New see not large enough to be called an eparchy or diocese
OTTAWA (CCN)
On Jan. 7, Pope Francis erected an exarchate for Syro-Catholics in Canada and appointed Father Antoine Nassif their new exarch.
The new see, called an exarchate because it is not quite large enough to be called an eparchy, the equivalent of a diocese in Eastern Catholic churches, will be based in Laval, Quebec. Syro-Catholics, who have been present in Canada since 1976, had been part of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance that covered the United States and Canada.
The new exarchate serves 16,000 Syro-Catholics with five priests in seven parishes and missions.
Ordained a priest for the Syrian Catholic Patriarchal Eparchy in 1992, Bishop-elect Nassif was rector of the Patriarchal Seminary of Charfet in Lebanon at the time of his election as well as vice-pastor in two parishes. He speaks English, French and Italian.
The Pope’s decision to erect the Apostolic Exarchate for Syro-Catholics in Canada followed consultations with the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Permanent Council.
The liturgical language of the Syro-Catholic Church is Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, the language Jesus used.
