Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Homs (in Latin: Archeparchy Hemesena Graecorum Melkitarum-Epiphaniensis-Iabrudensis) is a nominally Metropolitan Archeparchy (Eastern Catholic archdiocese) of the

Melkite Greek Catholic Church The Melkite Greek Catholic Church (, ''Kanīsat ar-Rūm al-Malakiyyīn al-Kāṯūlīk''; ; ), also known as the Melkite Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catho ...

(

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 ...

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

) in central

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. It was established on March 4, 1849 and has no

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

, but two merged-in eparchial titles.

Territory and statistics

The archeparchy extends in the central part of Syria, corresponding roughly to the

Hama Governorate Hama Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥamā'') is one of the 14 Governorates of Syria, governorates of Syria. It is situated in western-central Syria, bordering Idlib Governorate, Idlib and Aleppo Governorates to the north, Raqqa Gove ...

and

Homs Governorate Homs Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥimṣ'') is one of the fourteen Governorates of Syria, governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in central Syria. Its geography differs in various locations in the governorate, from to . ...

. Its archeparchial see is the city of

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

, where is located the Cathedral of

Our Lady of Peace Our Lady of Peace, Mother of Peace, Queen of Peace or Our Lady Queen of Peace is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Roman Catholic Church. She is represented in art holding a dove and an olive branch, symbols of peace. Her official memo ...

. In Yabrud is located the

co-cathedral A co-cathedral is a cathedral church which shares the function of being a bishop's seat, or ''cathedra'', with another cathedral, often in another city (usually a former see, anchor city of the metropolitan area or the civil capital). Instances o ...

of Saints Constantine and Helen. It is currently governed by Archeparch Jean-Abdo Arbach, B.C. The territory is divided into 21 parishes and there were 30,000 Melkite Catholics in 2010.

History

The archeparchy consists of territories that were once three separate ecclesiastical entities: Homs, Hama and Yabrud. When in 1724 the

was established, the three eparchies started gradually merged. The union ultimately came during the patriarchate of

Maximos III Mazloum Maximos III Michael Mazloum, (born in November 1779 in Aleppo, present Syria – died in August 1855) was patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church from 1833 until 1855. As patriarch he reformed church administration and bolstered clerical e ...

and was contextually erected from eparchy of Homs to Metropolitan Archeparchy on March 4, 1849, as the titles of the Melkite Catholic Archeparchy of Hama and Melkite Catholic Eparchy of Jabrud were formally united with the new Metropolitanate.

Episcopal ordinaries

;''Metropolitan Archeparchs of Homs'' * Ignace (mentioned in 1759) * Jéremie (mentioned in 1790) * Gregory Atta (February 20, 1849 - December 3, 1899 deceased) *

Flavien Khoury Flavien Khoury also Flavien Kfoury (1859 in Khounshara, Lebanon – 1920) was Archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Homs in Syria. Life On November 21, 1901, Khoury became the successor of Gregory Ata and was appointed Archb ...

(November 21, 1901 - 1920 resigned),

Titular Archbishop 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 an ...

Palmyra of the Greek-Melkites Palmyra ( ; Palmyrene dialect, Palmyrene: (), romanized: ''Tadmor''; ) is an ancient city in central Syria. It is located in the eastern part of the Levant, and archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first menti ...

(1920 – ?) * Basil Khoury (November 20, 1920 - October 25, 1938 deceased), Titular Archbishop of

Sergiopolis Resafa (), sometimes spelled Rusafa, and known in the Byzantine era as Sergiopolis ( or , ) and briefly as Anastasiopolis (, ), was a city located in the Roman province of Euphratensis, in modern-day Syria. It is an archaeological site situated so ...

(1938.10.15 – death 1941.11.21) *

Athanasios Toutoungi Athanasios Toutoungi (6 September 1899 in Alexandretta, now İskenderun, Turkey – 20 February 1981) was an archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Aleppo in Syria. Life Athanasios Toutoungi was on July 20, 1927 ordained to the p ...

(October 1, 1938 - December 5, 1961), previously

Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of an 'order' of religious persons (nuns, priests, friars, etc) or, in other words, of a 'religious institute' in the Catholic Church, and in some other Christian denominations. The super ...

