Bela or Vela () was a medieval fortress town and

bishopric 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 associate ...

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

, northwestern

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

History

Bela is located near the site of the modern Vella Monastery, some 2 km south of

Kalpaki Kalpaki () is a former municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it has been part of the municipality Pogoni, of which it is a municipal unit. It is situated about northwest of Ioannina, a ...

. The name is of

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

origin. The fortress survived until the mid-20th century, when it was documented by N. G. L. Hammond; however, the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and its aftermath, as well as the operation of a quarry on the eastern side of the hill, have destroyed most of the remains described by Hammond. Bela first appears in the mid-10th century, when the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

's ''

Notitiae Episcopatuum The ''Notitiae Episcopatuum'' (singular: ''Notitia Episcopatuum'') were official documents that furnished for Eastern countries the list and hierarchical rank of the metropolitan and suffragan bishoprics of a church. In the Roman Church (the mos ...

'' mention the see of "

Photice Photice or Photike () was a city in Epirus in the Roman and Byzantine periods. In the late Middle Ages it was known as Hagios Donatos (Ἅγιος Δονᾶτος). History The city was likely settled since Classical Antiquity, but is only known in ...

, that is Bela" (Φωτικῆς ἤτοι Βελᾶς), implying that the seat of the bishopric of Photice, 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

Metropolis of Naupaktos The Metropolis of Nafpaktos and Agios Vlasios () is a metropolitan see of the Church of Greece. Its seat is the town of Nafpaktos (Naupaktos or Naupactus, in the late Middle Ages known as Lepanto) in southeastern Aetolia-Acarnania, and occupies th ...

, had been moved to Bela. This move was temporary, since from the mid-11th century, Photice is again mentioned without further additions. Its only recorded bishop during that time, Constantine, is known from a 10th-century episcopal seal. From the early 13th century, however, Bela is attested as a separate bishopric, held by Manuel Makres. It is possible that during the 13th century, Bela formed also a province (

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software. * Theme (linguistics), topic * Theme ( ...

), but this is unclear. It appears that by 1367, Bela and nearby Dryinopolis were no longer suffragans of Naupaktos, but of the

Metropolis of Ioannina The Metropolis of Ioannina () is a Greek Orthodox diocese centred on the city of Ioannina, in the Epirus of Greece. As one of the "New Lands", it belongs formally to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, but is administered by the Church of Greece. ...

, as indeed is confirmed from the late 15th century on. In 1380, Bela was captured by the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

under

Lala Şahin Pasha Lala Shahin Pasha (; 1330 – after 1388), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman military commander and first Beylerbey of Rumelia. He was instrumental in the early Ottoman expansion into the Balkans, serving as a key commander under Murad I, Sultan Mu ...

, but in 1382 it came under the control of

John Spata Gjin Bua Shpata (sometimes anglicized as ''John Spata'') ( 1358 – 29 October 1399) was an Albanians, Albanian ruler in Western Greece with the title of Despot (court title), Despot. Together with Peter Losha, Pjetër Losha, he led raids into E ...

's son-in-law Marchesano.

Catholic titular see

Bela is the location of the Roman Catholic titular

Diocese of Bela The Diocese of Bela is a Roman Catholic titular diocese in Greece. History Bela was a medieval fortress town and bishopric in Epirus, northwestern Greece. Bela first appears in the mid-10th century, when the Byzantine Empire's ''Notitiae Episcopa ...

. The see,

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

throughout its existence, was nominally restored in 1933 as a Latin Catholic

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 ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bela Medieval Epirus Defunct dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Populated places of the Byzantine Empire Byzantine sites in Epirus (region)