Aschetinus or Anschetin (died before 1128) was the first Roman Catholic bishop of Bethlehem in the

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as the Crusader Kingdom, was one of the Crusader states established in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade. It lasted for almost two hundred years, from the accession of Godfrey of Bouillon in 1 ...

from 1108 until his death.

Early life

In medieval Latin documents, he is mentioned under various names, mainly variants of the forms and . These forms can be traced back to the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

name . The two Latin forms were popular among the Normans of southern Italy, implying that he was born in this region. If this assumption is true, Aschetinus likely accompanied the Italo-Norman prince

Bohemond Bohemond or Bohemund, rarely Boamund, can refer to: *Bohemond I of Antioch (1058–1111) *Bohemond II of Antioch (1108–1130) *Bohemond III of Antioch (1144–1201) *Bohemond IV of Antioch & I of Tripoli (1172–1233) *Bohemond V of Antioch & II o ...

during the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

in 1096. He started his church career as

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

of the

Church of the Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchat ...

in Jerusalem. Before 1108, he was named the

prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

(head) of the Augustine canons of the

Church of the Nativity The Church of the Nativity, or Basilica of the Nativity, is a basilica located in Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine. The grotto holds a prominent religious significance to Christianity, Christians of various denominations as the Nativity of Jesus, ...

in Bethlehem.

Titular bishop of Ascalon

King

Baldwin I of Jerusalem Baldwin I (1060s – 2 April 1118) was the first count of Edessa from 1098 to 1100 and king of Jerusalem from 1100 to his death in 1118. He was the youngest son of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne, and Ida of Lorraine and married a Norman noblew ...

who had been crowned in the Church of the Nativity decided to elevate it into an episcopal see. For this purpose, he approached

Pope Paschal II Pope Paschal II (; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Raniero Raineri di Bleda, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was creat ...

who charged the

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...

Archbishop

Ghibbelin of Arles Ghibbelin of Sabran (also spelled Gibelin) ( 1045 – 1112) was Archbishop of Arles (1080–1112), papal legate (1107–1108), and Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem (1108–1112). Biography Ghibbelin was named Archbishop of Arles at the Council of Avi ...

with discussing the issue with the King. By the time Ghibelin reached the Holy Land in 1108, Aschetinus had been made the bishop of

Ascalon Ascalon or Ashkelon was an ancient Near East port city on the Mediterranean coast of the southern Levant of high historical and archaeological significance. Its remains are located in the archaeological site of Tel Ashkelon, within the city limi ...

. As Ascalon was still under Muslim rule, Aschetinus could only be regarded as a

titular bishop 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 ...

Bishop of Bethlehem

Ghibbelin as papal legate transferred Aschetinus's see from Ascalon to Bethlehem, establishing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bethlehem in 1108. His appointment made Aschetinus one of the three local canons to be raised to bishopric in the Jerusalemite kingdom. As bishop of Bethlehem, he was a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

of the

Latin patriarch of Jerusalem The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem () is the Latin Catholic ecclesiastical patriarchate in Jerusalem, officially seated in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is the archbishop of Latin Church Catholics of th ...

and due to his see's vicinity to Jerusalem, he was closely associated with the patriarchal court. In 1120, he participated in the

Council of Nablus The Council of Nablus was a council of ecclesiastic and secular lords in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, held on January 16, 1120. History The council was convened at Nablus by Warmund, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and King Baldwin II of Jerusalem. ...

, which established the first set of laws in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and in 1124 was one of the signatories of the

Pactum Warmundi The Pactum Warmundi was a treaty of alliance established in 1123 between the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Republic of Venice. Background In 1123, King Baldwin II was taken prisoner by the Artuqids, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem was sub ...

with 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 ...

Notes

References

Sources

* * * 12th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Kingdom of Jerusalem {{Improve categories, date=January 2025