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Cathedral Basilica of St. Dionysius the Areopagite The Cathedral Basilica of St. Dionysius the Areopagite is the main Roman Catholic church of Athens, Greece, and the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Athens. It is located in central Athens, at the junction of Panepistimiou Avenue with O ...

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National polity A polity is an identifiable political entity – a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any other group of p ...

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Catholic 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 ...

, polity = , governance = Catholic Bishops' Conference of Greece , structure = , leader_title =

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 ...

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Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international ...

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Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

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Ecclesiastical Latin Latin, also called Church Latin or Liturgical Latin, is a form of Latin developed to discuss Christian thought in Late Antiquity and used in Christian liturgy, theology, and church administration down to the present day, especially in the Ca ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

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Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...

and

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

, founded_date = 1st century , founded_place = , separated_from = , parent = , merger = , absorbed = , merged_into = , defunct = , congregations_type = , congregations = , members = , ministers_type = , ministers = , missionaries = , churches = , hospitals = , nursing_homes = , aid = , primary_schools = , secondary_schools = , tax_status = , tertiary = , other_names = , publications = , website = , slogan = , logo = , footnotes = The Catholic Church in Greece 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 ...

, under the spiritual leadership of the

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 ...

. Indigenous Roman Catholic Greeks number about 50,000-70,000 and are a religious and not an ethnic minority. Most of them are a reminiscence of Venetian and Genoese rule in southern Greece and many

Greek islands Greece has many islands, with estimates ranging from somewhere around 1,200 to 6,000, depending on the minimum size to take into account. The number of inhabited islands is variously cited as between 166 and 227. The largest Greek island by a ...

(in both the Aegean and Ionian seas) from the early 13th until the late 18th century, Greeks who converted to Catholicism or descendants of the thousands of Bavarians that came to Greece in the 1830s as soldiers and civil administrators, accompanying King Otto. One very old but still common term to reference to them is Φράγκοι, or "

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...

", dating to the times of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, when medieval Greeks would use that term to describe all Catholics. Since the early 1990s however, the number of Catholic permanent residents of Greece has greatly increased; as of 2002, they number 200,000 at the very least, and probably more. These Catholics are immigrants from

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

(especially

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

) or from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, but also include Western European expatriates that live permanently in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

or the Greek islands (especially

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

Syros Syros ( el, Σύρος ), also known as Siros or Syra, is a Greek island in the Cyclades, in the Aegean Sea. It is south-east of Athens. The area of the island is and it has 21,507 inhabitants (2011 census). The largest towns are Ermoupoli, An ...

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

and Corfu). Today, the majority of Catholics live in Athens, a city of about four million people; the rest of them can be found all over Greece. Most indigenous Catholics live in the islands, and especially the

Cyclades The Cyclades (; el, Κυκλάδες, ) are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name ...

, where

and

Tinos Tinos ( el, Τήνος ) is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It is located in the Cyclades archipelago. The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos. It has a land area of and a 2011 census population of 8,636 inhabitants. Tinos ...

in particular have some entirely Catholic villages and parishes. Catholics can be found also in Corfu,

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ab ...

, Santorini, Kefalonia,

Zakynthos Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; el, Ζάκυνθος, Zákynthos ; it, Zacinto ) or Zante (, , ; el, Τζάντε, Tzánte ; from the Venetian form) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Z ...

Kos Kos or Cos (; el, Κως ) is a Greek island, part of the Dodecanese island chain in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Kos is the third largest island of the Dodecanese by area, after Rhodes and Karpathos; it has a population of 36,986 (2021 census), ...

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greece, Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a se ...

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Asia Minor by the nar ...

and

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of masti ...

. In the mainland, Catholic communities are smaller, and include those of Patras (a city that was home to a large Italian community until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Kavala Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia and the capital of Kavala (regional unit), Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across ...

Volos Volos ( el, Βόλος ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the sixth most populous city of Greece, and the capital of the Magnesia regional unit ...

etc. In addition to the Roman Catholics (Latin Rite) who represent the vast majority of the faithful, there are about 5,000 of the Greek Rite, and a few hundred Armenian Catholics.

