Ordinariate Explained

In the organisation of the Catholic Church and of the Anglican Communion^[1] an ordinariate is a pre- or pseudo-diocesan ecclesiastical structure, of geographical or personal nature, headed by an ordinary who is not necessarily a bishop.

An ordinariate can be:

• an ordinariate for the faithful of Eastern rites in one or more countries (for Catholics of Armenian or Byzantine rite, usually)
• a military ordinariate, for the troops of a nation
• a personal ordinariate, also known as an Anglican ordinariate^{[2] [3]} (a Catholic jurisdiction for those of the Anglican patrimony)
• a missionary jurisdiction, the Eastern Catholic equivalent of an apostolic prefecture, e.g. the former Ordinariate of Asmara
• the diocesan curia (in German use [''Ordinariat''], cf. English chancery)

See also

• List of Catholic dioceses (structured view)

Notes and References

1. See, for example, the Anglican Military Ordinariate in Canada.
2. ... we are learning to call them the 'Anglican ordinariates'" - Aidan Nichols in Andrew Burnham, Heaven and Earth in Little Space (Canterbury Press Norwich 2010), p. xv
3. "Bishop Stephen Lopes of the Anglican Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter..." Web site: Pillar Horse Race . 12 November 2021 . www.pillarcatholic.com. 11 November 2021 .