Archeparchy of Homs (Melkiten)
Archeparchy of Homs (Melkiten) | |
Basic data | |
---|---|
Rite church | Melkite Greek Catholic Church |
Country | Syria |
Ecclesiastical province | Immediate |
Diocesan bishop | Abdo Arbach BC |
Emeritus diocesan bishop |
Isidore Battikha BA Abraham Nehmé BC |
founding | 1849 |
surface | 56,000 km² |
Parishes | 17 (December 31, 2006 / AP2007 ) |
Residents | 3,500,000 () |
Catholics | 30,000 ( 12/31/2006 / AP2007 ) |
proportion of | 0.9% |
Diocesan priest | 23 ( 12/31/2006 / AP2007 ) |
Religious priest | 4 (December 31, 2006 / AP2007 ) |
Catholics per priest | 1,111 |
Friars | 6 (December 31, 2006 / AP2007 ) |
Religious sisters | 25 (December 31, 2006 / AP2007 ) |
rite | Byzantine rite |
Liturgical language | Arabic |
cathedral | Mary Queen of Peace (Homs) |
Co-cathedral | Cathedral of Saints Constantine and Helena |
The archeparchy Homs (-Hama-Yabroud) ( lat. : Archidioecesis Hemesena Graecorum Melkitarum (-Epiphaniensis-Iabrudensis) ) is a in Syria located eparchy of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church , based in Homs .
history
The Eparchy of Homs, Hama and Yabrud is the largest diocese in area in the Melkite Patriarchate of Antioch, Jerusalem and all of the East, and Alexandria . In 1724 the diocese was divided into the three diocesan borders of Homs , Hamas and Yabrud . Since there were few Christians of the Melkite Church in the new dioceses, the Patriarch of Antioch Maximus III decided. Mazloum 1849 the amalgamation of the dioceses. Gregor Ata (1815–1899) became the first archbishop of the new large diocese .
In 1860 anti-Christian unrest raged in Syria, in which around 30,000 believers were killed and many churches and monasteries were looted or burned down. Among the murdered were three bishops and over 30 priests as well as the Franciscan Engelbert Kolland , who was later beatified . Thanks to the outstanding help of the Arab leader Abd el-Kader , many Christians were saved and calm was restored. The Archdiocese of Homs was hardest hit by the devastation. Archbishop Gregor Ata was in Damascus when the unrest broke out on July 9, 1860 and only barely escaped death. Under the protection of Abd el-Kader, he came to Beirut with other Christians . Since an immediate return to Syria was impossible, the archbishop and other oriental clergy decided to take an action that was still unusual at the time. They went to distant Europe to collect urgently needed funds for the rebuilding of Christian life in their homeland. At the end of 1860 stayed in Vienna and in 1861 he visited the Kingdom of Bavaria with the same intention . For this purpose, King Maximilian II assigned him the dioceses of Augsburg , Würzburg and Speyer .
Archbishops of Homs
- Gregor Ata (1848–1899)
- Flaviano Khoury (November 21, 1901–1920)
- Basilio Khouri (November 20, 1920– October 25, 1938)
- Athanasios Toutoungi (October 1, 1938– December 5, 1961, then Archbishop of Aleppo )
- Jean Bassoul BS (December 5, 1961–1971, then Archbishop of Zahé and Furzol )
- Denys Gaith BC (August 19, 1971– March 22, 1986)
- Abraham Nehmé BC (August 20, 1986-2006)
- Isidore Battikha BA (February 9, 2006– September 6, 2010)
- Abdo Arbach BC (since June 23, 2012)
See also
Web links
- Archeparchy of Homes, Hammas and Yabroud ( Memento from April 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- Entry on Archdiocese of Homs (-Hama-Jabrud) (Melkite Greek) on catholic-hierarchy.org
- Entry on Greek-Melkite Metropolitan Archdiocese of Homs on gcatholic.org (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Métropole de Homs, Hama et Yabroud
- ↑ Augsburger Sonntagsblatt , No. 5 of February 3, 1861, pp. 33–35 of the year; (Digital scan: Archbishop Ata's report on his experiences)
- ↑ Joseph Hergenröther on Archbishop Ata's visit to Bavaria (footnotes at the end of pages 338 and 339)