U.S eastern rite catholic churches—Part 2
Last month (April 19, 2017), I blogged about Eastern rite
Catholics under the Byzantine rite.
Today, we will discuss the Chaldean (Middle East and India), Antiochene
(Middle East and India), Armenian (Eastern Europe), and Alexandrian (Africa)
rites. Eastern rite churches with
dioceses in the United States are discussed in greater detail below. Again, some eastern churches refer to a
diocese as an eparchy (pronounced epar-key).
An exarchy is a missionary diocese.
The bishop is sometimes referred to as an eparch (or an exarch).
Antiochene Rite
Catholics have increased from about 100,000 in 2009 to 114,000 in the United
States, and Armenian Rite Catholics have increased from 25,000 to 38,000. The largest U.S. increase has been in the
Chaldean Rite, which has grown from 245,000 to 337,000 since 2009, an increase
of 92,000. Almost all of this growth has
been from the Middle East. The Alexandrian
Rite has few members in the United States.
Again, I need to
note that information on U.S. Eastern Rite churches is limited. Some of the websites are pretty basic and I
often have not been able to find much on the bishops. Even Wikipedia is often not helpful. Also, I tend to go back and forth between
diocese versus eparchy and exarchy, but I think you will get the point. There are 9 cathedrals and one basilica in
the 8 dioceses we will discuss today. I
visited one cathedral and saw another from the outside.
Chaldean Rite
The Chaldean Rite consists of Chaldeans and
Syro-Malabars. The Chaldeans number
602,000 worldwide in 23 dioceses, with almost half living in Iraq. They resumed communion with Rome gradually
between 1553 and 1692. There are about 250,000
Chaldean Catholics in the United States, up from 160,000 in 2009, in two
dioceses. The Syro-Malabars were
reunited with Rome in the 16th Century and have 4.1 million members
in 33 dioceses, mostly in India. There
are about 87,000 in the United States in one diocese. The Chaldean Rite is the fastest growing
Eastern rite in the United States.
Chaleans
The Chaldeans established a parish in Chicago in 1904 and
the Cathedral parish in Southfield, Michigan, in 1948, but Chaldeans remained
small in number in the United States until recent years. Additional parishes were built in the 1970s
and 1980s, and in 1982, Pope John Paul II organized the U.S. Chaldean parishes
into the Exarchy of St. Thomas the Apostle of Detroit. The Holy Father appointed Ibrahim N. Ibrahim
to lead the Exarchy and raised it to the status of an eparchy in 1985. The Chaldean population has more than doubled
in recent years, with increased immigration from the Middle East. Pope John Paul II created a second Chaldean
eparchy in 2002—the Eparchy of St. Peter the
Apostle of San Diego.
Chaldean Eparchy of St. Thomas the
Apostle of Detroit , Michigan
The eparchy has 180,000 members in 12 parishes in Michigan
and Illinois.
Bishops of St. Thomas the Apostle of Detroit
Ibrahim N. Ibrahim (1937- ), First Exarch of St. Thomas the Apostle
of Detroit (1982-1985) and First Eparch of St. Thomas the Apostle of Detroit (1985-2014).
- Born in Iraq and ordained a Chaldean priest in 1962.
Bishop Ibrahim
retired in 2014.
Current Bishop
Frank Kalabat
was appointed Eparch of St. Thomas the Apostle of Detroit by Pope Francis in
2014. He was born in Kuwait in 1970,
moved to the United States in 1989, and ordained a priest for the Eparchy in
1995. He previously served the Eparchy
as director of vocations and as a pastor.
The Cathedral
Our Lady of Chaldeans (Mother of God) Cathedral
Our Lady of Chaldeans refers to the Blessed Virgin Mary in
her role as the patron of Chaldean Catholics and as the Mother of Jesus, the
Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.
Shlama Illakh Maryam, mleetha na’ami, maran imakh, mburakhta
b-inshe, mbourkhaila pera d-kasakh Isho’.
