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Congregation for the Oriental Churches
 
 
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The Congregation for the Oriental Churches (Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus) is the congregation
Congregation (Roman Curia)

A congregation is a type of dicastery of the Roman Curia, the central administrative organism of the Catholic Church.Each Congregation is led by a prefect, who is a Cardinal ....
 of the Roman Curia
Roman Curia

The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Roman Catholic Church, together with the Pope....
 responsible for contact with the Eastern Catholic Churches for the sake of assisting their development, protecting their rights and also maintaining whole and entire in the one Catholic Church, alongside the liturgical, disciplinary and spiritual patrimony of the Latin Rite
Latin Rite

The Latin Rite is one of the 23 sui iuris particular Churches within the Catholic Church. This particular Church developed in western Europe and north Africa, where, from classical antiquity to the Renaissance, Latin was the principal language of education and culture, and so also of the liturgy....
, the heritage of the various Oriental Christian traditions.






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The Congregation for the Oriental Churches (Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus) is the congregation
Congregation (Roman Curia)

A congregation is a type of dicastery of the Roman Curia, the central administrative organism of the Catholic Church.Each Congregation is led by a prefect, who is a Cardinal ....
 of the Roman Curia
Roman Curia

The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Roman Catholic Church, together with the Pope....
 responsible for contact with the Eastern Catholic Churches for the sake of assisting their development, protecting their rights and also maintaining whole and entire in the one Catholic Church, alongside the liturgical, disciplinary and spiritual patrimony of the Latin Rite
Latin Rite

The Latin Rite is one of the 23 sui iuris particular Churches within the Catholic Church. This particular Church developed in western Europe and north Africa, where, from classical antiquity to the Renaissance, Latin was the principal language of education and culture, and so also of the liturgy....
, the heritage of the various Oriental Christian traditions. It has exclusive authority over the following regions: Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
 and the Sinai Peninsula
Sinai Peninsula

The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt. It lies between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, forming a land bridge between Africa and Southwest Asia....
, Eritrea
Eritrea

Eritrea , officially the Country of Eritrea, is a country in Northeast Africa. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast....
 and northern Ethiopia
Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the northeast....
, southern Albania
Albania

Albania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a country in Balkans. It is bordered by Greece to the south-east, Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, and the Republic of Macedonia to the east....
 and Bulgaria
Bulgaria

The state of Bulgaria , Scientific transliteration Balgarija, officially the Republic of Bulgaria has played a significant role in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe for over fourteen centuries....
, Cyprus
Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is an island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, east of Greece, west of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel, south of Turkey and north of Egypt....
, Greece
Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
, Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
, Iran
Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persian Empire until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea....
, Iraq
Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Lebanon
Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic , is a country in Western Asia, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea....
, the Palestinian territories
Palestinian territories

The Palestinian territories are composed of two discontiguous regions, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, whose final status has yet to be determined....
, Syria
Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is an Arab-majority country in Southwest Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north....
, Jordan
Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba....
, Turkey
Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in southwest Asia and Thrace in the Balkans region of Southern Europe....
, and Ukraine
Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south....
.

The Congregation for the Oriental Churches has its origins in the "Congregatio de Propaganda Fide pro negotiis ritus orientalis" founded by Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX

Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was Pope from June 16, 1846 until his death. His was the longest reign in Church history, lasting 32 years....
 on January 6, 1862. Included in the Congregation's membership are all Eastern Catholic patriarch
Patriarch

Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised Autocracy authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy....
s and major archbishop
Major Archbishop

In the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop is a title for an Ordinary to whose archiepiscopal see is granted the same jurisdiction in his autonomous particular Church that an Eastern patriarch has in his....
s, as well as the President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity

The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity origins are associated with the Second Vatican Council which met intermittently from 1962-1965....
. It was formally set up by Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV

Pope Benedict XV , , , born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, reigned as Pope from September 3, 1914 to January 22, 1922, succeeding Pope Pius X ....
 on 1 May 1917. The title of Prefect was held by the Pope
Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and head of state of Vatican City. The current pope is Pope Benedict XVI, who was elected April 19, 2005 in Papal conclave, 2005....
s from 1917 until 1967, with the head of the Congregation titled as Secretary.

Cardinal Secretaries (to 1967)

Note: From 1917 to 1967, the Pope served also as Prefect of the Congregation.
  • Niccolò Marini
    Niccolò Marini

    Niccol? Cardinal Marini was an Italy prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Congregation for the Oriental Churches from 1917 to 1922, and was elevated to the Cardinal in 1916....
     (1917-1922)
  • Giovanni Tacci Porcelli
    Giovanni Tacci Porcelli

    Giovanni Cardinal Tacci Porcelli was an Italy prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Secretary of the Congregation for Oriental Churches from 1922 to 1927, and was elevated to the Cardinal in 1921....
     (1922-1927)
  • Luigi Cardinal Sincero (1927-1936)
  • Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Tisserant (1936-1959)
  • Amleto Giovanni Cicognani (1959-1961)
  • Gabriel Acacius Coussa
    Gabriel Acacius Coussa

    Gabriel Acacius Coussa was a Melkite Greek Catholic Church archbishop, expert in canon law and Cardinal ....
     (pro-prefect 1961, prefect 1962)
  • Gustavo Testa
    Gustavo Testa

    Gustavo Cardinal Testa was an Italy prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Congregation for Oriental Churches from 1967 to 1968, and was elevated to the Cardinal in 1959....
     (1962-1967)


Cardinal Prefects

  • Gustavo Testa
    Gustavo Testa

    Gustavo Cardinal Testa was an Italy prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Congregation for Oriental Churches from 1967 to 1968, and was elevated to the Cardinal in 1959....
     (1967-1968)
  • Maximilien de Furstenberg
    Maximilien de Furstenberg

    Maximilien Louis Hubert Egon Vincent Marie Joseph Cardinal de Furstenberg was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and was former Congregation for the Oriental Churches....
     (1968-1973)
  • Paul-Pierre Philippe
    Paul-Pierre Philippe

    Paul-Pierre Philippe Dominican Order was a Cardinal and Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in the Roman Catholic Church.He joined the Dominican order in Paris in 1926 and was ordained on July 6 1932....
     (1973-1980)
  • Wladyslaw Rubin
    Wladyslaw Rubin

    Wladyslaw Cardinal Rubin was a Poland prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches from 1980 to 1985, and was elevated to the Cardinal in 1979....
     (1980-1985)
  • Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy (1985-1991)
  • Achille Silvestrini
    Achille Silvestrini

    Achille Silvestrini was one of the most prominent Holy See diplomats during the long reign of Pope John Paul II. He was Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches between 1991 and 2000....
     (1991-2000)
  • Patriarch Ignace Moussa I Cardinal (Daoud) (2000- 9 June 2007)
  • Leonardo Sandri
    Leonardo Sandri

    Leonardo Sandri is an Argentina Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the current Congregation for the Oriental Churches, having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI on June 9, 2007....
     (9 June 2007 - present)


External links