Country Lebanon Sui iuris church Maronite | Parishes 104 | |
 | ||
Metropolitan Immediately subject to the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch Population
- Catholics (as of 2014)
156,000 (n/a%) Rite West Syro-Antiochene Rite | ||
Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Sidon (in Latin: Eparchia Sidoniensis Maronitarum) is an eparchy of the Maronite Church immediately subject to the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch in Lebanon. In 2014 there were 156,000 baptized. It is currently ruled by eparch Elias Nassar.
Contents
Territory and statistics
The eparchy extends its jurisdiction over the Maronite faithful in the region around the city of Sidon (Saida in Arabic). Its eparchial seat is the city of Sidon, where is located the Saint Elias Cathedral.
The territory is divided into 104 parishes and in 2014 there were 156,000 Maronite Catholics.
History
The eparchy dates from the beginning of the Maronite Church, united to the See of Tyre. The first information about the Eparchy of Sidon is related to 1626, when the bishop of Sidon Youssef Khalib el-Akouri is mentioned. In 1646 he was elected Patriarch of Antioch. The name of the bishop of Sidon Gabriel is also mentioned in 1736, when the Synod of Mount Lebanon canonically established the Eparchy of Tyre-Sidon and he participated. The two cities of the former eparchy were separated and the Eparchy of Tyre was created on February 18, 1900 (or according to other sources 26 January 1906).