Mart maryam, yema d-alaha, msale mbadalan akhnee hattaye, min daha
wid-shetha dmothan, AMEN. (The Hail Mary
in Chaldean.)
Our Lady of Chaldeans parish was founded in 1948 and the
current Byzantine Revival building was completed in 1980. It was designated the Cathedral of the new
Eparchy in 1982. The Cathedral is
located about three miles west of downtown Southfield, near Detroit, and has
four weekend masses, including one in Arabic and two in Chaldean.
The Diocesan website is chaldeanchurch.com. The Cathedral website is
The first picture is from the Cathedral website and the second is by me.
Chaldean Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle of San Diego, California
The Eparchy has 70,000 members in 10 parishes and 4 missions
located in California, Arizona, and Nevada.
Sarhad Y. Jammo (1941-
), First Eparch of St. Peter the Apostle of San Diego (2002-2016).
- Born in Iraq and ordained a Chaldean priest in 1964.
·
He previously served as a seminary rector in
Iraq prior to coming to the United States in 1977.
According to Wikipedia, Bishop Jammo championed ecclesiastical renewal and reconciliation. In 2006,
the Chaldean Church received Vatican approval for liturgical reform. The
Diocese was the first to implement the reformed mass. Bishop Jammo is an established author and
historian of Chaldean history, liturgy, and language. Bishop Jammo retired in 2016.
Current Bishop
Vacant.
The Cathedral
St. Peter Chaldean Catholic Cathedral
O glorious Apostle, who received the power of loosening and
binding, pray for us, that, being free from all sin, we may live and die in the
grace of God. Obtain then for us a perfect faith, firm hope, and ardent
charity, that as we draw nearer to the close of life, we may daily grow in the
knowledge and love of Jesus Christ. Guide us, O blessed Apostle, through all
the dangers of this exile, till fear and grief be over. O humble martyr of
Christ! You who now behold Him, not as on Tabor, but in the full splendor of
His glory, pray for us now and at the hour of death. O then come, blessed
Apostle, and take us to Jesus, that we too may love eternally. Amen.
St. Peter’s parish was established in 1973 and the current
building was dedicated in 1983. With the
creation of the new eparchy in 2002, the parish became St. Peter’s Cathedral. The Cathedral is built in the Byzantine
Revival style, has one dome, and seats 600 people.
Some additional information can be found on the Diocesan
website, kaldu.org. There does not seem
to be a Cathedral website, but the Cathedral does have a Facebook page.
The Cathedral is located about three miles southeast of
downtown El Cajon, near San Diego, and has five weekend masses—including two in
Chaldean, one in Arabic, and one in English and Chaldean.
The first two pictures are from the Diocesan website, the third from the Cathedral's Facebook page, the fourth from quazoo.com, and the last two from Yelp.
Syro-Malabars
Syro-Malabar Catholics have come in great numbers to the
United States only over the last 40 years.
The first parishes and missions were established in the 1980s near New York , Washington , Chicago , and Dallas
St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Diocese of Chicago , Illinois
The Diocese has 87,000 members in 33 parishes and 30
missions in 25 states and the District of Columbia. California, Florida, New York, and Texas have
the largest number of parishes and missions.
Current Bishop
Jacob Angadiath was appointed the first Bishop of the St.
Thomas Syro-Malabar Diocese of Chicago India
The Cathedral
Mar Thoma Shleeha Cathedral
O St. Thomas, the
Apostle of India, Father of our faith, you spread the light of Christ in the
hearts of the people of India. You humbly confessed “My Lord and My God” and
sacrificed your life for love of him. We pray to you to strengthen us with love
and faith in Jesus Christ so that we may dedicate ourselves totally to the
cause of the kingdom of justice, peace, and love. We pray that through your intercession
we may be protected from all trials, dangers and temptations and be
strengthened in the love of the Triune God, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Mar Thomas Shleeha parish was established in 1985 and two
years later was given St. John Chrysostom
Church by the Archbishop of Chicago,
Cardinal Joseph Bernardin. This church
became the Cathedral for the new Diocese in 2001. The current Cathedral was constructed between
2006 and 2008.
