Manuel Nin i Güell (born 20 August 1956), also known as Manuel Nin, is the

Apostolic 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 Chur ...

Exarch An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'', meaning “leader”) was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and ea ...

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 wit ...

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 o ...

Life

Nin was born on August 20, 1956 in the town of

El Vendrell El Vendrell () is a town located in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, in the wine-growing region of Penedès. It is wedged between the Mediterranean and the coastal range. El Vendrell is the capital of the Baix Penedès ''comarca'' and a to ...

in the

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid ...

province of Tarragona Tarragona (, ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered by the provinces of Castellón, Teruel, Zaragoza, Lérida and Barcelona and by the Mediterranean Sea. The province's p ...

(

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

). He began his early studies in his hometown and completed them at the Colegio La Salle in

Reus Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The area has always been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental importance at the time of the Phylloxera plague. Nowadays it is k ...

. After completing his studies, he entered the

Abbey of Montserrat Santa Maria de Montserrat () is an abbey of the Order of Saint Benedict located on the mountain of Montserrat in Monistrol de Montserrat, Catalonia, Spain. It is notable for enshrining the image of the Virgin of Montserrat. The monastery was fo ...

as a candidate on 20 September 1975, where he was received into the abbey's

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

the following April. He professed temporary

religious vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhism tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana tradition, many different kinds of re ...

on 26 April 1977 and his

solemn vows A solemn vow is a certain vow ("a deliberate and free promise made to God about a possible and better good") taken by an individual during or after novitiate in a Catholic religious institute. It is solemn insofar as the Church recognizes it a ...

on 18 October 1980. He then began his studies toward his Baccalaureate in theology at the abbey's Theological School of Montserrat, during which time his concentration was on the

classical language A classical language is any language with an independent literary tradition and a large and ancient body of written literature. Classical languages are typically dead languages, or show a high degree of diglossia, as the spoken varieties of the ...

s of Latin, Greek and

Syriac Syriac may refer to: * Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages ...

. After completing those studies, in 1984 Nin was sent to study in Rome, where he pursued a licentiate in

patristics Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...

at the

Patristic Institute Augustinianum The Patristicum, officially the Augustinian Patristic Institute ( la, Institutum Patristicum Augustinianum), is a pontifical institute in Rome, under the supervision of the Order of Saint Augustine. It is an incorporated institute of the Pontif ...

, with additional coursework at the

Pontifical Oriental Institute The Pontifical Oriental Institute, also known as the Orientale, is a Catholic institution of higher education located in Rome and focusing on Eastern Christianity. The plan of creating a school of higher learning for Eastern Christianity had been ...

and the Benedictine-run Pontifical Liturgical Institute, at the same time continuing his monastic formation at the

Pontifical Atheneum of St. Anselm The Anselmianum, also known as the Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm ( it, Pontificio Ateneo Sant'Anselmo; ) is a pontifical university in Rome associated with the Benedictines. It offers courses in philosophy, theology, liturgy, monastic studi ...

, an international center of studies for the Benedictine Order. He completed his coursework in 1987 and returned to his monastic community, where he was assigned to teach theology, patristics and an introduction to the

Eastern Christian Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...

liturgy at his alma mater. Nin returned to Rome in 1989 to work on his

doctoral thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144 ...

. He completed his study of a Greek spiritual writer of the 5th or 6th century, titled ''John the Solitary: The Five Discourses on the

Beatitudes The Beatitudes are sayings attributed to Jesus, and in particular eight blessings recounted by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, and four in the Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke, followed by four woes which mi ...

'', in late 1991 and successfully defended it the following January. He then stayed in Rome, teaching at the various institutes connected to his field of studies. In 1994, Nin was named a consultor to the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, which supervises the interactions of these particular Churches with the Holy See. In January 1996, while still a

religious brother A religious brother is a member of a Christian religious institute or religious order who commits himself to following Christ in consecrated life of the Church, usually by the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. He is a layman, in the sense ...

, he was appointed to the staff of the

Pontifical Greek College of Saint Athanasius The Pontifical Greek College of St. Athanasius ( it, Pontificio Collegio Greco di Sant’Atanasio, el, Ποντιφίκιο Ελληνικό Κολλέγιο Αγίου Αθανασίου) is a Pontifical College in Rome that observes the Byza ...

as a

spiritual director Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the di ...

for the school, where he then took up residence. Around this time, he decided to seek Holy Orders and was ordained a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

in Rome on 22 November 1997. He was ordained to the priesthood on 18 April of the following year, by

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, ...

Lluís Martínez Sistach, the

Archbishop of Tarragona The Archdiocese of Tarragona (Latin, ''Tarraconensis'') is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory located in north-eastern Spain, in the province of Tarragona, part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The archdiocese heads the ecclesias ...

. He was honored with the rank of

archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") wh ...

by the

Melkite The term Melkite (), also written Melchite, refers to various Eastern Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite and their members originating in the Middle East. The term comes from the common Central Semitic root ''m-l-k'', meaning "royal", and ...

archbishop, Boutros Mouallem, S.M.S.P., the following year. On 2 February 2016, Nin was appointed as the Apostolic Exarch to the Greek Catholic Church by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

, at the same time, being named the

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox a ...

Carcabia The Diocese of Carcabia is a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church. Historically, three bishops are mentioned being from Carcabia: *Victorian participated in the Council of Cabarsussi, held in 393 by Maximianus, a dissident sect of the Donat ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nin, Manuel 1956 births Living people People from Baix Penedès Spanish Benedictines Converts to Eastern Catholicism from Roman Catholicism Roman Catholic religious brothers Pontifical Atheneum of St. Anselm faculty Roman Catholic priests from Catalonia 20th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests 21st-century Eastern Catholic bishops Greek Eastern Catholic bishops Eastern Catholic titular bishops Greek Byzantine Catholic Church Spanish Eastern Catholics