The Romanian Catholic Eparchy of Oradea Mare is an

eparchy Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administra ...

(equivalent to a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

in the

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

) of the

Romanian Greek Catholic Church The Romanian Greek Catholic Church or Romanian Church United with Rome is a '' sui iuris'' Eastern Catholic Church, in full union with the Catholic Church. It has the rank of a Major Archiepiscopal Church and it uses the Byzantine liturgical r ...

which is an

Eastern Catholic The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

particular church In metaphysics, particulars or individuals are usually contrasted with ''universals''. Universals concern features that can be exemplified by various different particulars. Particulars are often seen as concrete, spatiotemporal entities as opposed ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

that is in

full communion Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations or Christian individuals that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constit ...

with the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

. Its uses the

Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, is a liturgical rite that is identified with the wide range of cultural, devotional, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Chri ...

in the

Romanian language Romanian (obsolete spelling: Roumanian; , or , ) is the official and main language of Romania and Moldova. Romanian is part of the Eastern Romance languages, Eastern Romance sub-branch of Romance languages, a linguistic group that evolved fr ...

in its liturgical services. It was founded in 1777. It is a

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandr ...

of the Major Archeparchy of Făgăraș and Alba Iulia.''Catholic Hierarchy'' page
/ref> The eparchy's

cathedral church A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

is the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas which is situated in the city of

Oradea Oradea (, , ; ; ) is a city in Romania, located in the Crișana region. It serves as the administrative county seat, seat of Bihor County and an economic, social, and cultural hub in northwestern Romania. The city lies between rolling hills on ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. The

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

eparch is Virgil Bercea.

History

When it was founded in 1777, followers of the Greek Rite having been up to that time under the jurisdiction of the Latin bishop. Originally the see was a suffragan of

Esztergom Esztergom (; ; or ; , known by Names of European cities in different languages: E–H#E, alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the righ ...

(Gran); when, however, in 1853 the Greek Catholic ''Diocese of Făgăraș and Alba Iulia'' became the Archdiocese of Făgăraș and Alba Iulia, the diocese of Oradea Mare was transferred to its jurisdiction. The see is divided into six archidiaconates and 19 vice-archidiaconates.

List of Eparchs

The list of the

eparch Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administra ...

(bishops) of the Greek Catholic Diocese of Oradea Mare is: *

Meletie Covaci Meletie Covaci (1707 – 11 April 1775) was an Aromanian Catholic bishop in the Habsburg monarchy. Biography Born in Naousa, in the Ottoman Empire (now in Greece), to Eastern Orthodox parents, Covaci was an Aromanian. He fled to the north o ...

(born 1707, converted to the Greek Catholic Church in 1736, reigned 1748–1775 as auxiliary bishop of the Latin bishop of Oradea) * Moise Dragoș (born 1725, reigned 1775–1787, under his reign in 1777 the diocese became independent from the Latin bishop] *

Ignațiu Darabant Ignațiu Darabant, Order of Saint Basil the Great, O.S.B.M. (26 October 1738 – 31 October 1805) was a Romanian Greek Catholic hierarch. He was bishop of the Romanian Catholic Eparchy of Oradea Mare from 1789 to 1805. Born in Vicea, Maramureș, ...

(born 1730, reigned 1788–1805) * Samuil Vulcan (born 1758, reigned 1806–1839) * Vasile Erdeli (born 1794, reigned 1842–1862) * Iosif Papp-Szilágyi (Sălăjeanul) (born 1813, reigned 1863–1873) * Ioan Olteanu (born 1839, reigned 1873–1877) * Mihail Pavel (born 1827, reigned 1879–1902) * Demetriu Radu (born 1861, reigned 1903–1920) * Valeriu Traian Frențiu (born 1875, reign started in 1922. In 1948 the

Communist Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was ...

abolished the Greek Catholic Church. Frențiu was persecuted and died in prison in 1952) *

Iuliu Hirțea Iuliu Hirțea (13 April 1914—28 June 1978) was a Romanian bishop of the Greek-Catholic Church. Born in Vintere village, Bihor County, he attended high school in Beiuș, entering the seminary in Oradea upon graduation in 1931. A year later ...

(born 1914, he was the clandestine bishop of Oradea from 1952. He spent many years in prison. Died in 1978) ** 1978–1990 vacant due to the persecution under the Communist Regime, until the

Romanian Revolution of 1989 The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily within the Eastern Bloc. The Romanian revoluti ...

* Vasile Hossu (born 1919, reigned 1990–1997) * Virgil Bercea (born 1957, reigned 1997–incumbent)

References

External links

*
Official site

{{authority control Oradea

Romanian Greek Catholic Church dioceses Religious organizations established in 1777 Dioceses established in the 18th century

History

List of Eparchs

See also

References

External links