Roman Catholic Church in Iran

Cathedral of the Archeparchy of Tehran

The Roman Catholic Church in Iran is part of the Roman Catholic Church in communion with the Bishop of Rome .

history

The Christianization of Persia was carried out by the Assyrian Church of the East .

The history of the Catholic Church in Iran began in the 13th century when some Dominicans arrived in northwestern Iran. The introduction of Christianity was favored by Mongolian khans who ruled the country. On April 1, 1318 was with the papal bull Redemptor noster by Pope John XXII. the Archdiocese of Soltania was founded with six suffragan bishops .

situation

The Roman Catholic Church in Iran is one of the oldest Christian communities in Iran, although Catholics in the country are only a small minority . As of December 31, 2005, Iran had 69 million residents. Of these, 24,565 or 0.035 percent of the total population were Catholics.

The majority of Christians in Iran live in the capital Tehran and the cities of Isfahan and Shiraz .

Legal framework

Iran is an Islamic Republic .

In Article 13 of the Constitution, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism are recognized as minority religions. The conversion from Islam to another religion or apostasy is a capital crime and the punishment of death . Mission is therefore not possible for Christians .

Criticism of Islam is also punished with death as blasphemy . Although the three religions are protected as dhimmas , their followers are in reality second-class citizens.

organization

The Catholic Church of Iran is organized in six dioceses in three rites:

Latin Church

• Archdiocese of Isfahan

Chaldean Catholic Church

• Ahvaz Archepark
• Archeparchy of Tehran
• Archeparchy of Urmia
  • Eparchy Salamas

Armenian Catholic Church

• Eparchy of Ispahan ;

In the Annuario Pontificio 2011 a number of 21,400 Catholics is given. Of these, 3,400 are Chaldeans, 8,000 Armenians and 10,000 belong to the Latin rite. There are 18 parishes in Iran with 18 priests.

Episcopal Conference

List of Presidents of the Iranian Bishops' Conference:

1. Archbishop Youhannan Semaan Issayi (1980–1995)
2. Bishop Vartan Tékéyan , ICPB (1995–1999)
3. Archbishop Thomas Meram (2000-2003)
4. Archbishop Ignazio Bedini , SDB (March 2003-2007)
5. Archbishop Ramzi Garmou ( 2007– November 2011)
6. Archbishop Ignazio Bedini , SDB (November 2011–20 January 2015)
7. Archbishop Ramzi Garmou , 2015–2018

Apostolic Nuncio

There has been an Apostolic Delegate in Persia since the 19th century . Pope Pius IX separated its territory . from Mesopotamia. On May 2, 1953, the Holy See and Iran established diplomatic relations. Pope Pius XII founded the Internunciatur with the Breve Quantum utilitatis . For the Apostolic Nunciature was this March 25, 1966, the Breve Amicae necessitudinis by Pope Paul VI. .

Apostolic Delegate

• Henri-Marie Amanton, OP † (May 25, 1860 - resigned before March 7, 1865)
• Nicolás Castells, OFMCap † (23 November 1866–7 September 1873 died)
• Zaccaria Fanciulli, OFMCap † (died September 7, 1873– November 4, 1873)
• Augustin-Pierre Cluzel, CM † (died March 30, 1874– August 12, 1882)
• Jacques-Hector Thomas, CM † (resigned May 4, 1883– September 9, 1890)
• Hilarion-Joseph Montéty, CM † (resigned February 13, 1891–1896)
• François Lesné, CM † (died April 20, 1896– February 11, 1910)
• Jacques-Emile Sontag, CM † (died July 13, 1910– July 27, 1918)
• Angelo Dolci † (resigned? - December 21, 1921)
• Adriano Smets † (resigned January 13, 1922–1931)
• Egidio Lari † (resigned June 1, 1931–1935)
• Alcide Giuseppe Marina , CM † (March 7, 1936– May 18, 1945 appointed Apostolic Delegate to Turkey )
• Paolo Pappalardo † (7 August 1948-19 March 1953 appointed Apostolic Internuncio in Syria)

Apostolic Internuntius

• Raffaele Forni † (July 31, 1953– September 24, 1955 appointed Apostolic Nuncio in Venezuela )
• Giuseppe Paupini † (February 2, 1956– February 25, 1957 appointed Apostolic Nuncio to El Salvador and Guatemala )
• Lino Zanini † (August 24, 1957– June 16, 1959 appointed Apostolic Nuncio in Repubblica Dominicana)
• Vittore Ugo Righi † (July 13, 1959– February 1, 1964 appointed Apostolic Nuncio in Paraguay )
• Salvatore Asta † (March 23, 1964–1966 appointed Apostolic Nuncio)

Apostolic Pro-Nuncio

• Salvatore Asta † (1966–7 June 1969 appointed Apostolic Pro-Nuncio in Turkey )
• Paolino Limongi † (resigned July 9, 1969–1971)
• Ernesto Gallina † (resigned March 13, 1971– January 4, 1976)
• Annibale Bugnini , CM † (died January 4, 1976– July 3, 1982)
• Giovanni De Andrea † (January 26, 1983– November 22, 1986 appointed Apostolic Pro-Nuncio in Algeria and Tunisia and Apostolic Delegate in Libya )
• John Bulaitis † (July 11, 1987– November 30, 1991 Appointment as Apostolic Pro-Nuncio in Korea )
• Romeo Panciroli , MCCI † (March 18, 1992– February 1, 1994 appointment as Apostolic Nuncio)

Apostolic Nuncio

• Romeo Panciroli , MCCI † (February 1, 1994 – April 1999 resigned)
• Angelo Mottola † (July 16, 1999– January 25, 2007 appointed Apostolic Nuncio in Montenegro )
• Jean-Paul Aimé Gobel (October 10, 2007– January 5, 2013 appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Egypt )
• Leo Boccardi , since July 11, 2013

See also

• Latin Church
• Chaldean Catholic Church
• Armenian Catholic Church
• Christianity in Iran

literature

• Konrad Eubel: Hierarchia catholica medii aevi . Ed .: Remigius Ritzler, Pirminus Sefrin. Volume VIII: A pontificatu Pii PP. IX (1846) usque ad pontificatum Leonis PP. XIII (1903) . Regensberg, Patavii 1979, ISBN 88-7026-264-2 (Latin).

Web links

• History of Christianity in Iran .
• The historical churches in Iran .
• The Church in Iran .
• Statistics on the Catholic Church in Iran .
• Breve Quantum utilitatis (PDF), Acta Apostolicae Sedis . 45, 1953, p. 52.
• Breve Amicae necessitudinis (PDF), Acta Apostolicae Sedis. 58, 1966, p. 350.
• Dominicans in Iran

Individual evidence

1. ^ Breve nota per la lettura della. Retrieved January 10, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Eubel: Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volume 8, p. 116.
3. ↑ Eubel: Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volume 8, pp. 137 and 365.
4. ↑ Eubel: Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volume 8, p. 302.
5. ↑ Eubel: Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volume 8, p. 77.
6. ↑ Eubel: Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volume 8, p. 148.
7. ↑ Eubel: Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volume 8, p. 453.