The Cathedral is a red-brick building designed by Jaeger,
Nickola & Associates. It has 42,000
square feet on all levels and the church seats 1,200. The stained-glass windows, the altar, the
doors, and the granite floor tiles were all imported from India. The Cathedral has two chapels. Additional information can be found on the
Cathedral website, smchicago.org, and on the diocesan website at stthomasdiocese.org.
The Cathedral is located less than a mile northwest of
downtown Bellwood, near Chicago, and has 4 weekend masses, three in Malayalam, to
serve a parish of 1200 families.
All pictures were taken by me.
Antiochene Rite
The Antiochene Rite consists of the Maronite Rite, the
Syrian Rite, and the Syro-Malankara Rite.
The Church at Antioch was founded by St. Peter and the Aramaic liturgy
is attributed to St. James. Maronite
Catholics, who have always been part of the Catholic Church, number 3.4 million
worldwide in 29 dioceses. Traditionally,
Maronites were mostly in Lebanon and Syria, but today more than a million live
in South America. There are about 79,000
Maronites in the United States, divided into two dioceses. Syrian Catholics reunited with Rome in the
1781 and have about 208,000 members in
16 dioceses, mostly in Middle East.
There is one U.S. diocese for the 25,000 Syrian Catholics in the United
States and Canada. Syro-Malankara
Catholics resumed communion with the Roman Church in 1930 and have 445,000
members in 11 dioceses, mostly in India.
About 10,000 U.S. members are in the United States and Canada. Pope Benedict XVI established an Apostolic
Exarchate for the Syro-Malankara Catholics in 2010 and Pope Francis raised it
to an Eparchy in 2016.
Maronites
Maronite Catholics trace their origins back to St. Peter and
specifically to a Fourth Century monk named Maron. The first Maronite patriarch was John Maron,
elected in 686. The Maronites
established their first U.S.
parishes in Philadelphia in 1862 and near Boston United States in the late 19th
Century—mostly from Lebanon United
States , including churches in Brooklyn, Detroit ,
Birmingham , Louisville ,
and Minneapolis
Maronite Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn, New York
The Eparchy has 33,000 members in 34 parishes located in 13
states east of the Appalachian Mountains, including all of Pennsylvania and the
District of Columbia. There are more
than three parishes in Florida, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania.
Bishops of St. Maron of Brooklyn
Francis Zayek (1920-2010), first Exarch of St. Maron of
Detroit (1966-1971), Eparch of St. Maron of Detroit (1971-1977), and Eparch of
St. Maron of Brooklyn (1977-1997).
- Born in Cuba and ordained a Maronite priest in 1946.
Francis Zayek led the Eparchy during its early years from
exarchy to eparchy and from Detroit to Brooklyn. Zayek attended all four sessions of the
Second Vatican Council and as bishop had to revise the Maronite liturgy into
English for use in the United States—and English was not his first
language. He also worked to find a
balance for the Eparchy between a Lebanese culture and a Lebanese-American
culture. Zayek was given the personal
title of Archbishop in 1982. He retired
in 1997.
Stephen H. Doueihi (1927-2014), Eparch of St. Maron of
Brooklyn (1997-2004).
- Born in Lebanon and ordained a Maronite priest in 1955.
I do not have information on Doueihi’s time as Bishop,
except that he was a published author and spoke seven langauges: Arabic, French, English, Italian, Spanish,
Syriac and Latin. Doueihi retired as
Bishop in 2004.
Current Bishop
Gregory J. Mansour was appointed Bishop of St. Maron in Brooklyn by Pope John Paul II in 2004. He was born in Michigan
in 1955 and ordained a priest for the Eparchy of St. Maron in Brooklyn
in 1982. He previously served as
chorbishop (auxiliary bishop) of the Los Angeles Eparch (1995-2004).
