Military ordinariate

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Under canon law, a military ordinariate , also a military diocese , is a special church district that is governed by its own statutes issued by the Apostolic See . The military ordinariate is headed by an ordinarius - usually awarded the dignity of a bishop - who enjoys all the rights of a diocesan bishop .

History and canonical position

Until the apostolic constitution Spirituali militum curae was passed by Pope John Paul II on April 21, 1986, the full episcopal rights for military chaplaincy rested with the Pope. If the person responsible for the military chaplaincy was previously Vicarius Castrensi's deputy to the Pope for this area, he has now been given full episcopal rights.

In contrast to a normal diocese , the military ordinary (often also called military bishop ) does not have a territorial diocese. Rather, it is a personal diocese to which the members of the respective state army and their families belong.

The person of the military ordinary is of varying rank. So he is z. In Germany, for example, there is always a ruling diocesan bishop who is also the military ordinary. But he can also, such as. B. be a titular bishop in Austria , who acts solely as a military ordinary. In some countries, such as B. Brazil, these circumstances alternate.

The military ordinary is always a member of the national bishops' conference . Large military ordinariates, such as B. the USA, can also have their own auxiliary bishops .

Most military ordinariats also have their own episcopal church or cathedral. The Cathédrale St-Louis-des- Invalides , located in the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris and bordering the Invalides, is the cathedral of the French military ordinariate (Diocèse aux Armées Françaises) and the St. George's Cathedral in Wiener Neustadt is the episcopal church of the Austrian military bishop. Since February 1, 2005, the St. John's Basilica in Berlin has been the episcopal church of the German military bishop. In the Ukraine , the military chaplaincy is still in the process of being established; at the moment, the department for military and prison chaplaincy in the Grand Archbishopric of Kiev-Halych is responsible .

List of military ordinariates

By 2011, 36 military ordinariats had been established. The following list names the military ordinariates and the year of their establishment.

See also

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  • Spirituali Militum Curae . Apostolic Constitution of John Paul II. Decree of the new canonical order for the spiritual care of soldiers, April 21, 1986
  • Military Ordinariates . In: The Papacy , Vol. 2, p. 990 (2002)

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