Apostolic Administration of the Caucasus

It is exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See, and to its Roman Congregation for the Oriental Churches, not part of any ecclesiastical province.

The Apostolic Administration of the Caucasus was erected on 30 December 1993, during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II by the decree Quo aptius of the Congregation for Bishops.

[1] to pastorally cover Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, a territory split off from the Diocese of Tiraspol (between 1991 and 1993 de facto under the Apostolic Administration of European Russia).

On 11 October 2000, it lost jurisdiction over Azerbaijan, which was transferred to the newly erected then Mission sui iuris of Baku, which soon was promoted to Apostolic prefecture.

The Apostolic Administration of the Caucasus pastorally serves Catholics of the Roman Rite of the whole of Armenia and Georgia (including Adjara), and the partially recognized states of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.