Legal status and territorial structure of the Catholic Church in Turkey
The problem of religious minorities, especially the Catholic Church in Turkey has not been widely discussed in literature. This paper reports the legal status and territorial structure of the catholic minority in Turkey in the context of general status of religious minorities in Turkey. The territorial structure of the Roman Catholic Church in Turkey, as well as other Eastern Catholic Churches is presented. Moreover, the distribution of parishes and churches is shown. Additionally, the analysis of historical and legal conditions that impact development and changes of Catholics’ distribution in Turkey was undertaken.
