Chaldean Catholic Church


Chaldean Catholic Church
Classical Syriac: ܥܕܬܐ ܟܠܕܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝܬܐ
TypeParticular church (sui iuris)
ClassificationChristian
Orientation
ScripturePeshitta
TheologyCatholic theology
GovernanceHoly Synod of the Chaldean Church
PopeLeo XIV
PatriarchVacant
RegionIraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon; diaspora in North America, Europe, and Australia
LanguageLiturgical: Syriac
LiturgyEast Syriac Rite
HeadquartersCathedral of Mary Mother of Sorrows, Baghdad, Iraq
FounderTraditionally traced to Thomas the Apostle via Addai and Mari; established in 1552 under Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa
Origin1552
Ottoman Iraq
Separated fromChurch of the East
Members616,639 (2018)
Other nameChaldean Patriarchate
Official websitechaldeanpatriarchate.com

The Chaldean Catholic Church (Classical Syriac: ܥܕܬܐ ܟܠܕܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝܬܐ, ʿĒdtā Kalḏāytā Qāṯōlīqāytā; الكنيسة الكلدانية, al-Kanīsa al-Kaldāniyya; Latin: Ecclesia Chaldaeorum Catholica) is an Eastern Catholic particular church (sui iuris) in full communion with the Holy See and the worldwide Catholic Church. It uses the East Syriac Rite in the Syriac language and forms part of the Syriac tradition.

The church is headed by the patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, currently vacant, and is based in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows in Baghdad, Iraq. As of 2018, it counted approximately 616,639 members globally, with most residing in Iraq and significant diasporic communities in North America, Europe, and Australia.

The Chaldean Catholic Church emerged following the Schism of 1552, when a faction of the Church of the East sought to restore communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa was elected patriarch and traveled to Rome, where Pope Julius III confirmed his position in 1553.