The Cathedral
Our Lady of Lebanon
Our Lady of Lebanon refers to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her
role as the patron of the nation of Lebanon
O Mary, you who are called the "the Cedar of
Lebanon," look down upon your children who today and always beg your
guiding hand. Grant us the faith to
withstand the sweeping blows of life as the cedar stands straight against the
wind. Develop in us the hope, the hope
of Resurrection, that what we believe as your Divine Son has revealed it to us;
we may appreciate the joy that should be ours.
Dear Mother, increase our love, the love we should have for the Blessed
Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; our filial love for you, and to the
perfection of this love: to love our neighbor not in theory but in solid prayer
and practice. We now kneel at your feet,
dear Lady, begging for your blessing and beseeching your intercession to your Divine
Son for all our Church and Government authorities, for ourselves, all our
relatives and friends, especially (request).
Our Lady, Queen of Lebanon, America, and the Universe—pray for us.
The first Cathedral for the Eparchy was St. Maron’s Church
at 11466 Kercheval Avenue Detroit , Michigan Brooklyn as the Cathedral for the
Eparchy. The Maronite community in New
York first organized as a church in a rented hall at 127 Washington Street in
lower Manhatten and later moved to 81 Washington Street. This original church was dedicated to St.
Joseph. The congregation moved to a
large brownstone at 295-297 Hicks Street in Brooklyn and became Our Lady of
Lebanon in Brooklyn parish in 1902, although services did not begin at this
location until 1904.
The Cathedral building was constructed as a Protestant
church—the Church of the Pilgrims—between 1845 and 1846. It was designed by Richard Upjohn in a
Romanesque Revival style—considered to be the first of this style in the United
States. [Upjohn also designed Trinity
Episcopal Church in lower Manhattan and served as the first president of the
American Institute for Architects.] The Church of the Pilgrims merged with
another church in 1934. By this time,
the Maronite parish had outgrown its brownstone and purchased the Church of the
Pilgrims in 1943, for $70,000, as the new home of Our Lady of Lebanon in
Brooklyn.
The Cathedral’s bronze doors came from the dining hall of
French ship Normandie and contain
medallions showing nine French cities and the Normandie’s sister ship. The
mahogany doors and marble pilasters in the narthex come from the New York
mansion of Charles Schwab. The floor of
the sanctuary is made of marble and onyx, which came from the French and
Lebanese pavilions at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York. Behind the altar is a mural of Our Lady of
Harissa shown standing on the top of the Lebanese mountains looking down upon
the Mediterranean Sea. This work was
created by Lebanese artist Saliba Douaihy in 1952. The bronze baptistery gates were made in
Italy and Germany in the 17th Century. The Saint Rafqa Chapel features a bas relief of Our Lady in Chains made in
the 16th Century.
The members of the Church of the Pilgrims took their
stained-glass windows when they relocated.
Ten new stained-glass windows were made by French artist Jean Crotti in
1953 who used a new “Gemmaux” method, in which pieces of colored glass are held
together by colorless enamel. Saliba
Douaihy was invited to the Cathedral in the late 1950s to make windows in the
lower portion of the Cathedral and to fix problems that had developed with the
Crotti windows. The pipe organ was
originally built by E. & G.G. Hook in 1870 and was rebuilt by the Austin Organ Company as an opus
259 in 1909. It features three manuals, 25 stops, 23 ranks and 1,525 pipes. The Maronite parish bought a new Tellers Organ Company console around 1940.
The Cathedral website, ololc.org, has a virtual tour of the
Cathedral. Also see the Diocesan website
at stmaron.org. The Cathedral is located
in the Brooklyn Heights section of Brooklyn and has two weekend masses.
The top two pictures are from pinterest and the last three from the Cathedral website.
Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles, California
The Eparchy 46,000 members in 33 parishes and several
missions located in 17 states west of the Appalachian Mountains. There are more than two parishes/missions in
the states of California, Michigan, Ohio, and Texas.
