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Church sui iuris · Chaldean tradition

Chaldean Catholic Church

Chaldean Catholic Church: a Church sui iuris of the Chaldean (East Syriac) tradition. Status, head, countries, liturgical books, history, and sources.

Tradition (CCEO can. 28 §2)
Chaldean (East Syriac) tradition (Source: CCEO, vatican.va ↗)
Catechism (CCC 1203)
Chaldean (Source: Catechism, vatican.va ↗)
Canonical status
Patriarchal Church sui iuris (Source: GCatholic ↗)
Head
Patriarch Paul III Nona (as listed by GCatholic on 22 October 2026) (Source: GCatholic ↗)
Historical centre
Seleucia-Ctesiphon (historical see of the Church of the East) (Source: Wikidata ↗)
Present see
Baghdad (patriarchal see since 1950) (Source: Wikidata ↗)
Liturgical books
Unverified East Syriac Qurbana (Anaphora of Addai and Mari, with those of Theodore and Nestorius in the tradition); current approved editions per Church not verified. (Source: Catholic Encyclopedia ↗)
Own jurisdiction in
Australia, Canada, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, New Zealand, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, United States (13) (Source: GCatholic ↗) As listed on 22 October 2026.
Approximate historical heartland
Mesopotamia (Baghdad, Mosul), NW Iran, SE Anatolia (Iran, Iraq, Turkey) (Source: CNEWA ↗)

Where it has its own jurisdiction

Showing the Chaldean Catholic Church, present jurisdictions: 13 countries.

United Arab EmiratesAfghanistanAlbaniaArmeniaAngolaArgentinaAustriaAustraliaAzerbaijanBosnia and HerzegovinaBangladeshBelgiumBurkina FasoBulgariaBurundiBeninBrunei DarussalamBoliviaBrazilBahamasBhutanBotswanaBelarusBelizeCanadaDemocratic Republic of the CongoCentral African RepublicRepublic of the CongoSwitzerlandCôte d'IvoireChileCameroonChinaColombiaCosta RicaCubaCyprusCzechiaGermanyDjiboutiDenmarkDominican RepublicAlgeriaEcuadorEstoniaEgyptWestern SaharaEritreaSpainEthiopiaFinlandFijiFalkland Islands / MalvinasFranceGabonUnited KingdomGeorgiaGhanaGreenlandThe GambiaGuineaEquatorial GuineaGreeceGuatemalaGuamGuinea-BissauGuyanaHondurasCroatiaHaitiHungaryIndonesiaIrelandIsraelIndiaIraqIranIcelandItalyJamaicaJordanJapanKenyaKyrgyzstanCambodiaNorth KoreaSouth KoreaKuwaitKazakhstanLaosLebanonSri LankaLiberiaLesothoLithuaniaLuxembourgLatviaLibyaMoroccoMoldovaMontenegroMadagascarNorth MacedoniaMaliMyanmarMongoliaMauritaniaMalawiMexicoMalaysiaMozambiqueNamibiaNew CaledoniaNigerNigeriaNicaraguaNetherlandsNorwayNepalNew ZealandOmanPanamaPeruPapua New GuineaPhilippinesPakistanPolandPuerto RicoPalestinePortugalParaguayQatarRomaniaSerbiaRussiaRwandaSaudi ArabiaSolomon IslandsSudanSwedenSloveniaSlovakiaSierra LeoneSenegalSomaliaSurinameSouth SudanEl SalvadorSyriaKingdom of eSwatiniChadFrench Southern and Antarctic LandsTogoThailandTajikistanTimor-LesteTurkmenistanTunisiaTurkeyTrinidad and TobagoTaiwanTanzaniaUkraineUgandaUnited StatesUruguayUzbekistanVenezuelaVietnamVanuatuKosovoYemenSouth AfricaZambiaZimbabwe
SyriaLebanonIsrael
A. Lebanon
SyriaSaudi ArabiaLebanonJordanIsraelPalestineEgypt
B. The Holy Land
IndiaKerala
C. South India: Kerala outlined (shading is by country)

Countries where the Chaldean Catholic Church has its own jurisdiction: 13 countries.

Countries with the Church's own jurisdiction; faithful elsewhere are served by local ordinaries.

Countries shaded (13)
  • Australia
  • Canada
  • Egypt
  • Iran
  • Iraq
  • Israel
  • Jordan
  • Lebanon
  • New Zealand
  • Palestine
  • Syria
  • Turkey
  • United States

Source: GCatholic ↗, as listed on 22 October 2026.

Borders are illustrative (Natural Earth, de facto lines) and imply no position. Shading shows where a Church has its own jurisdiction, not where all its faithful live. Made with Natural Earth ↗ (public domain). Sources and method.

History

  1. 1553 Yohannan Sulaqa proclaimed patriarch by Julius III (Source: CNEWA ↗)
  2. 5 July 1830 Stable line: Pius VIII confirms John Hormizdas as Patriarch of Babylon (see Mosul) (Source: CNEWA ↗)
  3. 1950 See moved to Baghdad (Source: CNEWA ↗)

Dates are given as ranges or centuries where the sources give no single date.

Texts and resources

Every resource is an outside link; nothing here is hosted by Bibliotheca Catholica. What the badges mean.

In the library

Main sources: CNEWA ↗. Checked 2026-10-26. Sources and method.