Germanicopolis () was an ancient town in Bithynia, also known as Caesarea in Bythinia (not to be confused with

Caesarea Germanica Caesarea () ( he, קֵיסָרְיָה, ), ''Keysariya'' or ''Qesarya'', often simplified to Keisarya, and Qaysaria, is an affluent town in north-central Israel, which inherits its name and much of its territory from the ancient city of Caesar ...

, as such a former bishopric and present Latin Catholic

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbis ...

History

It was located on the Gelbes river, not far from Prusa (modern Bursa in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

). In earlier times it was called Helge, Helgas or Booscoete (), Plin. v. 40. Modern scholars locate the town at the village of Tahtalı The city was taken by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in 1326 and the new Ottoman

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses t ...

was built at nearby Bursa (the Ancient Prusa).

Ecclesiastical history

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

times the town was the see of a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Nicomedia, in the sway of the

Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...

. The names of a number of bishops are historically documented: * Phileas, mentioned in the martyr vita of Saint Tirsus and companions under Roman emperor Diocletian. * Rufus, attending the

First Council of Nicaea The First Council of Nicaea (; grc, Νίκαια ) was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325. This ecumenical council was the first effort ...

* Paul(us), partook in the minor Council of Constantinople of 518 * Johannes, attended the Council of Constantinople convoked by

Patriarch Mennas of Constantinople Menas (Minas) ( grc, Μηνάς) (died 25 August 552) considered a saint in the Calcedonian affirming church and by extension both the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church of our times, was born in Alexandria, and enters the recor ...

in 536 * Theodosius quarrelled with

Maximus the Confessor Maximus the Confessor ( el, Μάξιμος ὁ Ὁμολογητής), also spelt Maximos, otherwise known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople ( – 13 August 662), was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar. In his ear ...

* Theodorus, partook in the

Third Council of Constantinople The Third Council of Constantinople, counted as the Sixth Ecumenical Council by the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches, as well by certain other Western Churches, met in 680–681 and condemned monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical ...

* Constantinus, attending the

Second Council of Nicaea The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by the Old Catholics, the Anglican Communion, an ...

* Theophilus, partook in the Council of Constantinople of 879-880 which rehabilitated Photius as Patriarch of Constantinople

Titular see

The diocese was nominally restored in 1933 as Latin

Titular bishopric A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

of Cesarea in Bithynia (Latin) / Cesarea di Bitinia (Curiate Italian) / Cæsarien(sis) in Bithynia (Latin adjective). It is vacant since decades, having had the following incumbents, so far of the fitting Episcopal (lowest) rank : * Anthony Jeremiah Pesce,

Passionist The Passionists, officially named Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ (), abbreviated CP, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men, founded by Paul of the Cross in 1720 with a special emphasis on and d ...

(C.P.) (born Italy) (1951.05.10 – 1953.03.25) as last

Apostolic Vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Chur ...

of Dodoma (

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

) (1951.05.10 – 1953.03.25); next (see) promoted first Bishop of Dodoma (Tanzania) (1953.03.25 – death 1971.12.20) * Giovanni Sismondo (1954.09.30 – 1955.02.21) (Italian), on emeritate : previously Bishop of

Pontremoli Pontremoli (; local egl, Pontrémal; la, Apua) is a small city, ''comune'' former Latin Catholic bishopric in the province of Massa and Carrara, Tuscany region, central Italy. Literally translated, Pontremoli means "Trembling Bridge" (from ''pon ...

(Italy) (1930.02.06 – 1954.09.30); later (promoted)

Titular Archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Marcianopolis Marcianopolis or Marcianople (Greek: Μαρκιανούπολις), also known as Parthenopolis was an ancient Greek, then Roman capital city and archbishopric in Moesia Inferior. It is located at the site of modern-day Devnya, Bulgaria. The a ...

(1955.02.21 – death 1957.12.07) * Secondo Chiocca (1955.04.15 – death 1982.01.05) first as Auxiliary Bishop of

Archdiocese of Genova The Archdiocese of Genoa ( la, Archidioecesis Ianuensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy. Erected in the 3rd century, it was elevated to an archdiocese on 20 March 1133. The archdiocese of Gen ...

(Genua, Italy) (1955.04.15 – retired 1981.05.09), then as emeritate; previously Bishop of

Roman Catholic Diocese of Foligno The Diocese of Foligno ( la, Dioecesis Fulginatensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Umbria, Italy. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Pe ...

(Italy) (1947.01.18 – resigned 1955.04.15).

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic - (former and) titular bishopric
* * Pius Bonifacius Gams, ''Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae'', Leipzig 1931, p. 443 * * Raymond Janin, lemma 'Césarée de Bithynie', in ''Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques'', vol. XII, Paris 1953, col. 199 {{Authority control Roman towns and cities in Turkey Roman Bithynia Former populated places in Turkey Geography of Bursa Province Populated places in Bithynia