Bishops of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles
John G. Chedid (1923-2012), Eparch of Our Lady of
Lebanon of Los Angeles (1994-2000).
- Born in Lebanon and ordained a Maronite priest in 1951.
- Also served as auxiliary bishop of St. Maron in Brooklyn (1980-1994).
I have nothing on Bishop Chedid, except that he retired in
2000.
Robert J. Shaheen (1937- ), Eparch of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los
Angeles (2001-2013).
- Born in Connecticut and ordained a Maronite Lebanon Missionary priest in 1964.
Shaheen was the the first Maronite bishop born in the United
States and the first to be ordained a bishop outside of Lebanon. He moved the Eparchy headquarters to St. Louis
Current Bishop
Abdullah Zaidan was appointed Bishop of Our Lady of Lebanon
of Los Angeles by Pope Francis in 2013.
He was born in Lebanon in 1963 and ordained a Maronite Lebanon
Missionary priest in 1986. He has served
in the United States since 1988 and most recently served as rector of Our Lady
of Mount Lebanon-St. Peter Cathedral in Los Angeles.
The Cathedrals
The Cathedral is dedicated to St. Raymond, but I do not know
which one. The following is from a
Maronite website.
In the Maronite synaxarion, two saints by the name of
Romanos are commemorated. One Romanos is described as the Father of Monks and
is celebrated on February 27. The other Romanos is commemorated on March 1.
Romanos was born in Palestine in Caesarea and ordained a deacon in one of the
villages belonging to this province. When the Roman Emperor, Diocletian, began
his persecution of the Christians both in the East and in the West, especially at
Antioch, Romanos immediately decided to go to that city when he heard that many
of the Christians there were abandoning their Christian faith. The emperor
threatened to cut out Romanos' tongue, but the future martyr continued
preaching and urged the people to confess to no other savior but Jesus.
Finally; he was arrested, thrown into prison, and in 303 beheaded. There are
many who assert that Romanos originated in Antioch and not in Palestine. This
confusion arose from the fact that the early Christians attributed martyrs to
the place where they died rather than the place where they were born. Romanos
still lives in the memory and lives of the Maronite faithful who have churches
named in his honor.
There are also two Spanish saints named Raymond—Raymond of
Penafort and St. Raymond Nonnatus.
St. Raymond, pray for us.
Maronites in the St.
Louis
When Robert Shaheen became bishop in 2001, he moved the
eparchy see to St. Louis
The Cathedral is built in a Byzantine Revival style with a
gold dome topped by a three-barred Maronite cross. There is also an outdoor Marian shrine. Some addition information can be found on the
Cathedral’s website at
straymondsmaronitecathedral.com or on the Diocesan website
at eparchy.org.
The Cathedral is located just south of downtown St. Louis
and has two weekend masses to serve a parish of 400 families.
The first picture is from the Cathedral website and the second from romeofthewest.com.
Our Lady of Mount Lebanon-St. Peter Cathedral
Our Lady of Mount Lebanon refers to the Blessed Virgin Mary
in her role as the patron of the nation of Lebanon Rome to become the
first Bishop of Rome
Thou art the Shepherd of the sheep, the Prince of the
Apostles, unto thee were given the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Thou art
Peter; and upon this rock I will build my Church. Let us pray. Raise us up, we
beseech Thee, O Lord, by the apostolic assistance of blessed Peter, Thine
Apostle; so that the weaker we are, the more mightily we may be helped by the
power of his intercession; and that being perpetually defended by the same holy
apostle, we may neither yield to any iniquity, nor be overcome by any adversity.
Through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
Our Lady of Mount Lebanon-St. Peter parish was established
in 1923. The first congregation met in a
house located at Warren and Brooklyn Avenues in Los Angeles Church of St. Peter
on South San Vincente Boulevard. A
parish hall was added in 1969. Our Lady
of Mount Lebanon-St. Peter was elevated to a cathedral with the creation of the
new Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles in 1994. Less than two years later, the Cathedral
suffered extensive damage during a 1996 fire, but was rebuilt. Additional information can be obtained from
the Cathedral’s website, ourladyofmountlebanon.com.
