Archeparchy of Akka (Melkite Greek)

Archieparchia Ptolemaidensis Melchitarum

أبرشية عكا وحيفا والناصرة وسائر الجليل للروم الملكيين الكاثوليك
St. Elijah Cathedral
Location
CountryIsrael
HeadquartersSyria
Statistics
Population
- Catholics		(as of 2012)
76,700
Parishes33
Information
DenominationMelkite Greek Catholic Church
RiteByzantine Rite
Established1753
CathedralSaint Elias Cathedral
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
PatriarchYoussef Absi
ArcheparchYoussef Matta
Bishops emeritusPierre Mouallem
Elias Chacour
Website
https://logosofgalilee.com/

Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Akka (in Arabic: أبرشية عكا وحيفا والناصرة وسائر الجليل للروم الملكيين الكاثوليك) is an Eastern Catholic diocese of Melkite Greek Catholic Church (Byzantine Rite, Arabic), directly subject to the Melkite Patriarch of Antioch. Its Cathedral episcopal see is St. Elijah Greek-Melkite Cathedral, in Haifa.

Territory and statistics

Church of Saint Andrew, Acre.

The archeparchy extends its jurisdiction to Melkites of Israel, especially of Galilee. The headquarters of the archeparchy (archdiocese) is Haifa, where the Saint Elias Cathedral is located. The Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Akka counted 76,700 baptized members,[1] and had a territory subdivided into 33 parishes in 2012.

As of 2014 the Melkite Greek Catholic Church was the largest Christian community in Israel, with roughly 60% of Israeli Christians belonging to the Melkite Greek Catholic Church.[2]

The city of Haifa has the largest Melkite Greek Catholic community in Israel, followed by the cities of Nazareth and Shefa-Amr. Melkite Greek Catholics live in a number of other towns in Galilee either singly or mixed with Muslims, Druze and other Christian communities, such as Abu Snan, Arraba, Bi'ina, Daliyat al-Karmel, Deir Hanna, Eilabun, Hurfeish, I'billin, Isfiya, Jadeidi-Makr, Jish, Kafr Kanna, Kafr Yasif, Kisra-Sumei, Maghar, Mazra'a, Muqeible, Peki'in, Rameh, Ras al-Ein, Reineh, Sakhnin, Shefa-Amr, Tur'an, Yafa an-Naseriyye and others have a presence of Melkite Greek Catholic communities too as do other mixed cities, especially Jerusalem and Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Ramleh, Lod, Acre, Nof HaGalil, and Ma'alot Tarshiha.[3] It is reported that all the inhabitants of Fassuta and Mi'ilya are Melkite Christians.[4]

History

Ancient Ptolemais-Acre was visited by Paul of Tarsus during his trip described in chapter 21 of the Acts of Apostles. Soon, the city was a strong Christian community. In the third century was established headquarters of an ancient episcopal see here and the capital of the bishop of the diocese, which is suffragan of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Tyre, referring to the ancient period in Ptolemais in Phoenicia, called Acre in the Crusader period.

In 1753, the see was restored as a Melkite diocese by Patriarch Cyril VI Tanas and attached once again to Tyre, which had become independent from Jerusalem. However, the Melkite bishops of Acre began to reside there only in 1804.[5]

Before 1932, the jurisdiction of Acre included Transjordan. The see became an Archeparchy on 18 November 1964 with the Papal Bull Apostolic constitution of Pope Paul VI[6] and includes all Galilee.

List of episcopal ordinaries

Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchs (Bishops) of Akka
  • Macaire Ajemi (1759 - 25 December 1774 resigned)
  • Michel (Germanos) Adam (25 December 1774 consecrated - July 1777 appointed Archeparch of Aleppo)
  • Makarios Fakhoury (? - 1794?)
  • Makarios Nahas (1795 - 1809?)
  • Habib Theodosius (1809 - 1833?)
  • Michel Clement Bahouth, (B.S.) (10 August 1836 consecrated - 16 June 1856 confirmed as Patriarch of Antioch)
  • Hanna (Gregory) Youssef-Sayour (13 November 1856 consecrated - 27 March 1865 confirmed as Patriarch of Antioch)
  • Agapio Dumani, B.S. (4 December 1864 - 1893 deceased)
  • Athanase Sabbagh (18 April 1894 - 2 June 1899 deceased)
  • Grégoire Haggiar (24 March 1901 - 30 October 1940 deceased)
Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchs (Archbishops) of Akka

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ previously Superior General of Society of Missionaries of Saint Paul (1975 – 1987), Eparch (Bishop) of Nossa Senhora do Paraíso em São Paulo (Brazil) (1990.04.20 – 1998.07.29)
  2. ↑ Simultaneously apostolic exarch of Argentina (2002.04.20 – 2005.12.19), Titular Bishop of Myra (2002.04.20 – 2006.10.14); later Archeparch of Baniyas (Lebanon) (2006.10.14 – ...)
  3. ↑ Simultaneously Maronite archeparch of Haifa and Holy Land and Maronite patriarchal exarch of Jerusalem and Palestine and Jordan (2012.06.16 – ...)
  4. ↑ Formerly Metropolitan Archeparch of Tyre (Lebanon) ([2005.06.27] 2005.10.20 – 2014.06.21), later metropolitan archbishop of Beirut and Byblos (since 9 November 2018).

References

  1. ↑ Archeparchy of Akka [San Giovanni d’Acri; Tolemaide: (Melkite Greek)
  2. ↑ "The Christian communities in Israel". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 1 May 2014. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  3. ↑ Zeedan, Rami (2019). Arab-Palestinian Society in the Israeli Political System: Integration versus Segregation in the Twenty-First Century. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 52. ISBN 9781498553155.
  4. ↑ "Celebrating Christmas in Israel's ancient Greek Catholic villages". Ynetnews. Ynet. 23 December 2018.
  5. ↑ catholicchurch-holyland.com
  6. ↑ vatican.va

32°49′09″N 34°59′41″E / 32.8192°N 34.9946°E / 32.8192; 34.9946

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