The Archdiocese of Mopsuestia is a historical

archbishopric 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 associated ...

of the

Patriarchate of Antioch The Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (, , from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian community, the position has ...

with its seat (cathedral) at

Mopsuestia Mopsuestia ( and Μόψου ''Mopsou'' and Μόψου πόλις and Μόψος; Byzantine Greek: ''Mamista'', ''Manistra'', ''Mampsista''; Arabic: ''al-Maṣṣīṣah''; Armenian: ''Msis'', ''Mises'', ''Mam(u)estia''; modern Yakapınar) is an a ...

(the Mamistra of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and Misis of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

). It remains 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 ...

( or ''Mamistrensis'') of the

Roman 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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

History

The diocese of Mopsuestia originally corresponded to the Roman province of

Cilicia Secunda Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

, part of the

Diocese of the East The Diocese of the East, also called the Diocese of Oriens, (; ) was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, incorporating the provinces of the western Middle East, between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia. During late Antiquity, it was one of t ...

. It was originally 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 archdiocese of Anazarbus. In the sixth century, it was raised to metropolitan (archiepiscopal) rank, but without suffragans of its own, as recorded in the tenth-century ''

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 ...

''. Its most famous bishop during the early period was Theodore II (392–428), founder of the theological

school of Antioch The Catechetical School of Antioch was one of the two major Christian centers of the study of biblical exegesis and theology during Late Antiquity; the other was the Catechetical School of Alexandria, School of Alexandria. This group was known by ...

whose works were condemned at the

Second Council of Constantinople The Second Council of Constantinople is the fifth of the first seven ecumenical councils recognized by both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. It is also recognized by the Old Catholics and others. Protestant opinions and re ...

in 553. With the

early Muslim conquests The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests (), also known as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the founder of Islam. He established the first Islamic state in Medina, Arabian Peninsula, Arabia that ...

in the seventh century the archdiocese falls into obscurity. It was re-founded in December 1099 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 ...

. A series of

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

bishops were appointed until the fourteenth century, when the

rise of the Ottoman Empire The rise of the Ottoman Empire is a period of history that started with the emergence of the Ottoman principality ( Turkish: ''Osmanlı Beyliği'') in , and ended . This period witnessed the foundation of a political entity ruled by the Ottoman ...

made it impossible for the bishops to maintain their residence in the city. Despite the continuance of the

Genoese colony The Genoese colonies were a series of economic and trade posts in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Some of them had been established directly under the patronage of the republican authorities to support the economy of the local merchants (especi ...

there, the archbishopric disappeared. The most famous incumbent during the Latin period was

Ralph of Domfront Ralph of Domfront (or Radulph, ; died c. 1146) was the archbishop of Mamistra and second Latin patriarch of Antioch (as Ralph I) from 1135 until 1140. William of Tyre describes him as "a military man, very magnificent and generous, a great favourite ...

, who in 1135 was transferred to the Patriarchate of Antioch. A series of late bishops—James, Peter and Thomas—were

Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...

. The last Latin archbishop, Volcardus, was an Augustinian. He never got to his see on account of the

Mameluke Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-sold ...

threat. Between the ninth and twelfth centuries there was also a diocese of the Church of the East with its seat in Mopsuestia. It was a suffragan of the archdiocese of Damascus. It is first recorded in the chronicle of

Eliya of Damascus ''Eliya''Uvarov BP (1927) ''Spolia Zeylanica'' 14(1): 103. is a genus of grasshoppers Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing he ...

in 893. It probably ceased to exist in the twelfth century if not earlier. Mamistra was revived as a titular see for Manoel da Silva Gomes on 11 April 1911. These titulars were

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

s in other dioceses. From 1923 until 1926 the titular archbishop was Gustave-Charles-Marie Mutel, emeritus

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 Churc ...

for

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. The titular see has been vacant since the death of the last incumbent, Joseph Gotthardt, apostolic vicar for

South West Africa South West Africa was a territory under Union of South Africa, South African administration from 1915 to 1990. Renamed ''Namibia'' by the United Nations in 1968, Independence of Namibia, it became independent under this name on 21 March 1990. ...

, on 3 August 1963.

List of bishops

Greek (Antiochene) rite

*Theodore I (fl. 269) *Macedonius (fl. 325–51) *Saint Auxentius I (fl. 359–60) *Protogenes *Zosimus I *Olympius (fl. 381) *Cyril * Theodore II (from c. 392, died 428) *Meletius (fl. 431–34) *Comatius (or Thomas (fl. 445–49) *Bassianus (fl. 451) *John *Auxentius II *Palatinus *Julian (until c. 490), expelled *Theodore III *James *Zosimus II *Cosmas (fl. 550)

Latin rite Latin Rite may refer to: The Latin Church, a ''sui iuris'' church of the Catholic Church The Latin liturgical rites, a family of Christian rites and uses which includes the Roman Rite *The Roman Rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritua ...

*Bartholomew (fl. 1099–1108) *

Ralph Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...

(until 1135), transferred *Gaudin (fl. 1140) *''anonymous transferred to Tarsus'' *John (from 1215) *''anonymous mentioned in 1224'' *''anonymous mentioned in 1238'' *William (fl. 1246) *Constantine (fl. 1306) *James *Peter of Adria *Thomas I(from 2 July 1320) *Stephen (fl. 1332) * Volcardus (from 7 August 1345) *''vacant'' *Manoel da Silva Gomes (11 April 1911 – 16 September 1912), auxiliary of

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

until named full bishop *Santiago Richardo Vilanova y Meléndez (1 August 1913 – 15 January 1915), auxiliary of

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

until named bishop of Santa Ana *Gustave-Charles-Marie Mutel (31 January 1923 – 11 January 1926), member of the

Paris Foreign Missions Society The Society of Foreign Missions of Paris (, , MEP) is a Catholic Missionary order, missionary organization. It is not a religious institute, but an organization of secular clergy, secular priests and Laity, lay persons dedicated to missionary wo ...

, auxiliary of

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

until named titular archbishop of Ratiaria *Joseph Gotthardt (18 May 1926 – 3 August 1963), member of the

Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest later recognized as a Catholic saint. The congregation wa ...

, auxiliary of

Windhoek Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which ...

References

Sources