The Cathedral is located near the Beverly Hills section of
Los Angeles and has three weekend masses—one Maronite Catholic mass and two
Roman Catholic masses.
The top picture is from the Cathedral website and the second is from yelp.
Also located in the
Diocese is the Basilica of the National Shrine
of Our Lady of Lebanon in North Jackson, Ohio.
It is the only U.S. Eastern-rite church to be named a basilica. The Basilica was dedicated in 1965 and is a
replica of a shrine in Lebanon. The Ohio
shrine has a 55-foot high tower with an exterior spiral stairway leading to a
16-foot statue of the Virgin Mary carved from rose granite. Pope Francis designated it as a minor
basilica in 2014. Basilica is an
honorary title bestowed on a church by the Pope because of the church’s
antiquity, dignity, historical importance, or significance as a center of
worship. The Basilica’s website is ourladyoflebanonshrine.com.
Both pictures are from the Basilica website.
Syrians
Syrian Catholics were reunited with Rome in the late 1700s
after being separated after the Council of Chalcedon in 451. Pope John Paul II created the Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance of Newark, New
Jersey, for Syrian Catholics in 1995.
Syrian Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance of Newark, New Jersey
The Diocese has
25,000 members in 8 parishes and 2 missions located in 5 states and 2 Canadian
provinces. There are 3 parishes in
Canada and 2 parishes and a mission in California.
Bishops of Our Lady of Deliverance of Newark
Joseph F. Younan (1944-
), first Bishop of the Eparchy
of Our Lady of Deliverance of Newark (1995-2009).
- Born in Syria and ordained a Syrian priest in 1971.
- Serves as the Patriarch of the Syrian Rite (since 2009).
Bishop Younan fluently speaks six languages and was named
Patriarch of the Syrian Rite in 2009.
Current Bishop
Yousif Habash was appointed Eparch of the Eparchy of Our
Lady of Deliverance of Newark by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. He was born in Iraq in 1951 and ordained a
Syrian priest in 1975. He previously
served as pastor of Sacred Heart Syrian Catholic Church in Los Angeles.
The Cathedral
Our Lady of Deliverance Cathedral
317 Avenue E
Bayonne, New Jersey 07202
Our Lady of Deliverance is a title for Our Blessed
Mother. The title has its origins in
Spain and it refers to Our Lady’s help in the safe delivery of babies. The Spanish brought this title for Our Lady to
the New World.
I beseech you,
Our Lady of Deliverance and Comforter of the Afflicted, to obtain for me the
favors and graces which I have now implored through your powerful intercession.
For this end I offer you my good works I do and sufferings I endure. I most
humbly entreat you for the love of the Amiable Heart of Jesus, with which yours
was ever so inflamed to hear my humble prayers and obtain my requests. Amen.
The first cathedral for the Diocese was Our Lady of
Deliverance Cathedral in Union City, New Jersey. Because of problems with the structure of
that building, the Diocese leased the current cathedral from the Archdiocese of
Newark in 2011. St. Joseph’s church
served a Roman Catholic parish for over 120 years. The current Gothic Revival building was
completed in 1909. Some additional
information can be found on the Diocesan website at syriaccatholic.us and on
the Cathedral website at ourladyofdeliverancechurch.net.
The Cathedral is located two miles north of downtown Bayonne
and has one weekend masses to serve a parish of 150 families. The
Cathedral is currently meeting in a church in Woodland Park, New Jersey (and I
don’t know why).
The top picture is from the Cathedral website and the bottom is from the Cathedral Facebook page.
