Lebanon
Lebanon has 1.6 million Catholics, or 26 percent of the total
population. Catholics are divided into
six liturgical rites—1.1 million are Maronite, 450,000 are Greek-Melkite, and
Roman, Armenian, Chaldean, and Syriac Catholics total 75,000. The Maronites have one province, as do
Armenian Catholics and Syriac Catholics.
The Greek Melkite rite has two provinces. There is also a Roman-rite apostolic
vicariate in Beirut that reports directly to the Vatican (established in 1953)
and a Chaldean rite diocese in Beirut that is immediately subject to the
Chaldean patriarch (established in 1957).
Beirut has six Catholic cathedrals and is home to three of the six
Eastern-rite patriarchs.
Although this blog focuses on metropolitan archdioceses,
that is those that have suffragan dioceses, Lebanon has metropolitan archdioceses
that have no suffragan dioceses. Also,
two provinces discussed below are named for Antioch, even though both are now
headquartered in Beirut. Antioch, now
part of the modern city of Antakya, Turkey, was a Christian center during Apostolic
times.
Christians have been in Lebanon since the time of Jesus, who
visited Tyre during his public ministry.
St. Paul also visited Tyre and Sidon during his journeys.
Maronite Province
of Antioch
The Maronite Patriarchy of Antioch
dates to the 9th Century, although it was never headquartered in
Antioch. Today, the seat of the
Patriarch is located in Bkerke, near Beirut.
The current building was built in 1893.
The website, bkerke.org.lb, is in Arabic.
From Wikipedia
The Archdiocese of Beirut is the
Patriarch’s archdiocese. It was
established in 1577 and its cathedral in Beirut is dedicated to St.
George. The Neoclassical Cathedral,
inspired by the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, was built between 1884 and
1894. The Cathedral was heavily damaged
during Lebanon’s civil war but has been restored. The Cathedral has a painting of St. George by
Delacroix and a 246 feet tall bell tower.
The first picture is from Flickr, the second is from snipview, and the last is from Wikipedia.
The Province has three suffragan
dioceses.
·
The Diocese of Joubbe was established in 1986
and was renamed Jebbeh-Sarba-Jounieh in 1999.
·
The Exarchy of Jerusalem and Palestine was
established in 1996.
·
The Exarchy of Jordan was established in 1996.
The following dioceses are
immediately subject to the Patriarch.
·
The Diocese of Tyr was established in 1600 and
became the Archdiocese of Tyr in 1838.
·
The Archdiocese of Tripoli was established as a
diocese in the 17th Century and became an archdiocese in 1965.
·
The Archdiocese of Antelias was established in
1988.
·
The Diocese of Baalbek was established in 1671
and was renamed Baalbek-Deir Al-Ahmar in 1990.
·
The Diocese of Saida was established in 1900.
·
The Diocese of Jbeil was established in 1990.
·
The Diocese of Zahle was established in 1990.
·
The Diocese of Batroun was established in 1999.
Armenian Province
of Cilicia
The Diocese of Cilicia dates to 294 and became the see of
the Armenian Patriarch in 1742, the year the Armenian-rite was established by
Pope Benedict XIV. The province consists
of Armenian-rite Catholics in the Middle East.
Cilicia was once part of an Armenian kingdom and is now a region in
Turkey.
The Cathedral of St. Elias and St.
Gregory the Illuminator is located in Beirut and is the Cathedral church for
the Armenian Patriarch. It was built in
1928 in a combination of Armenian and Roman architectural styles. It was funded by Pope Pius XI.
From Wikipedia
The Province has four suffragan
dioceses.
·
The Archdiocese of Beirut was created in 1929
and is the Archdiocese of the Patriarch.
·
The Diocese of Ispahan, Iran, was established in
1850.
·
The Diocese of Iskanderiya, Egypt, was
established in 1885.
·
The Diocese of Kameshli, Syria, was established
in 1954.
·
The Patriarchal Exarchy of Damascus, Syria, was
established in 1984.
·
The Patriarchal Exarchy of Jerusalem and Amman
(Israel and Jordan) was established in 1991.
Syriac Province
of Antioch
The Patriarchal See of Antioch
dates to 325 and was repressed and restored at least twice between then and
1781. The Diocese of Beirut was created
in 1817 and is the Diocese of the Patriarch.
The Patriarch’s Cathedral is in Beirut and is dedicated to Our Lady of
Annunciation. (I could not find a picture on the internet.)
The Patriarch also directly
oversees the Patriarchal Exarchy of Jerusalem (established in 1892) and the
Territorial Dependency of Sudan and South Sudan (established in 1997).
Greek Melkite Province
of Beirut-Gibail
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of
Beirut-Gibail was established in the 4th Century as the Metropolitan
Archdiocese of Beirut and acquired its current name in 1881. The Province no suffragan dioceses. The Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Elias was
built in 1849 in a Byzantine style, with a neo-classical interior. It was greatly damaged during the Lebanese
Civil War but was restored between 2003 and 2006.
From Flickr and TripAdvisor
Greek Melkite Province
of Tyre
The Melkite Metropolitan
Archdiocese of Tyre was established in 1683, but was a center of Catholicism in
apostolic times. The Metropolitan
Cathedral in Tyre is dedicated to St. Thomas. (I could not find a picture on the internet.)
·
The Diocese of Saida was established in 1683 and
became an Archdiocese in 1964.
·
The Archdiocese of Baniyas was established as a
diocese in 1724, was suppressed in 1768, and was restored in 1886. It became the Archdiocese of Baniyas in 1964.
·
The Diocese of Tripoli was established in 1897
and became an Archdiocese in 1964.
The following are immediately
subject to the Greek-Melkite Patriarch.
·
The Diocese of Baalbek was established in 1701
and became an Archdiocese in 1964.
·
The Diocese of Zahleh-Furzol was established in
1724 and became an Archdiocese in 1964.
Definitions
The Catholic Church is mostly
divided into ecclesiastical provinces—a province consists of a metropolitan archdiocese
and one or more dioceses. The province and the archdiocese are led by an
archbishop. Each of the dioceses is called a suffragan diocese and is led
by a bishop. Archbishops have some
responsibilities for the province, but all bishops answer directly to the
Pope. There are also archdioceses that are not part of a province that
are directly under the jurisdiction of the Pope. There are also jurisdictions below the level
of a diocese. An apostolic vicariate is
a missionary diocese led by a bishop. A
patriarchal exarchy and a patriarchal territorial dependency are missionary
jurisdictions under the direct supervision of a patriarch. A “see” refers to the city where a bishop’s
cathedral is located.
Most Catholics in the world belong
to the Latin or Roman rite. Rite refers
to liturgical practices, ecclesiastical discipline, and spiritual
heritage. Many Catholics belong to one
of two dozen Eastern rite churches. Eastern rite churches trace their
heritage to Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Eastern rite churches
sometimes use different terminologies. For example, a diocese might be
called an eparchy and is led by an eparch. A vicariate apostolic is
called an exarchy and is led by an exarch.
For more information, see my April 8, 2019 blog on the Holy Land.
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