The Catholic Church in Tajikistan is part of the worldwide

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

( West Turkistan,

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

), under the spiritual leadership of the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. In 2009, the size of the community was estimated at 300 people. This

Mission sui iuris A mission ''sui iuris'', or in Latin ''missio sui iuris'' (plural ''missions sui iuris''); also spelled mission(s) sui juris), also known as an independent mission, is a rare type of Roman Catholic (term), Roman Catholic Church, Catholic mission ...

(pre-diocesan jurisdiction, also known as Independent Mission) for the Catholics is exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See (not part of any

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...

), and comprises three churches (in the Tajik capital

Dushanbe Dushanbe ( tg, Душанбе, ; ; russian: Душанбе) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe (ru ...

, and Vakhsh near

Bokhtar Bokhtar ( tg, Бохтар), previously known as Qurghonteppa or Kurganteppa, is a city in southwestern Tajikistan, which serves as the capital of the Khatlon region. Bokhtar is the largest city of southern Tajikistan, and is located south of Du ...

), but no see.

History

In modern times the Catholic Church obtained a presence in Tajikistan through Soviet deportations, and in 1974, churches were opened in Dushanbe (

St Joseph Church, Dushanbe St Joseph Church (russian: Церковь Святого Иосифа в Душанбе) is a parish of the Roman Catholic Church located near Dushanbe International Airport in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Masses in the church for the small Catholic com ...

) and Qurghonteppa. Most of the early Catholics were Germans of Russian, Ukrainian and Lithuanian origin. Many Catholics fled the 1990s civil war following the Soviet Union collapse. In 1997,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

created a mission '' sui iuris'' for the country to be administered by the Institute of the Incarnate Word of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. On 29 September 1997, the Holy See established the Mission ''sui iuris'' on territory split off from the then

Apostolic Administration of Kazakhstan Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

(shortly after promoted to Diocese of Karaganda, after ''missiones sui iuris'' were also split off for

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

and

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

, all in 1997). The Institute sent priests from South America to Tajikistan. In 2003, the Church opened a center and soup kitchen in

for homeless children. By 2004, the mission had three parishes, one mission center, five priests, four nuns of the

Missionaries of Charity The Missionaries of Charity ( la, Congregatio Missionariarum a Caritate) is a Catholic centralized religious institute of consecrated life of Pontifical Right for women established in 1950 by Mother Teresa, now known in the Catholic Church as ...

, and its own website. In 2005, three sisters of the Servants of the Lord and Our Lady of Matara came to live in Tajikistan. The

started sewing classes for young women in 2006 so they might develop skills and further their education. In July 2007, Father Avila joined with the 22 non-Islamic religious groups in the country to object to a bill that would greatly restrict the activities of religious minorities. In March 2008, many poor and elderly citizens queued at the nuns house in Dushanbe to receive aid from Caritas Tajikistan, Care International and United States Catholic Relief Service to survive the harsh winter. In 2012, there were three Tajiks studying for the priesthood and three who wish to be nuns.

Ecclesiastical superiors

:''So far, all its superiors were

-born missionary members of the Institute of the Incarnate Word (I.V.E.) * Father Carlos Antonio Ávila, I.V.E. (1997.09.29 – 2013.09.19) * Father Pedro Ramiro López, I.V.E. (2013.09.19 – ...)

References

External links

History of the Catholic Church in Tajikistan

{{Asia topic, Christianity in

Missions sui iuris

History

Ecclesiastical superiors

See also

References

External links