Patriarchal exarchate Basra, Iraq
Apostolic Exarchate of Bassorah e Golfo
Syriac Catholic Church
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.
On the map
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- Established
- 1991
- Catholics
- 1,000
Parishes and churches
1 listed church in our records. Open a parish for Mass times, confession, directions and sources where recorded.
This is our recorded coverage, not an official diocesan parish count. Confirm service times with the parish before travelling.
The bishop
- Exarch
- Athanasius Firas Dardar
Explore the ministry of 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.
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.