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Church sui iuris · Constantinopolitan (Byzantine) tradition

Greek Byzantine Catholic Church

Greek Byzantine Catholic Church: a Church sui iuris of the Constantinopolitan (Byzantine) tradition. Status, head, countries, books, history, and sources.

Tradition (CCEO can. 28 §2)
Constantinopolitan (Byzantine) tradition (Source: CCEO, vatican.va ↗)
Catechism (CCC 1203)
Byzantine (Source: Catechism, vatican.va ↗)
Canonical status
Not yet verified
Head
Not yet verified
Historical centre
Constantinople (community's origin (1856 mission)) (Source: Wikidata ↗)
Present see
Athens (exarchate) (Source: Wikidata ↗)
Liturgical books
Byzantine service books (Hieratikon/Služebnik for the Divine Liturgies of St John Chrysostom and St Basil and the Presanctified; Horologion, Octoechos, Triodion, Pentecostarion, Menaion). Editions and translations are approved by each Church's own authority; no single edition is common to all Byzantine Churches. Generic book names only: each Church's own authority approves its editions and translations, and no edition is named here until verified. (Source: Byzantine Catholic Metropolia of Pittsburgh ↗)
Own jurisdiction in
Greece, Turkey (2) (Source: GCatholic ↗) As listed on 21 October 2026.
Approximate historical heartland
Constantinople, then Athens (Greece, Turkey) (Source: CNEWA ↗)

Where it has its own jurisdiction

Showing the Greek Byzantine Catholic Church, present jurisdictions: 2 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 Greek Byzantine Catholic Church has its own jurisdiction: 2 countries.

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

Countries shaded (2)
  • Greece
  • Turkey

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. 1856 Fr John Marangos begins mission in Constantinople (Source: CNEWA ↗)
  2. 11 June 1911 Ordinariate for Greeks in the Ottoman Empire (Source: CNEWA ↗)
  3. 1922 to 1923 Move to Athens; Apostolic Exarchate (1923) (Source: CNEWA ↗)
  4. 1932 Divided into exarchates of Athens and Istanbul (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.