Ivan Jurkovič
Encyclopedia
Ivan Jurkovič is a Slovenia
n prelate
of the Roman Catholic Church
. He serves as the Nuncio to Russia and Nuncio to Uzbekistan from 19 February and 22 July 2011 respectively having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI
.
, southern Slovenia
, Ivan Jurkovič was ordained
to the priesthood
on 29 June 1977. Jurkovič obtained theology
cal degree from the University of Ljubljana
. He was trained as diplomat in the Pontifical University
and entered the diplomatic
service of the Holy See
in 1984, serving as a secretary in the Pontifical Representations in South Korea
. In 1988 he obtained Doctor of Canon Law
degree and from 1988 to 1992 served as a financial auditor in the Pontifical Representations in Colombia
.
From 1992 to 1996 he was appoined as consultant to the Apostolic Nunciature in Russia. At the same time he served as Professor of Canon Law at the St. Thomas Institute of Philosophy, Theology and History in Moscow
, where he published the following books: "Marriage Law" (Moscow, 1993), "Canon Law on the People of God" (Moscow, 1993), "Latin-Russian Dictionary of Terms and Expressions of the Code of Canon Law" (with A. Koval, Moscow, 1995), "Canon Law on the People of God and Marriage" (Second edition, Moscow, 2000). Then he worked as a consultant in the OSCE
.
On 28 July 2001, he was appointed Titular Archbishop
of Krbava by Pope John Paul II
. Jurkovič received his episcopal consecration
on 6 October in Ljubljana from Cardinal Angelo Sodano
, with Cardinal Franc Rode and Archbishop Edmond Y. Farhat serving as co-consecrators
.
for almost three years. An appointement as Papal Nuncio to Ukraine
followed on 22 April 2004.
on 19 February 2011. He took the place of Archbishop Antonio Mennini
who was appoined as nuncio to Great Britain
on 18 December 2010. Archbishop Mennini dramatically improved the relations between Russia and Holy See and as a result in December 2009 President Dmitry Medvedev
ordered that full diplomatic relations between the two states be established.
One of the most important duties facing him will be to oversee the process of negotiation between Holy See and Russian Orthodox Church
on controversial church buildings in the West Ukraine.
On 22 July 2011 Jurkovič is named Nuncio to Uzbekistan
.
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. He serves as the Nuncio to Russia and Nuncio to Uzbekistan from 19 February and 22 July 2011 respectively having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
.
Biography
Born in KočevjeKocevje
Kočevje is a city and a municipality in southern Slovenia. In terms of area it is the largest municipality in Slovenia. It is located between the rivers Krka and Kolpa and is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola. It is now included in the Jugovzhodna Slovenija statistical region...
, southern Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, Ivan Jurkovič was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
to the priesthood
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
on 29 June 1977. Jurkovič obtained theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
cal degree from the University of Ljubljana
University of Ljubljana
The University of Ljubljana is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. With 64,000 enrolled graduate and postgraduate students, it is among the largest universities in Europe.-Beginnings:...
. He was trained as diplomat in the Pontifical University
Pontifical university
A pontifical university is a Catholic University established by and directly under the authority of the Holy See. It is licensed to grant academic degrees in sacred faculties, the most important of which are Sacred Theology, Canon Law, Sacred Scripture and...
and entered the diplomatic
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
service of the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
in 1984, serving as a secretary in the Pontifical Representations in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. In 1988 he obtained Doctor of Canon Law
Doctor of Canon Law
Doctor of Canon Law is the doctoral-level terminal degree in the studies of canon law of the Roman Catholic Church.It may also be abbreviated I.C.D. or dr.iur.can. , ICDr., D.C.L., D.Cnl., D.D.C., or D.Can.L. . Doctor of both laws are J.U.D...
degree and from 1988 to 1992 served as a financial auditor in the Pontifical Representations in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
.
From 1992 to 1996 he was appoined as consultant to the Apostolic Nunciature in Russia. At the same time he served as Professor of Canon Law at the St. Thomas Institute of Philosophy, Theology and History in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, where he published the following books: "Marriage Law" (Moscow, 1993), "Canon Law on the People of God" (Moscow, 1993), "Latin-Russian Dictionary of Terms and Expressions of the Code of Canon Law" (with A. Koval, Moscow, 1995), "Canon Law on the People of God and Marriage" (Second edition, Moscow, 2000). Then he worked as a consultant in the OSCE
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...
.
On 28 July 2001, he was appointed Titular Archbishop
Titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
of Krbava by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
. Jurkovič received his episcopal consecration
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
on 6 October in Ljubljana from Cardinal Angelo Sodano
Angelo Sodano
Angelo Sodano is an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the current Dean of the College of Cardinals and former Vatican Secretary of State, having held that post from 1990 to 2006, under both popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI...
, with Cardinal Franc Rode and Archbishop Edmond Y. Farhat serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
.
Nuncio to Belrus and Ukraine
On 28 July 2001 he was made the Holy See’s liaison with BelarusBelarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
for almost three years. An appointement as Papal Nuncio to Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
followed on 22 April 2004.
Nuncio to Russia and Uzbekistan
Jurkovič was named Nuncio to RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
on 19 February 2011. He took the place of Archbishop Antonio Mennini
Antonio Mennini
Antonio Mennini is an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He serves as the Nuncio to Great Britain from 18 December 2010, having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI.-Biography:...
who was appoined as nuncio to Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
on 18 December 2010. Archbishop Mennini dramatically improved the relations between Russia and Holy See and as a result in December 2009 President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
ordered that full diplomatic relations between the two states be established.
One of the most important duties facing him will be to oversee the process of negotiation between Holy See and Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
on controversial church buildings in the West Ukraine.
On 22 July 2011 Jurkovič is named Nuncio to Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
.
Trivia
- Besides his native SlovenianSlovenian languageSlovene or Slovenian is a South Slavic language spoken by approximately 2.5 million speakers worldwide, the majority of whom live in Slovenia. It is the first language of about 1.85 million people and is one of the 23 official and working languages of the European Union...
, he can speak ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, UkrainianUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
and RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
. - Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič is a Conventual Chaplain Grand Cross ad honorem of the Sovereign Military Order of Hospitalers of Saint John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta.