Macedonian Greek Catholic Church

Disciplinary status: Church discipline
Evidence type: Historical account
GuideThe church's Catholic communion and canonical rank are governed by ecclesiastical law; its origins, institutions, and development are historical matters.
Contents

Macedonian Greek Catholic Church is a Byzantine Catholic church sui iuris in North Macedonia, organized as the Eparchy of the Assumption in Strumica-Skopje.[1]

The Macedonian Greek Catholic Church[3] or Macedonian Byzantine Catholic Church is a sui juris Eastern Catholic church in full union with the Catholic Church, which uses the Macedonian language in its liturgy. The Macedonian Greek Catholic Church comprises a single eparchy, the Macedonian Catholic Eparchy of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Strumica-Skopje.[4]

From exarchate to eparchy

Macedonian Byzantine Catholic communities developed amid nineteenth-century ecclesial and national movements in the Ottoman Balkans. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, the Holy See established an apostolic exarchate for Byzantine Catholics in Macedonia in 2001.[2]

On 31 May 2018 Francis raised the exarchate to the Eparchy of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Strumica-Skopje. Its eparchial bishop has also served as the Latin bishop of Skopje, but the two jurisdictions and ritual traditions remain distinct.

A particular church

The single eparchy forms the institutional center of this small church sui iuris. It celebrates the Byzantine Rite and should not be collapsed into either the Latin Church in North Macedonia or the neighboring Croatian and Serbian Byzantine jurisdictions.

History

An apostolic exarch was appointed for Bulgarian Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Macedonia as early as 1883 and lasting until 1922/1924 as part of the Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church.[5] After the end of World War I and the foundation of Yugoslavia, the Vicariate was absorbed into the Eparchy of Križevci.

In January 2001, a separate Greek Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Macedonia was formed for Eastern Catholics of the Byzantine Rite in North Macedonia. It was separated from the Eparchy of Križevci and constituted as directly subject to the Holy See.[6] On the same day (11 January 2001), the Holy See appointed the Latin bishop of Skopje as the first Apostolic Exarch of North Macedonia.[7]

Statistics

As of 2017, the church's membership was estimated at approximately 11,374 faithful, with one bishop, 8 parishes, 16 priests, and 18 religious sisters.[8]

YearMembersPriestsParishes
200010,000108
20016,32095
200211,0008
200311,3675[9]
200411,367[10]9
200511,3985[10]
200611,48385[11]
200711,4915[12]
200815,175106[13]
200915,041117[14]
201015,0377[8]
201611,336168[15]
201711,374

Hierarchs

  • Kiro Stojanov (2018–present), Latin Church Bishop of Skopje

References

  1. 1.Elevation of the Strumica-Skopje Eparchy — Official Holy See announcement creating the eparchy in 2018
  2. 2.Greek Catholic Churches in Former Yugoslavia — CNEWA historical background to Macedonian and neighboring Byzantine Catholic communities
  3. 3.Latin: Ecclesiae Graecae Catholico Macedonica; Macedonian: Македонска грчка католичка црква
  4. 4."Macedonian Church". Catholic Dioceses in the World. GCatholic. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  5. 5.Кратка история на Католическата апостолическа екзархия. (In English: A conscise history of the Catholic Apostolic Exarchate - retrieved from the official website of the Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church on January 16, 2012.)
  6. 6.Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 93 (2001), p. 339.
  7. 7.Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 94 (2002), p. 152.
  8. 8.[8.2]Ronald Roberson. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2010 Statistics" (PDF). Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  9. 9.[9.2]Cheney, David M. "Apostolic Exarchate of Macedonia". All Dioceses. catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  10. 10.[10.2]Ronald Roberson. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2005 Statistics" (PDF). Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 December 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  11. 11.Ronald Roberson. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2006 Statistics" (PDF). Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  12. 12.Ronald Roberson. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2007 Statistics" (PDF). Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  13. 13.Ronald Roberson. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2008 Statistics" (PDF). Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  14. 14.Ronald Roberson. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2009 Statistics" (PDF). Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 December 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  15. 15."The Eastern Catholic Churches" (PDF). Catholic Near East Welfare Association. 2017.
  16. 16."Apostolic Exarchate of Macedonia". Catholic Dioceses in the World. GCatholic. Retrieved 11 January 2012.