History

Before the division of the church in 1054, there were structures of the Western Latin Rite Church in Greece. Since the 5th century, the Latin archbishop of Thessalonica led the Illyrian Vicariate of the Roman Church. Until 1054, there was mutual recognition between the Latin and Byzantine rite communities in Greece. After the separation of churches in 1054, a split occurred between these communities. After the church split and the conquest of Greece, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, the Greek Catholics began to be called "Franks" (Greek Φράγκοι). This name of local Catholics came from the Latin faith professed by the Franks. Orthodox Greeks, distinguishing themselves from the Franks, called themselves the "Romans" (Greek Ρωμαιοι), identifying themselves with the

, which considered itself the successor to the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

. After the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the residence of the Latin patriarch with 12 dioceses subordinate to him was established in Constantinople. In 1205, Pope Innocent III established the Latin Archdiocese in Athens. Other Latin church structures were established at the same time. In Greece, various Western monastic orders also operated. After the conquest of Byzantium by the Ottoman Empire in 1453 in Greece, the activity of the Latin structures gradually ceased and the dioceses of the Latin rite became titular. At the same time, until the 18th century, there were numerous Venetian colonies in Greece, which possessed considerable freedom. In 1830, a gradual restoration of Latin church structures began in Greece. That year,

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He ...

established the first church structure for Catholics of the Latin rite, which was called the apostolic delegate. In 1834, Bishop Blancis was appointed apostolic delegate and the Holy See entrusted him with the care of Latin Catholics living in Greece. On July 23, 1875, Pope Pius IX established the archdiocese of Athens and the Peloponnese. In 1856, a community of Greek Eastern Catholics was formed in Constantinople, which became the basis of the

Greek Byzantine Catholic Church The Greek Byzantine Catholic Church ( el, Ελληνική Βυζαντινή Καθολική Εκκλησία, ''Ellinikí Vizantiní Katholikí Ekklisía;'') or the Greek Catholic Church is a ''sui iuris'' Eastern Catholic particular church of ...

. In 1979, the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

established diplomatic relations with Greece.

Popes from Greece

1800 Wilkinson Map of the 4 Eastern Churches rectified

* Pope Hyginus *

Pope Eleutherius Pope Eleutherius (died 24 May 189), also known as Eleutherus, was the bishop of Rome from c. 174 to his death. His pontificate is alternatively dated to 171-185 or 177-193. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. He is linked to a numb ...

Pope Sixtus II Pope Sixtus II ( el, Πάπας Σίξτος Β΄), also written as Pope Xystus II, was bishop of Rome from 31 August 257 until his death on 6 August 258. He was martyred along with seven deacons, including Lawrence of Rome, during the persecutio ...

Bishops' Conference

The Bishops' Conference of Greece (''Hiera Synodos Katholikis Hierarkhias Hellados'') has six members: *The archbishop of Corfu and apostolic administrator of Thessaloniki *The archbishop of Naxos and Tinos and apostolic administrator of Chios *The archbishop of Athens and apostolic administrator of Rhodes *The bishop of Syros and Santorini and apostolic administrator of Crete *The exarch of the Greek Catholics of Byzantine Rite (based in Athens) *The ordinary of the Armenian Catholics (based in Athens)

Papal representatives to Greece

Organization

Roman Catholic

* Archdiocese of Athens * Archdiocese of Rhodos * Archdiocese of Corfù, Zante and Cefalonia * Archdiocese of Naxos, Andros, Tinos and Mykonos ** Diocese of Chios ** Diocese of Crete ** Diocese of Santorini ** Diocese of Syros and Milos *

Apostolic Vicariate of Thessaloniki The Apostolic Vicariate of Thessaloniki ( la, Vicariatus Apostolicus Thessalonicensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or apostolic vicariate of the Catholic Church in northern continental Greece. It is exempt to the Holy See and is ...

Dioceses

Catholic Archdiocese of CorfuCatholic Archdiocese of RhodesCatholic Archdiocese of Naxos - TinosGreek (Byzantine) Catholic Exarchate

Parishes

Catholic parish of HeraklionCatholic parish of KavalaCatholic parish of PatrasCatholic parish of ThessalonikiGerman-speaking Catholic community in GreecePolish Catholic community in Greece

Others

Caritas HellasJesuit Community in Greece

Notable Greek Roman Catholics

Demetrios Kydones Demetrios Kydones, Latinized as Demetrius Cydones or Demetrius Cydonius ( el, Δημήτριος Κυδώνης; 1324, Thessalonica – 1398, Crete), was a Byzantine Greek theologian, translator, author and influential statesman, who served an ...

