The Archdiocese of Rhodes ( la, Archidioecesis Rhodiensis) is a

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Jo ...

ecclesiastical territory or

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

. The archdiocese is directly exempt to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

and not part of an

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of sev ...

. It was at various times a

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 archbi ...

and later a

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a t ...

. It has its

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principal ...

within St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral in the eponymous capital of the island of

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

. One former

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

of "Our Lady of the Castle" was turned into a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

during the Ottoman period and is now a museum, the other former cathedral of St. John was turned into a Greek Orthodox church.

History

An ancient diocese was established in Rhodes around 200 AD and promoted to Metropolitan Archdiocese around 400 AD. It continues as the

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

Metropolis of Rhodes The Metropolis of Rhodes ( el, Ιερά Μητρόπολις Ρόδου) is the Greek Orthodox metropolitan see covering the island of Rhodes in the Dodecanese island group in Greece. It belongs to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Ecumenica ...

. A

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

see was established on the island when it became the seat of the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

in 1308 following their conquest of Rhodes. In 1523, with the fall of the island to 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 ...

, it was suppressed as a residential diocese but turned into a

. On March 28, 1928, it was restored as non-metropolitan, exempt Archdiocese of Rhodos on the territory of the suppressed Apostolic Prefecture of Rhodes and adjacent islands.

Episcopal ordinaries

; Metropolitan Archbishops of Rhodes * Belijan (? – 1324.09.26), later Metropolitan Archbishop of

Salona Salona ( grc, Σάλωνα) was an ancient city and the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia. Salona is located in the modern town of Solin, next to Split, in Croatia. Salona was founded in the 3rd century BC and was mostly destroyed in ...

(Croatia) (1324.09.26 – 1328.01.28) * Ugo de Scuria, Friars Minor (O.F.M.) (1351.06.20 – 1361.12.15), later Metropolitan Archbishop of Ragusa (Croatia) (1361.12.15 – 1370.07.12), finally Archbishop-Bishop of Ostuni (Italy) (1370.07.12 – death 1374) * * * ... ; Titular Archbishops of Rhodes'' * ... * Francesco Niccolini, (1685.09.10 – 1692.02.04) ... * ; Exempt Archbishops of Rhodes'' * Archbishop Florido Ambrogio Acciari, Friars Minor (O.F.M.) as

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic adm ...

(1928 – 1929) * Giovanni Maria Emilio Castellani, O.F.M. (1929.01.15 – 1937.03.25) * Friar Pier Crisologo Fabi, O.F.M. as Apostolic Administrator (1937 – 1938) * Florido Ambrogio Acciari, O.F.M. (1938.03.30 – 1970.03.10) * Friar Michail-Petros Franzidis, O.F.M. as Apostolic Administrator (1970 – 1992) * Archbishop Nikolaos Foskolos as Apostolic Administrator (1992 – 2014) * Sevastianos Rossolatos as Apostolic Administrator (12 August 2014 – 14 July 2021) * Theodoros Kontidis, S.J. as Apostolic Administrator (14 July 2021 – present)

References

;Sources
GCatholic.org, with episcopal incumbent biography links

Diocese website
Former Roman Catholic dioceses in Europe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rhodes Roman Catholic dioceses in Greece Christian organizations established in 1928 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century {{Europe-RC-diocese-stub

History

Episcopal ordinaries

See also

References