Diocese of Oradea Mare Dioecesis Magnovaradinensis Latinorum Dieceza Romano-Catolică de Oradea |
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Location | |
Country | Romania |
Ecclesiastical province | Bucharest |
Metropolitan | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bucharest |
Statistics | |
Area | 12,152 km2 (4,692 sq mi) |
Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2013) 1,011,330 106,020 (10.5%) |
Information | |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
Rite | Roman Rite |
Established | 1077 (As Diocese of Oradea Mare) 5 June 1930 (Diocese of Oradea Mare and Satu Mare) 28 June 1941 (Diocese of Oradea Mare) 9 April 1948 (Diocese of Oradea Mare and Satu Mare) 18 October 1982 (Diocese of Oradea Mare) |
Cathedral | The Cathedral Basilica of Oradea |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Bishop | László Böcskei |
Metropolitan Archbishop | Ioan Robu |
Website | |
Website of the Diocese |
The Diocese of Oradea (Latin: Dioecesis Magnovaradinensis Latinorum, Hungarian: Nagyváradi Római Katolikus Egyházmegye, Romanian: Dieceza Romano-Catolică de Oradea) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Romania, named after its episcopal see in the city of Oradea.
It covers most of Crişana—the counties of Bihor and Arad, 10.5% of which are Catholic. Its adherents are predominantly Hungarian. It is suffragan to the Bucharest Archdiocese, like all Romanian bishoprics. Its bishop since 2008 is László Böcskei. Its present Cathedral of St. Mary also has the status of minor basilica.
Oradea has been, under the names of Várad (Nagyvárad since 1872) (in Hungarian), Veľký Varadín (in Slovakian) and Großwardein (in German), the see of several major denominational Christian church communities during its history.
A diocese of the Latin Rite in the former Kingdom of Hungary, the Diocese of Várad/Grosswardein was suffragan to the Archbishopric of Kalocsa-Bács. The foundation of the see is ascribed by the historian György Pray to King Stephen I of Hungary; the seat of the diocese, however, was then Byhor (Bihar), whence it was transferred by King Ladislaus I of Hungary to Várad (Oradea). The statutes of the chapter of 1370 explicitly attribute the founding of the see to King Ladislaus. The year 1083 is the accepted date of the foundation. The patron of the diocese is Ladislaus. Sixtus (1103–1113) is said to have been the first bishop.