The Patriarchate of Cilicia () is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction and the only

patriarchate Patriarchate (, ; , ''patriarcheîon'') is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, referring to the office and jurisdiction of a patriarch. According to Christian tradition, three patriarchates—Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria—were establi ...

of the Armenian Catholic Church 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 ...

. The territorial jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Cilicia is the Archeparchy of Beirut, over which the Patriarch of Cilicia holds ordinary authority. The St. Elie and St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Catholic Cathedral in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, is the

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

of the Patriarchate. The Patriarchate is headed by Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian elected in September 2021.

History

While the

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 ...

of Cilicia dates back to 294, it was promoted to a patriarchate in 1742. In 1866, the seat of the patriarchate was moved to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

(now

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Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

), and in 1928 to Beirut, Lebanon, where it remains today.

Ordinaries

Patriarchs

* Abraham Petros I Ardzivian (1740–1749) * Hagop Petros II Hovsepian (1749–1753) * Michael Petros III Kasparian (1753–1780) * Parsegh Petros IV Avkadian (1780–1788) * (1788–1812) * (1815–1841) * (1841–1843) * (1844–1866) * Anthony Petros IX Hassun (1866–1881), ''elevated to cardinal'' ''in 1880 Pope Leo referenced Bessarion in his address to the consistory.'' * (1881–1899) * (1899–1904) * (1904–1910) * (1910–1931) * (1931–1937) * Gregory Petros XV Agagianian (1937–1962), ''elevated to cardinal'' ''in 1946'' * Ignatius Petros XVI Batanian (1962–1976) * Hemaiag Petros XVII Ghedighian (1976–1982) * John Petros XVIII Kasparian (1982–1999) * Nerses Petros XIX Tarmouni (1999–2015) * Krikor Petros XX Gabroyan (2015–2021) * Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian (2021–)

Auxiliary bishops

* (2024–)

References

External links