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Church sui iuris · Alexandrian tradition

Eritrean Catholic Church

Eritrean Catholic Church: a Church sui iuris of the Alexandrian tradition. Status, head, countries, liturgical books, history, sources, and public-domain texts.

Tradition (CCEO can. 28 §2)
Alexandrian tradition (Source: CCEO, vatican.va ↗)
Catechism (CCC 1203)
Alexandrian or Coptic (Source: Catechism, vatican.va ↗)
Canonical status
Metropolitan Church sui iuris (Source: GCatholic ↗)
Head
Archbishop Menghesteab Tesfamariam, M.C.C.J. (Metropolitan) (as listed by GCatholic on 21 October 2026) (Source: GCatholic ↗)
Historical centre
Asmara (metropolitan see) (Source: Wikidata ↗)
Present see
Asmara (metropolitan see) (Source: Wikidata ↗)
Liturgical books
Unverified Coptic/Ge'ez books (Anaphoras of St Basil, St Gregory, St Cyril/Mark in Coptic use; Ethiopic anaphoras in Ge'ez use); current editions not verified. (Source: Catholic Encyclopedia ↗)
Own jurisdiction in
Eritrea (1) (Source: GCatholic ↗) As listed on 21 October 2026.
Approximate historical heartland
Eritrea (Eritrea) (Source: CNEWA ↗)
Note
It uses the Ge'ez liturgy of Alexandrian origin, the same as the Ethiopian Catholic Church; it is not a separate liturgical family. (Source: CNEWA ↗)

Where it has its own jurisdiction

Showing the Eritrean Catholic Church, present jurisdictions: 1 country.

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 Eritrean Catholic Church has its own jurisdiction: 1 country.

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

Countries shaded (1)
  • Eritrea

Source: GCatholic ↗, as listed on 21 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. 1894 Apostolic Prefecture for Eritrea (Source: CNEWA ↗)
  2. 1951 Ordinariate becomes Apostolic Exarchate (Source: CNEWA ↗)
  3. 1961 Eparchy of Asmara (Source: CNEWA ↗)
  4. 19 January 2015 Raised to metropolitan Church sui iuris (Pope Francis) (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.

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