Archdiocese of Izmir
Smyrnen(sis)
Metropolitan see · Latin Church · Izmir, Türkiye
The Archdiocese of Izmir is a Latin metropolitan archdiocese in western Turkey, tracing to the Latin Archdiocese of Smyrna of 1346 and elevated to a metropolitan see in 1818. Its current archbishop is Martin Kmetec, appointed in 2020.
The see
- Rank
- Metropolitan see
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 1346
- Latin
- Smyrnen(sis)
- Patron
- Saint Polycarp
- Annuario code
- 001001700
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 5,000
- Population
- 2,022
- Priests
- 17
- Catholics per priest
- 294
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
- Archbishop
- Martin Kmetec
- Born
- 10 November 1956
- Birthplace
- Ptuj
- Institute
- ORDINE FRANCESCANO FRATI MINORI CONVENTUALI
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
St. John's Cathedral, Izmir stands in Izmir, 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 Izmir
This see is the metropolitan of its province.
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
In Anatolia, the Asian portion of Turkey, the Roman Catholic Church maintains the Latin Metropolitan Archdiocese of İzmir (Latin: Archidioecesis Smyrnensis). Its archbishop's seat, the cathedral motherchurch, is St. John's Cathedral, and within its bounds lies a World Heritage Site, the Meryem Ana Evi on Bülbüldağı. On 8 December 2020 Pope Francis named Martin Kmetec OFMConv as Archbishop of İzmir.
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 · GCatholic
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].