Roman Catholicism in Greece
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The Roman Catholic Church in Greece is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and Curia in Rome.
Indigenous Catholic Greeks number about 50,000[1] and are a religious and not an ethnic minority. One very old but still common term used to refer to them is Φραγγιοι, or "Franks", referring to the religion of Franks and other Western Europeans during the Middle Ages, as opposed to practitioners of the Orthodox faith, who were ironically called Ρωμαιοι, or "Romans" (due to the Byzantine Empire being the successor state of the ancient Roman Empire). During recent years however, the number of foreign Catholics, permanent residents of Greece, has continuously increased making the total number of Catholics in Greece exceed 200,000.[1]
In addition to the Catholics of the Latin Rite who represent the majority of the faithful, there are about 5,000 of the Greek Rite,[1] and a few hundred Armenian Catholics.
The majority of Catholics are resident in Athens, a city of about four million people, however Catholics can be found all over Greece. Most indigenous Catholics live in the Cyclades, where Syros and Tinos have some entirely Catholic villages and parishes. There are also Catholics in Corfu, Patras, Thessaloniki, Giannitsa, Kavala, Volos, and more distant islands like Rhodes, Kos, Crete, Naxos, Santorini, Samos, Chios, Kephalonia, Zakynthos, etc.
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[edit] Bishops' Conference
The Bishops' Conference of Greece (Hiera Synodos Katholikis Hierarkhias Hellados) has six members:
- The Archbishop of Corfu and Apostolic Administrator of Thessaloniki
- The Archbishop of Naxos and Tinos and Apostolic Administrator of Chios
- The Archbishop of Athens and Apostolic Administrator of Rhodes
- The Bishop of Syros and Santorini and Apostolic Administrator of Crete
- The Exarch of the Greek Catholics of Byzantine Rite (based in Athens)
- The Ordinary of the Armenian Catholics (based in Athens)
[edit] Papal representatives to Greece
| Type | Name | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Apostolic Nuncio | Patrick Coveney | 25 January 2005 - |
| Apostolic Nuncio | Paul Fouad Tabet | 2 January 1996 - 25 January 2005 |
| Apostolic Pro-Nuncio | Luciano Storero | 28 June 1990 - 15 November 1995 |
| Apostolic Pro-Nuncio | Giovanni Mariani | 25 April 1980 - 5 May 1990 |
| Apostolic Delegate | Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli | 12 January 1935 - 23 December 1944 |
| Apostolic Delegate | Carlo Margotti | 12 February 1931 - 25 July 1934 |
| Apostolic Delegate | Louis Petit | 4 March 1912 - 24 June 1926 |
| Apostolic Delegate | Antonio Delenda | 25 August 1900 - ? August 1911 |
| Apostolic Delegate | Giovanni Marango | 9 June 1874 - ? 1900 |
[edit] Organization
- Archdiocese of Athens
- Archdiocese of Rhodos
- Archdiocese of Corfù, Zante e Cefalonia
- Archdiocese of Naxos, Andros, Tinos e Mykonos
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Religious Freedom in Greece (September2002)" (RTF). Greek Helsinki Monitor Minority Rights Group - Greece. http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/bhr/english/organizations/ghm_mrgg_religious_freedom_2002.rtf. Retrieved on 2007-09-15.
[edit] External links
- Homepage of the Catholic Church in Corfu
- Homepage of the Catholic Church in Rhodes
- Homepage of the German-speaking Catholic community in Greece
- Homepage of Caritas Hellas
- Homepage of the Greek Catholic Exarchate
- Homepage of the Catholic Church in Tinos
- Homepage of the Catholic Church in Crete
