Congregation for the Oriental Churches
The
Congregation for the Oriental Churches (
Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus) is the
congregation of the
Roman Curia responsible for contact with the
Eastern Rite Catholic Churches for the sake of assisting their development, protecting their rights and also maintaining whole and entire in the one Catholic Church, alongside the liturgical, disciplinary and spiritual patrimony of the
Latin Rite, the heritage of the various Oriental Christian traditions. It has exclusive authority over the following regions:
Egypt and the
Sinai Peninsula,
Eritrea and northern
Ethiopia, southern
Albania and
Bulgaria,
Cyprus,
Greece,
Iran,
Iraq,
Lebanon,
Palestine,
Syria,
Jordan, and
Turkey.
The Congregation for the Oriental Churches has its origins in the
"Congregatio de Propaganda Fide pro negotiis ritus orientalis" founded by
Pope Pius IX on
January 6,
1862. Included in the Congregation's membership are all Eastern Rite
patriarchs and
major archbishops, as well as the President of the
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
[Pope John Paul II (1998), Apostolic constitution Pastor Bonus]*
Nicolò Cardinal Marini (1917-1922)
*
Giovanni Cardinal Tacci Porcelli (1922-1927)
*
Luigi Cardinal Sincero (1927-1936)
*
Eugène Cardinal Tisserant (1936-1959)
*
Amleto Giovanni Cardinal Cicognani (1959-1961)
*
Gabriel Acacius Cardinal Coussa (pro-prefect 1961, prefect 1962)
*
Gustavo Cardinal Testa (1962-1968)
*
Maximilien Cardinal de Furstenberg (1968-1973)
*
Paul-Pierre Cardinal Philippe (1973-1980)
*
Wladyslaw Cardinal Rubin (1980-1985)
*
Duraisamy Simon Cardinal Lourdusamy (1985-1991)
*
Achille Cardinal Silvestrini (1991-2000)
*
Ignace Cardinal Daoud (2000- )
*
Giga-Catholic Information
