Apostolic Exarchate of Bassorah e Golfo
Patriarchal exarchate · Syriac Catholic Church · Basra, Iraq
The Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Basra and the Gulf is a pre-diocesan jurisdiction of the Syriac Catholic Church (Antiochene rite) covering southern Iraq and the Gulf states, notably Kuwait. Established in 1991, it depends directly on the Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and is not part of any ecclesiastical province. Its cathedral is the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Basra, serving roughly 1,000 Catholics in 2 parishes.
The see
- Rank
- Patriarchal exarchate
- Tradition
- Syriac Catholic Church
- Erected
- 1991
- Annuario code
- 001000545
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 1,000
Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.
The bishop
- Exarch
- Athanasius Firas Dardar
A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.
The cathedral
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Basra stands in Basra, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.
On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.
The province of Syriac Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch
The sees of this province:
- Archeparchy of Alep, Beroea, HalabAlep
- Archeparchy of Damas, Aš-Šām, Damasco, DimašqDamas, Aš-Šām, Damasco, Dimašq
- Archeparchy of Hassaké-NisibiHassaké
- Archeparchy of Homs, EmesaHoms, Emesa
- Archeparchy of MossulMossul
- Eparchy of Bairut, BeirutBeirut
- Syriac Catholic Patriarchate of AntiochAntiochia
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
For southern Iraq and the Gulf states, notably Kuwait, the Syriac Catholic Church sui iuris (Antiochian Rite in the Syriac language) maintains the Patriarchal Exarchate of Basra, Iraq and the Gulf, an Eastern Catholic pre-diocesan jurisdiction. It ministers to the extremely small Christian minority in Basra, a population that has recently grown slightly as some Christian refugees from war torn Northern Iraq settled there fleeing conflict with ISIL. The exarchate depends directly on the Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and belongs to no ecclesiastical province, his or any other.
What is kept by invitation
The record above is published because it is public: what this see is, when it was erected, who holds its chair, and where it stands among its neighbours.
The working record is not. The chancery's address, telephone and email, the clergy of the see, and the hours of Mass, confession and adoration in the parishes within it are kept for members, and a person reads every request.
Sources
The see's own website · Wikipedia
This record is compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. On the method, see the keeping of the record. Whoever finds an error is asked, in charity, to write: [email protected].