www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Armenian Exarchate

Bill (or anyone else who may have an insight),

Any thoughts on why, almost a quarter century after its erection, the Armenian jurisdiction for the US & Canada remains an Exarchate? It seems long since overdue for elevation to an Eparchy.

I realize numbers aren't everything (I will stipulate that, if they were, there would be a Patriarch in Ukraine * and save the necessity of comments from my Ukrainian brothers and sisters ), but among the US and Canadian eparchies, only Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Toronto, and the Chaldean and SyroMalabarese have more faithful, according to Annuario Pontificio 2003.

Many years,

Neil

*(ducking, covering my head, and hastening to add that such is not the sole or overriding reason why there should be one in Kyiv.)

Neil,

No need to duck from this direction. I fully support a UGCC patriarchate.

I have the 2004 Annuario Pontificio which gives higher figures to the Melkite and Maronite eparchies in Montreal - 43,000 and 80,000 respectively.

Often these days eparchies outside of the "traditional" patriarchal territory are erected after a request from the appropriate patriarchal synod. I wonder if any of our Armenian brothers or sisters knows if such a request has been made.

The episcopal conferences of both countries would also be consulted.

I have been told that bi- or multi-national jurisdictions present a wide range of complex problems and issues which need to be addressed. At present, to the best of my knowledge, only the Armenian exarchate and the Syriac eparchy are bi-national (Canada and the U.S.).

I recall a conversation with a friend who has dealt in such matters during which it was pointed out to me that the Syro-Malabar eparchy is only for the U.S. and that the eparch also holds the position of apostolic visitor for the Syro-Malabar faithful in Canada.

I note in passing that the Melkite eparchy in Mexico has been vacant for 10 years and I wonder when it will receive a new eparch. That is a terribly long time for an eparchy or diocese to be vacant.

Peace,

Charles

Is it true that the Melkite Eparchy of Mexico consists of only one parish in Mexico City?
How is that possible in comparison to the Armenian Exarchate which covers two countries?

Has it been heard that the Armenians' cathedral is being torn down in New York,so a post office can be put there. The church is owned by The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York and the Armenians share with the Indult Latin Mass.
The website for the Cathedral is SaveStANNS.COM I think but i'm not 100% sure

Charles,

I agree that trans-national jurisdictions are potentially problematic and, thus, something that Rome prefers to avoid. However, as you remarked the Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance (Syriac) was erected for both the US and Canada; and, of note, that jurisdiction has a third the number of faithful as do the Armenians and was erected without there having first been an exachate in place. Mar Jacob, Eparch of St. Thomas of Chicago for the Syro-Malabarese is, indeed, only designated Apostolic Visitator for Canada. Maybe it is a case of the issue not having been pursued with the Congregation by His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX and/or the Armenian Synod.

Yes, it's been vacant since the repose of Bishop Butros (Rai) of blessed memory. I'm sure the size of the eparchy has not argued in favor of a rush to fill the seat. Although there was an significant increase in the number of faithful a year or so, as reported in AP, there are still only 2 or 3 priests and (to answer grieco's question) yes, only a single parish. I believe that Archimandrite Antoine (Mouhanna) is presently Apostolic Administrator of the Eparchy.

Back in the mid-80's, prior to erection of the Eparchy and when Bishop Butros was still Apostolic Visitor for Central & South America, the proposal was for a shared jurisdiction between Mexico and Venezuela. That never came to pass and an exarchate was erected for Venezuela a few years after Mexico's eparchy was established. Last I looked, Venezuela has about twice the number of faithful that there are in Mexico.

Many years,

Neil

RP,

Yes, we discussed and lamented the fate of Saint Anne's Cathedral a few months back. As you note, it was also the site of an indult Tridentine Mass. Additionally, it served a large community of Ecuadorean faithful. I believe that the Armenians have now relocated to the church in Brooklyn which was kindly provided for their use by the Latin Ordinary of that diocese.

I visited the website you posted, as I hadn't previously seen or heard of it. Appearances suggest that it and the demonstrations that it is promoting are SSPX-sponsored. Although there are multuple references to our Armenian brothers and sisters, I couldn't find anything there that suggested a connection between the site and the Armenian community. While I deplore the decision of the New York Archdiocese to close the Armenian Cathedral, I rather suspect that the website is self-serving and that the Armenians are being used to advance agendas other than their own.

Many years,

Neil

There are some other "trans-national" dioceses. These would include the Ukrainian Exarchate in France and Benelux (which may also have Scandinavia these days, though I'm not sure) and might be extended to Spain and Portugal - I believe that at the moment things are on hold, because the Exarch (Bishop Michael Hrynchyshyn) has just retired, and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, plus some other circumscriptions in the Middle East. There was some talk of extending the Slovak Eparchy in Canada to the USA, but that never happened.
Incognitus