around priests who wished to serve Greeks in communion with Rome while keeping their own liturgy entirely intact. An exarchate was established for them in the Ottoman capital early in the twentieth century, and a second in Greece itself, which continues today with its centre in Athens. The community was scattered by the population exchanges that followed the First World War and has remained very small ever since.
Background
Two apostolic exarchates — one in Greece, one in Istanbul — make up the Church, each led by an apostolic exarch. The Divine Liturgy is celebrated in Greek, and the community is known especially for its charitable and hospital work in Athens.
Summary
A tiny Byzantine-rite Church sui iuris of Greek Catholics, organised in apostolic exarchates at Athens and Istanbul.
Family
byzantine
Region
Greece and Türkiye, with apostolic exarchates at Athens and Istanbul
Entry kind
church_sui_iuris
Content subtype
church_sui_iuris
Faithful estimate
A very small community, numbered in the thousands
