Eparchy of St. Marron of Sydney
| Eparchy of St. Marron of Sydney | |
_(Oceania_centered)_with_borders.svg) |
|
| Basic data | |
|---|---|
| Rite church | Maronite Church |
| Country | Australia |
| Diocesan bishop | Antoine Tarabay OLM |
| Emeritus diocesan bishop | Ad Abi Karam |
| Parishes | 11 (2010) |
| Catholics | 150,000 (2010) |
| Diocesan priest | 16 (2010) |
| Religious priest | 25 (2010) |
| Catholics per priest | 3,659 |
| Friars | 19 (2010) |
| Religious sisters | 23 (2010) |
| rite | Antiochian rite |
| Liturgical language | Syrian |
| Website | www.maronite.org.au |
The Eparchy of St. Marron in Sydney ( Latin Eparchia Sancti Maronis Sydneyensis Maronitarum ) is a Greek Catholic Diaspora - Eparchy of the Maronite Church in Australia . Bishop of the eparchy is Ad Abi Karam .
history
19th century
Due to a large emigration of Maronite-Lebanese Christians in the middle / end of the 19th century, the Maronite Patriarch decided in 1889 to continue to enable pastoral service among the Lebanese Christians in Sydney. In this regard, the Greek Catholic priests Abdallah Yazbeck and Joseph Dahdah were commissioned for the diaspora community in Sydney and reached the Australian port city on May 8, 1893. In 1894 they built a Greek Catholic chapel in the Waterloo district. This served as a church for the parish until 1879. In 1879 a new Greek Catholic church was built, which was consecrated by the then Cardinal Maron and was intended for Byzantine rite services from January 10, 1897 . Pastor Abdallah Yazbeck died in Sydney in 1933, Priest Joseph Dahdah died after his return to Lebanon in 1936.
20th century
He was succeeded by Pastor Abdallah Assaf until 1960. Pastor Chukrallah Harb replaced him in 1961 until his return to Vatican City in 1963 . In the Redfern district , the Church of St. Marron has served the growing Maronite community for 70 years. During this period, the Maronites of the community settled in other centers, such as B. to Sydney-Parramatta. The congregation continued to grow considerably. The Maronite Patriarch commissioned Pastor Peter Ziade to continue the pastoral service in Pastor Harb's parish in 1963. Pastor Trad stood by his side. Pastor Ziade was very committed to the Greek Catholic community. Between 1963 and 1973 the Church of St. Marron was built. He also had a community hall, community school and rectory built in the Redfern district. This was opened on May 2, 1965. The congregation acquired a piece of land from Harris Park in Sydney under Rev. Ziade. The community hall was built on this. The foundation stone for the Church of Our Lady of Lebanon was also laid in 1970. The Congregation of the Maronite Sisters of the Holy Family began their missionary work in 1968 in the Diaspora. Pastor Ziade helped establish a Lebanese order of monks in Sydney and helped establish the diocese in Australia.
In October 1973, Archbishop ( pro hac vice ) Ignace Abdo Khalifé in Rome was entrusted with the management of the newly established Diocese of St. Marron in Sydney. At the same time he became the first bishop of the eparchy. His tasks were also the organization and establishment of further Maronite eparchies in Australia. He also asked other priests for help. The first priests who turned to the bishop's request for help were Michal Boumelhem, Youseff Touma, Antoun Shalhoub and Nakhle Akiki. During their 18-year pastoral ministry together for the Greek Catholic Eparchy of St. Marron in Sydney, the Greek Catholic Church of Our Lady of Lebanon was opened in 1978. Land was acquired for the Church of St Joseph in Croydon and St George in Thornleigh. This was followed by the purchase of land for the bishopric in the Strathfield district. The establishment of the Sisters of Anthony in Melbourne was reached in 1981 . In addition to the construction of the Home of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harris Park, the purchase of land for the construction of the Church of Our Lady of Lebanon in Wollongong , New South Wales, began. This was also followed by the purchase of a piece of land for the construction of two houses near the Church of Our Lady in Harris Park. Archbishop Khalife's successor was Bishop Joseph Hitti in 1991 .
Bishop Hitti took over the eparchy on March 4, 1991. Under his leadership, the Maronite congregation continued to grow. In 1993 the Congregation of Maronite Missionaries was welcomed and, under Pastor Sarkis Charbel, they founded their pastoral mission in Sydney. The Belmore Kindergarten was inaugurated. The approval for the acquisition of a plot of land for the construction of a mother house for the Maronite nuns in Dulwich Hill was granted .
Furthermore, under Bishop Hitti, the Lebanese University of Our Lady of Lebanon and the St. Scharbel high school were consecrated. Work has commenced on the Sydney residence of Our Lady. The dormitory expanded. The Anthony monks were invited to Melbourne to begin their missionary work among the Greek Catholic believers. They accepted the invitation and came to Australia in December 1997. The inauguration of the newly established Strathfield Secretariat was made by Bishop Hitti.
Bishop Ad Abi Karam was officially installed on February 8, 2002. He is the third Maronite bishop of Australia.