, theologian * Ioannis Kyparissiotes, theologian *

Thomas Palaiologos Thomas Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Θωμᾶς Παλαιολόγος; 1409 – 12 May 1465) was Despot of the Morea from 1428 until the fall of the despotate in 1460, although he continued to claim the title until his death five years late ...

, Despot of Morea *

Andreas Palaiologos Andreas Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Ἀνδρέας Παλαιολόγος; 17 January 1453 – June 1502), sometimes anglicized to Andrew, was the eldest son of Thomas Palaiologos, Despot of the Morea. Thomas was a brother of Constantine& ...

, Despot of Morea * Basilius Bessarion, scholar, theologian and cardinal * Ioannis Argyropoulos, scholar * Ioannis Kottounios, scholar *

Marcus Musurus Marcus Musurus ( el, Μάρκος Μουσοῦρος ''Markos Mousouros''; it, Marco Musuro; c. 1470 – 1517) was a Greek scholar and philosopher born in Candia, Venetian Crete (modern Heraklion, Crete). Life The son of a rich merchant, Mus ...

, scholar * Francisco Leontaritis, composer * Vincenzos Cornaros, poet, playwright * Lorentzos Mavilis, poet and martyr * Ioannis Andreas Kargas, bishop of

Dominikos Theotokopoulos Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El G ...

("El Greco"), painter * Constantine Gerachis (Phaulkon), adventurer * Ioannis Marangos, archbishop *

Markos Vamvakaris Márkos Vamvakáris ( el, Μάρκος Βαμβακάρης; 10 May 1905 – 8 February 1972), was a ''rebetiko'' musician. He is universally referred to by ''rebetiko'' writers and fans simply by his first name, Márkos. The great significance ...

, musician * Antonis Delatolas, publisher of ''

To Pontiki ''To Pontiki'' ( el, Το Ποντίκι, ''"The Mouse"'') is a Greek weekly newspaper published by Antonis Delatolas. It is mainly satirical/political. Its policy direction is on the centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the ...

'' * Maria Korinthiou, actress

Gallery

File:Catholic Church of Saint Andrew Patras1.JPG, St. Andrew in Patras File:Catholic church of the Immaculate Conception, Thessaloniki.JPG, Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Thessaloniki File:Καθολική εκκλησία Ρεθύμνου 2792 p.JPG, St. Antonios,

Rethymno Rethymno ( el, Ρέθυμνο, , also ''Rethimno'', ''Rethymnon'', ''Réthymnon'', and ''Rhíthymnos'') is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants ...

File:Saint George's Cathedral, Syros (8).JPG, Saint George's Cathedral,

File:Katholische Kirche Naxos 01.jpg, Church of Presentation of the Lord in

File:Καθολική Εκκλησία Χανίων 8142.jpg, Assumption Cathedral, Chania ( Capuchin) File:Katholische Kathedrale Fira 03.jpg, Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in

Fira Firá ( el, Φηρά, pronounced ) is the modern capital of the Greek Aegean island of Santorini (Thera). A traditional settlement,http://www.visitgreece.gr Greek National Tourism Organisation "Firá" derives its name from an alternative pron ...

File:St Joseph's Church, Alexandroupoli.JPG, St. Joseph,

Alexandroupoli Alexandroupolis ( el, Αλεξανδρούπολη, ), Alexandroupoli, or Alexandrople is a city in Greece and the capital of the Evros regional unit. It is the largest city in Western Thrace and the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. It h ...

File:20140410 argostoli270.JPG, St. Nicolaus in

Argostoli Argostoli ( el, Αργοστόλι, Katharevousa: Ἀργοστόλιον) is a town and a municipality on the island of Kefalonia, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2019 local government reform it is one of the three municipalities on the islan ...

File:Καθολική εκκλησία Ναυπλίου 7959.jpg, Metamorphosis church in

Nafplio Nafplio ( ell, Ναύπλιο) is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece and it is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important touristic destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the ...

References

External links

Catholic Church in Greece
{{Christianity in Greece