Catholic Church in Abkhazia

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Catholic Church of St. Simon the Zealot in Sukhumi
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The Catholic Church in Abkhazia is the third largest Christian denomination in the territory of the

Republic of Abkhazia[n 1], which is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope. Most Christians in Abkhazia are Orthodox, see Religion in Abkhazia. Due to Abkhazia's partial recognition, administration of Catholics comes from Catholic dioceses in Russia.[citation needed
] The Catholic Church in Abkhazia mainly consists of Armenians, Poles, and expatriates living in Abkhazia. The Holy See does not have diplomatic relations with Abkhazia, but has enjoyed two high level visits from the apostolic nuncio.

History

In the 13th and 14th centuries

Catholicism in Georgia. In 1240 Pope Gregory IX sent missionaries of the monastic order of Franciscans to the Georgian Queen Rusudan. In 1328 Pope John XXII established a Latin Diocese in Tiflis, which included territory of Abkhazia
. It was abolished in 1507.

On 8 November 1632, Catholics living in

Theatine
monastic order who stayed in Georgia until 1700. After the annexation of eastern Georgia in 1783[
Diocese of Tiraspol. In the second half of the 19th century, after the uprisings in Poland, Polish exiles immigrated and founded numerous Catholic communities in Abkhazia. In 1908, they built a small Catholic church in honor of St. Simon the Canaanite in Sukhumi
, which survives to this day.

After the establishment of Georgian SSR in 1921, Abkhazian Catholics faced persecution by Soviet authorities were persecuted. Many believers were persecuted. Sukhumi's St. Simon's Church was closed in the period. Official persecution lasted until 1993. After the Abkhaz War, in 1993, Abkhazian Catholics could no longer be served by priests from Georgia and were transferred to the pastoral care of Diocese of Saint Clement at Saratov. Bogdan Severin of Apostles Simon and Thaddeus Parish of made period visits to Sukhumi from Sochi, providing pastoral guidance and charitable assistance to local Catholics. At the time, Catholic Masses were celebrated in club premises of Sukhumi Botanical Garden. In 1996, Church of St. Simon the Canaanite was returned to the Catholic community and regular worship in the premises remains since

Today

Presently, the Catholic community of Abkhazia numbers circa 150 people of whom about 80 people reside in Sukhumi. Small communities are also recognised in

Government of Abkhazia
recognised the Catholic communities ownership and claim to St. Simon the Zealot's Church in Sukhumi and recognised the historic and cultural significance as part of Abkhazian heritage in 2011.

Notes

  1. Russian-occupied territory
    .

References

  • The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol 1, ed. Franciscans, M., 2002,
    ISBN 5-89208-037-4

External links
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