Antonio Ballester (died 1387) was the Latin Archbishop of Athens from 27 March 1370, when he was appointed by

Pope Urban VI Pope Urban VI (; ; c. 1318 – 15 October 1389), born Bartolomeo Prignano (), was head of the Catholic Church from 8 April 1378 to his death, in October 1389. He was the last pope elected from outside the College of Cardinals. His pontificate be ...

, to his death. He was a Catalan, a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

and a

bachelor of theology The Bachelor of Theology degree (BTh, ThB, or BTheol) is a two- to five-year undergraduate degree or graduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically (but not exclusively) pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, de ...

. He is the only well-known archbishop of Athens from the 14th century. During his stay in Athens, he lived in an annex of the

Erechtheum The Erechtheion (, Latinisation of names, latinized as Erechtheum ; , ) or Temple of Athena Polias is an Classical Greece, ancient Greek Ionic order, Ionic Ancient Greek temple, temple on the north side of the Acropolis of Athens, Acropolis, Athe ...

. Ballester was elected to his archbishopric with the support of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

and had influence also in Italy. Ballester supported

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV (Catalan: ''Pere IV d'Aragó;'' Aragonese; ''Pero IV d'Aragón;'' 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''El Cerimoniós''; Aragonese: ''el Ceremonioso''), was from 1336 until his death the king of ...

against Maria of Sicily in 1381. He also supported the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

over the Navarrese Company. In November 1379 Sibilia, the queen of Peter IV, tried to procure relics of the Virgin that were kept at Athens from Ballester. Since they were absent from the

Parthenon The Parthenon (; ; ) is a former Ancient Greek temple, temple on the Acropolis of Athens, Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the Greek gods, goddess Athena. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of c ...

in 1395, it seems likely that she succeeded. On his death,

John I of Aragon John I (27 December 1350 – 19 May 1396), called by posterity the Hunter or the Lover of Elegance, or the Abandoned in his lifetime, was the King of Aragon from 1387 until his death. Biography John was the eldest son of Peter IV and his third ...

requested

Antipope Clement VII Robert of Geneva (; 1342 – 16 September 1394) was elected to the papacy as Clement VII () by the cardinals who opposed Pope Urban VI and was the first antipope residing in Avignon, France. His election led to the Western Schism. The son of ...

to appoint one Antonio de Blasis to the vacant see. While some modern historians have doubted that Ballester was in fact dead when John requested the appointment of de Blasis, it has now been proven that he was. It was sometimes held that Ballester had in fact been captured by Nerio I Acciajuoli and later crowned

Martin of Aragon Martin the Humane (29 July 1356 – 31 May 1410), also called the Elder and the Ecclesiastic, was King of Aragon, Valencia, Sardinia and Corsica and Count of Barcelona from 1396 and King of Sicily from 1409 (as Martin II). He failed to secure th ...

in 1399, but this is false and arose from a confusion of the two Antonios.

Sources

*Setton, Kenneth M. ''Catalan Domination of Athens 1311–1380''. Revised edition. London: Variorum, 1975.

References

Roman Catholic archbishops in the Duchy of Athens Spanish Franciscans 14th-century Catalan people 14th-century Spanish clergy 1387 deaths Year of birth unknown {{Greece-RC-archbishop-stub