Basilian Alepian Order The Basilian Aleppian Order (Latin: ''Ordo Basilianus Aleppensis Melkitarum''; French: ''Ordre Basilien Alepin'') is a religious order of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. The order was founded in 1697 in Dhour El Shuwayr by Aleppine monks w ...

(B.A.) (1934 – 1940); later Metropolitan Archeparch of Aleppo of the Greek-Melkites (Syria) (1961.12.05 – 1968.03.06),

Tarsus of the Greek-Melkites Tarsus may refer to: Biology *Tarsus (skeleton), a cluster of articulating bones in each foot *Hock (anatomy), the region formed by the tarsal bones connecting the tibia and metatarsus of a digitigrade or unguligrade quadrupedal mammal *Tarsus ( ...

(1968.03.06 – death 1981.02.20) *

Jean Bassoul Jean Bassoul, BS, also John Bassoul, (7 May 1920 in Maghdouché, Lebanon – 9 August 1977) was an archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Zahle and Forzol. Ordination On 11 July 1943 Bassoul was ordained priest and was appoi ...

, Basilian

Salvatorian fathers The Society of the Divine Saviour (), abbreviated SDS and also known as the Salvatorians, is a clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men in the Catholic Church. The members of the congregation use the nominal SDS after their ...

(B.S.) (December 5, 1961 - August 21, 1971), later Archeparch of Zahle and Forzol of the Greek-Melkites (Lebanon) (1971.08.21 – 1977.08.09) *

Denys Gaith Denys Gaith, BC (19 March 1910 in Yabroud, Syria – 22 March 1986) was Archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Homs in Syria. Life Denys Gaith was ordained on 8 September 1937 and became the Chaplain of the Saint John the Baptist ...

Basilian Chouerite Order of Saint John the Baptist The Basilian Chouerite Order of Saint John the Baptist () is a Melkite Greek Catholic monastic order of pontifical right for men. Order members add the nominal B.C after their names to indicate their membership in the Order. History The order ...

(B.C.) (August 21, 1971 - March 22, 1986 deceased) *

Abraham Nehmé Abraham Nehmé, BC or Ibrahim Naameh (8 October 1927 – 9 December 2022) was Archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Homs in Syria. Life Nehmé was born in Kaïtouly, Lebanon on 8 October 1927. Nehmé was ordained to the priesth ...

, B.C. (August 20, 1986 - June 20, 2005 withdrawn) *

Isidore Battikha Isidore Battikha (born July 28, 1950 in Aleppo, Syria) is a Syrian archbishop emeritus of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Homs in Syria. He was also Grand Prior of the Patriarchal Order of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem. Life Isidore ...

, B.A. (February 9, 2006 - September 6, 2010 resigned), previously Archbishop of Pelusium of the Greek-Melkites (1992.08.25 – 2006.02.09),

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of Antioch of the Greek-Melkites (Syria) (1992.08.25 – 2006.02.09) * Jean-Abdo Arbach, B.C., (June 23, 2012 - ), previously Titular Bishop of

Hilta {{refimprove, date=November 2015 :''See St Kilda, Scotland for the island also referred to as Hilta'' Hilta was an ancient city and former bishopric in Roman Africa, in the north of modern Tunisia. It is now a Latin Catholic titular see. History ...

(2006.10.17 – 2006.11.11),

Apostolic Exarch An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'') 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 early Byzantine Empire, ...

of Argentina of the Greek-Melkites (2006.10.17 – 2012.06.23), Titular Bishop of

(2006.11.11 – 2012.06.23)

References

Sources and external links

GigaCatholic with incumbent biography links
* http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dhomm.html * http://www.pgc-lb.org/fre/melkite_greek_catholic_church/Metropole-of-Homs-Hama-and-Yabroud * https://web.archive.org/web/20120419194326/http://www.pgc-lb.org/english/Church3.shtml#Homs {{coord, 34.7333, N, 36.7167, E, source:wikidata, display=title 1849 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Homs Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Syria Melkite Greek Catholic eparchies