The Congregation for the Oriental Churches (Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus) is the congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for contact with the Oriental Catholic Churches for the sake of assisting their development, protecting their rights and also maintaining whole and entire in the one Catholic Church, alongside the liturgical, disciplinary and spiritual patrimony of the Latin Rite, the heritage of the various Oriental Christian traditions. It has exclusive authority over the following regions: Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula, Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, southern Albania and Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. A congregation is a type of dicastery of the Roman Curia, the Roman Catholic Church government. ... The Roman Curia is the complex of the organs and the authorities that constitute the administrative apparatus of the Holy See, coordinating and providing the necessary organisation for the correct functioning of the Roman Catholic Church and the achievement of its goals. ... The term Eastern Rites may refer to the liturgical rites used by many ancient Christian Churches of Eastern Europe and the Middle East that, while being part of the Roman Catholic Church, are distinct from the Latin Rite or Western Church. ... Latin Rite, in the singular and accompanied, in English, by the definite article, refers to the sui juris particular Church of the Roman Catholic Church that developed in the area of western Europe and northern Africa where Latin was for many centuries the language of education and culture. ... Sinai Peninsula, Gulf of Suez (west), Gulf of Aqaba (east) from Space Shuttle STS-40 The Sinai Peninsula (in Arabic, Shibh Jazirat Sina شبه جزيرة سيناء) is a triangle-shaped peninsula lying between the Mediterranean Sea (to the north) and Red Sea (to the south). ... Palestine (Latin: Syria Palæstina; Hebrew: פלשתינה Palestina, ארץ־ישראל Eretz Yisrael; Arabic: فلسطين Filasá¹­Ä«n) is the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the banks of the Jordan River, plus various adjoining lands to the east. ...

The Congregation for the Oriental Churches has its origins in the "Congregatio de Propaganda Fide pro negotiis ritus orientalis" founded by Pope Pius IX on January 6, 1862. The Blessed Pope Pius IX, born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti (May 13, 1792 – February 7, 1878), was pope for a record pontificate of over 31 years, from June 16, 1846 until his death. ... January 6 is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Prefects

• Nicolò Cardinal Marini (1917-1922)
• Giovanni Cardinal Tacci Porcelli (1922-1927)
• Luigi Cardinal Sincero (1927-1936)
• Eugène Cardinal Tisserant (1936-1959)
• Amleto Giovanni Cardinal Cicognani (1959-1961)
• Gabriel Acacius Cardinal Coussa (pro-prefect 1961, prefect 1962)
• Gustavo Cardinal Testa (1962-1968)
• Maximilien Cardinal de Furstenberg (1968-1973)
• Paul-Pierre Cardinal Philippe (1973-1980)
• Wladyslaw Cardinal Rubin (1980-1985)
• Durasamy Simon Cardinal Lourdusamy (1985-1991)
• Achille Cardinal Silvestrini (1991-2000)
• Ignace Cardinal Daoud (2000- )