Syro-Malankaras
Many Syro-Malankara
Catholics immigrated to the New York area in the 1980s. Their numbers grew to the point that Pope
Benedict XVI erected the Syro-Malankara
Catholic Apostolic Exarchate in the USA in 2010 and appointed Thomas Mar
Eusebius as the first Bishop. Pope
Francis raised the exarchy to the status of an Eparchy in 2016 serving the
United States and Canada.
Eparchy of St. Mary, Queen of Peace in
the USA, Elmont, New York
The Eparchy has 10,000 members served by 13 parishes in the United States
and 3 in Canada. There are three
parishes in New York, two each in California and Texas, and one each in five
states and the District of Columbia.
Current Bishop
Thomas Mar Eusebius
(Naickamparambil) was
appointed Bishop of the Syro-Malankara
Catholic Apostolic Exarchate in the USA by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 and
of the Diocese of St. Mary, Queen of Peace by Pope Francis in 2016. He was born in India in 1961 and ordained a
Syro-Malabar priest in 1986. He
previously served as a pastor, seminary professor, and held positions with his
home Archdiocese in India. Bishop Eusebius speaks Malayalam, English,
German, and Italian.
The Cathedral
St. Vincent de Paul Cathedral
1500 DePaul St.Elmont, NY 11003
St.
Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) was born in France to peasant farmers. He was ordained a priest in 1600, but
continued his studies until 1604. He was
captured by pirates in 1605 and sold into slavery in the Middle East. He regained his freedom and returned to
Europe in 1607. After serving as a
priest for some years, he had a calling to serve the poor. With the help of wealthy patrons and St.
Louise de Marillac he founded the Daughters of Charity and the Ladies of
Charity in 1617 to serve the poor and disadvantaged. He founded a male religious order, the
Congregation of the Mission (the Vincentians) in 1622, to serve people in small
towns and villages. Vincent was
canonized in 1737 and his feast day is September 27.
God
our Father, you gave Vincent de Paul the courage and holiness of an apostle for
the well-being of the poor and the formation of the clergy. Help us to be zealous in continuing his
work. Amen.
When the Exarchate was first established, St. John
Chrysostom parish in Hempstead was selected as the pro-Cathedral. In 2013, St. John’s parish merged with St.
Basil’s parish in Queens to form St. Vincent de Paul Cathedral Parish in
Elmont. The Cathedral parish meets at
St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church.
The building was completed in 1953 and renovated in 1991.
Some additional information can be found at the cathedral
website, malankaracatholiccathedral.us and the Eparchy website at
syromalankaraus.org. The Cathedral is
located in Elmont and has one weekend mass.
Armenian Rite
There are 737,000
Armenian Rite Catholics in 18 dioceses, mostly in Eastern Europe. They have been reunited with Rome at least
since the 14th Century. Armenian
Catholics began coming to the United States
in the late 1800s and an Armenian priest came to serve Armenian Catholics in
the New York Philadelphia in 1924, and in Paterson , New
Jersey Boston ,
Detroit , and Los Angeles
Armenian Eparchy of Our Lady
of Nareg of Glendale, California
The Eparchy has 38,000 members in 7 U.S. parishes and 2
Canadian parishes. Two of the U.S
parishes are located in California and three in the mid-Atlantic states.
Exarches of Our Lady of Nareg in the United States and Canada
Nersess M. Setian
(1918-2002), first Exarch of Our Lady of Nareg (1981-1993).
- Born in Turkey and ordained an Armenian priest in 1941.
Bishop Setian was
appointed as the first exarch in 1981.
He began renovations to the Cathedral of St. Ann in Manhattan and
traveled to all the parishes in the exarchy.
Setian also started a diocesan periodical and wrote an anthology of the
writings of the Fathers of the Armenian Church.
He retired in 1993.
Hovhannes
Tertzakian, O.M.Ven. (1924-2002), Exarch of Our Lady of Nareg (1995-2000).
- Born in Syria and ordained a priest for the Institute of Consecrated Life in 1948.
