The Apostolic Exarchate of the Greek Catholic Church in the Czech Republic is an

exarchate An exarchate is any territorial jurisdiction, either secular or ecclesiastical, whose ruler is called an exarch. Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Con ...

of the

Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church The Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, also known in the United States as the Byzantine Catholic Church, is a '' sui iuris'' (autonomous) Eastern Catholic particular church based in Eastern Europe and North America that is part of the worldwide ...

that was erected by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on 13 March 1996. Also following the 1989

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

, the married men secretly and irregularly ordained as

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' re ...

s by underground bishop

Felix Maria Davídek Felix Maria Davídek (12 January 1921 – 18 August 1988) was a Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. Life He was born in Chrlice in what is now the municipal part of Brno, Czech Republic. He was ordained a pr ...

were ordered by

to submit to conditional re-ordination followed by their permanent liturgical transfer to 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 ...

Exarchate. The Exarchate's geographic remit includes the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. As an

Eastern Catholic Church 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 ...

, it 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

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 exarchate is exempt, which means that it does have a

metropolitan bishop In Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), is held by the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a Metropolis (reli ...

but is directly subject to 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 ...

and is supervised by the Roman

Dicastery for the Eastern Churches The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (also called the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches), previously named the Congregation for the Oriental Churches or Congregation for the Eastern Churches (), is a dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible f ...

, a

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

dicastery A dicastery (; ; from ) is the name of some departments in the Roman Curia 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 C ...

acting on behalf of the Pope. Its parishes follow the

, which is also celebrated by the majority of

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Christians. The

episcopal seat A cathedral is a church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations with an episcop ...

is the Cathedral of St. Clement in the city of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Structure

The church was built on territory previously covered by a

metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...

— the

Slovak Catholic Metropolitan Archeparchy of Prešov The Archeparchy of Prešov () is an archeparchy (equivalent to an archdiocese in the Latin Church) of the Slovak Greek Catholic Church which is an Eastern Catholic particular church of the Catholic Church that is in full communion with the Holy ...

. An exarchate is the initial stage of 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 ...

(the equivalent of a diocese in the Latin rites), which is exempt (i.e. not part of an

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

but directly subject to the

). The exarchate is governed by a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

who has the same rights as a diocesan bishop. According to the 2011 census, there were 9,927

Byzantine Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite: ** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ** The Belarusian Gree ...

s in the Czech Republic. In July 2016 according to the Statistics from the Annuario Pontificio 2016 compiled by Ron Roberson there is a combined Byzantine or Constantinopolitan Tradition (“

Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

”) count of 7,677,373 for which the Ruthenian Apostolic Exarchate in the Czech Republic in

makes up 17,000 of. Currently there are 20 parishes and 12 chapels organized into seven deaneries and served by 25 priests. Additionally, significant proportion of believers are workers and refugees from

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

List of Apostolic Exarchs

The following is a list of the

hierarch An ordinary (from Latin ''ordinarius'') is an officer of a church or civic authority who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute laws. Such officers are found in hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ...

s of the Apostolic Exarchate and their terms of service: *

Ivan Ljavinec Ivan Ljavinec (18 April 1923 – 9 December 2012) was a Czech hierarch of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church. Ljavinec was born in Volovec, Czechoslovakia (now in Ukraine) and ordained a priest on 28 July 1946. Ljavinec was appointed titul ...

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 an ...

Acalissus Acalissus or Akalissos () was a town of ancient Lycia, an early bishopric, and remains a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church. Coins were minted at Acalissus, some of which are housed at numismatic collections. Acalissus was situated on the mi ...

(18 January 1996 – 23 April 2003) *

Ladislav Hučko Ladislav Hučko (16 February 1948 – 14 January 2025) was a Slovak hierarch of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, Apostolic Exarch of the Czech Republic (2003–2025). Biography Hučko was born in Prešov, Czechoslovakia (now in Slovakia) ...

, Titular Bishop of Horæa (24 April 2003 – 14 January 2025), also Secretary General of the Czech Bishops’ Conference (2005 – 2011.07.01) **

Ján Eugen Kočiš Bishop Ján Eugen Kočiš (25 June 1926 – 4 December 2019) was a Slovak-Czech Ruthenian Greek Catholic hierarch, who served as a titular bishop of Abrittum and an auxiliary bishop of the Ruthenian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Czech Republ ...

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. ...

, Titular Bishop of

Abrittum Dobrich ( ; ; ) is the 9th most populated city in Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Dobrich Province and the capital of the region of Southern Dobrudzha. It is located in the northeastern part of the country, 30 km west of the Bulgaria ...

(24 April 2004 – October 7, 2006)

References

Sources and external links

GigaCatholic.org, with incumbent biography links

Apoštolský exarchát řeckokatolické církve v České republice
(Czech language)

{{Authority control

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

Ruthenian Catholic Church Eastern Christianity in the Czech Republic Christian organizations established in 1996 1996 establishments in the Czech Republic Catholic Church in the Czech Republic

Structure

List of Apostolic Exarchs

See also

References

Sources and external links