Bishop Tertzakian,
who had previously served as rector of St. Ann’s Cathedral, completed the
Cathedral renovations as bishop in 1995.
He retired in 2000.
Eparches of Our Lady of Nareg
Manuel Batakian,
O.M.Ven. (1929- ), Exarch of Our Lady
of Nareg (2000-2005) and first Eparch of Our Lady of Nareg (2005-2011).
- Born in Greece and ordained a priest for the Institute of Consecrated Life in 1954.
- Also served as auxiliary bishop to the Armenian Patriarch (1995-2000).
Bishop Batakian
retired in 2011.
Current Eparch
Mikaël Mouradian was
appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to be Bishop of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg
in 2011. He was born in Lebanon in
1961and ordained a priest for the Institute of the Patriarchal Clergy of
Bzommar in 1987. He previously served as
superior of the Convent of Notre Dame in Bzommar, Lebanon. Mouradian moved his Eparchy See from New York
to Glendale in 2012.
The Cathedral
St. Gregory the Illuminator
1510 E. Mountain St.
Glendale, CA 91207
St. Gregory the Illuminator was born in 256 and died in
326. Tradition holds that Catholic
Christianity was brought to Armenia by the Apostles Bartholomew and Jude
Thaddeus. Armenia was conquered by Persia in the 3rd Century but eventually
fought to regain its independence.
Gregory converted the King to Catholicism in 301 and Armenia soon became
the first Christian State. Gregory
became the first Armenian bishop since apostolic times. His feast day is October 1.
Almighty God, whose will it is to be glorified in your
saints, and who raised up your servant Gregory the Illuminator to be a light in
the world, and to preach the Gospel to the people of Armenia: Shine, we pray,
in our hearts, that we also in our generation may show forth your praise, who
called us out of darkness into your marvelous light; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
forever.
Cardinal Terence Cooke, Archbishop of New York, provided the
Armenian Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg with its first Cathedral in 1983. The Cathedral, located on East 12th
Street in Manhattan, had been built as a Protestant church in 1847 and had
served New York Catholics for over 100 years as St. Ann’s Church. It served as the Armenian Catholic Cathedral
until 2004 when, at the request of Cardinal Edward Egan, Archbishop of New
York, the congregation moved out. The
congregation moved to St. Vincent de Paul church in Brooklyn, which had been
closed, and rededicated the parish to St.
Ann
St. Gregory’s parish started in a former Lutheran church in
1997 and the current church, designed in an Armenian style, was consecrated in
2001. The church was designed by
Armenian architect Aram Alajajian. The church was awarded the Glendale Urban Design Achievement Award by
the city's Planning Department in 2005 for the most architecturally creative
institutional building design. The
Cathedral website is stgregoryarmenian.org and the Eparchy
website is armeniancatholic.org.
The Cathedral offers two weekend masses, including one in
Armenian. Once a month a Mass celebrated
in Arabic and English.
Both pictures are from the Cathedral website.
Alexandrian Rite
Tradition holds that St. Mark, the Apostle, established the
Church in Alexandria, Egypt, in about 49 A.D.
He was the first Bishop of Alexandria and established the Alexandrian
liturgy or rite. For many years, those
who followed this rite were separate from Rome.
Today, the Alexandrian Rite consists of the Coptic Rite, the Ethiopian
Rite, and the Eritrean Rite. Coptic
Catholics number about 174,000 in 8 dioceses—mostly in Egypt (and not to be
confused with the larger Coptic Orthodox Church). Coptic Catholics were reunited with the Roman
Catholic Church in 1741. Coptics have 4
U.S. parishes. Ethiopian Catholics have
about 88,000 members in 4 dioceses mostly in Ethiopia and were reunited with
Rome in 1846. Pope Francis created the
Eritrean Rite in 2015 for the 160,000 Catholics in 4 dioceses in Eritrea. The Ethiopian and Eritrean rites together
have about 14 parishes in the United States.
None of the Alexandrian rites have dioceses in the United States, at
least not yet.
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