The Catholic Archdiocese of Nakhchivan (also known as Diocese of Naxivan, - of Nakhtchevan, or of Nachitschewan; ''Latin Name: Naxivansus'') was a Latin Catholic diocese in

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

, located in the city of Nakhchivan, in modern-day

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. In 1847, it was suppressed."Archdiocese of Nachitschewan (Naxivan, Nakhtchevan, Nakhchivan)"
''

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches that are in full communion with Rome. The website, not officially sanctioned by the Church, is run as a private pro ...

''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016"Archdiocese of Nachitschewan”
''GCatholic.org''. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 15, 2017 The last remains of its ancient cathedral of

All Saints All Saints' Day is a Christian holiday. All Saints, All Saints Day or Feast of All Saints may also refer to: Art and entertainment * ''All Saints'' (film), a 2017 Christian drama film * ''All Saints'' (TV series), an Australian hospital drama * ...

in the episcopal see were destroyed in the 1845 earthquake. Jahuk region

History

* Established in 1318 as Diocese of Nakhijevan, on territory previously not covered by the Latin church, covering historical

and present-day

, presumably exempt. It was the only Latin see in the region to survive the ravaging hordes of conqueror

Tamerlane Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol tradition, Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timuri ...

(1380s). * The

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

, whose missionaries founded it, branched out there into a new associated congregation, the Fratres Unitores ('Uniting Friars'), which fielded all the clergy in the bishopric. From its 15th century peek with circa 700 friars in some 50 convents, by 1602 it shrinks to twelve convents pastorally serving circa 19.000 Catholic faithful, In the region of Julfa the catholic professing settlements were the villages of Saltagh, Kirna, and Aparan. In the neighboring region of Goghtn there was the village of Gandzak, and in central Nakhichevan the village of Jahuk. * By privileges, confirmed by

Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

papal bulla A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden seal ('' bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal bulls have been in use at l ...

''Etsi ex debito'' on 28 February 1544, it could celebrate the

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 ...

Armenian language Armenian (endonym: , , ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the sole member of the independent branch of the Armenian language family. It is the native language of the Armenians, Armenian people and the official language of ...

(instead of Latin) and its episcopate was chosen by an assembly representing the Dominican monasteries and the Armenian Catholic elite * Its actual see (not the title) was moved in the 16th century to more central

Aparan Aparan ( , colloquially ) is a town in the Aparan Municipality of the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia, about 50 kilometers northwest of the capital Yerevan. As of the 2011 census, the population of the town was 6,451. As per the 2016 official esti ...

(now Aparan), closer to the actual Catholic communities. Under Safavid pressure the communities dwindled due to conversion to Islam and Turkification, masse conversions to Islam were noted in the 1650s In the Julfa villages in particular, by the 17th century diocesan activity seems effectively to have halted. Around 1620 Pope

Gregory XV Pope Gregory XV (; ; 9 January 1554 – 8 July 1623), born Alessandro Ludovisi, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 February 1621 until his death in 1623. He is notable for founding the Congregation for the ...

instigated the founding of a Dominican seminary in Abaran. * Elevated on 21 February 1633 as Archdiocese of Nakhchivan, but not Metropolitan, and indeed never had a suffragan. * Suppressed in 1847, apparently vacant since 1765, as its faithful had fled the country during the wars between Ottoman Turks and Safavid Persia. * It is without direct successor jurisdiction, but the last Archbishop took his flock to

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

(now Izmir, Asian Turkey), where their Armenian community flourished. Its former territories are presently part of the larger jurisdiction of the

Apostolic Administration of the Caucasus The Apostolic Administration of the Caucasus () is an apostolic administration (pre-diocesan jurisdiction) of the Latin Church in the Catholic Church, established in 1993, with headquarters in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia. It is exempt, i.e. dir ...

(Armenia and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

) and by the

Apostolic Prefecture of Baku The Apostolic Prefecture of Azerbaijan is a Roman Catholic Apostolic Prefecture (missionary jurisdiction) in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. It is exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See, not part of any ecclesiastical province. It has one ...

(all Azerbaijan)

Episcopal ordinaries

http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/nach0.htm GCatholic (all

Roman Rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...

, (mostly Italian) missionary members of Latin congregations) ;''Bishops of Nachitschewan'' * Nicholas Friton (20 October 1560 – death 1597) *

Azarias Friton Azarias Friton, O.P. (1563 – 7 January, 1607) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Nakhchivan (1604–1607).

(O.P.) (24 March 1604 – death 7 January 1607) * Matthaeus Erasmos, O.P. (22 Oct 1607 Ordained Bishop – death 9 July 1627) ''(in Latin)'' * Angelus Maria Cittadini,

Carthusians The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called the ...

(O.Cart.) (9 July 1627 – death 10 December 1629), succeeding as former

Coadjutor Bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

of Nachitschewan (1624.07.15 – 1627.07.09) and

Titular Archbishop 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 ...

Myra Myra (; , ''Mýra'') was a city in Lycia. The city was probably founded by Lycians on the river Myros (; Turkish: ''Demre Çay''), in the fertile alluvial plain between, the Massikytos range (Turkish: ''Alaca Dağ'') and the Aegean Sea. By the ...

(1624.07.15 – 1627.07.09) * Augustinus Basrci (Bagesius), O.P. (1633 – 21 February 1633 ''see below'') ;''Archbishops of Nachitschewan (non-Metropolitan)'' * Augustinus Basrci (Bagesius), O.P. (''see above'' 21 February 1633 – death 16 April 1652) * Paolo Piromalli, O.P. (14 June 1655 – resigned 15 Dec 1664), next

Archbishop-Bishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

Bisignano Bisignano ( Calabrian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza, part of the Calabria region of southern Italy. It is situated on hills in the Crati valley, between the Pollino and Sila National Parks. The town has historically bee ...

(Italy) (1664.12.15 – death 1667.07.12) * Matteo Avanian alias Avanisensis, O.P. (14 May 1668 – death 14 July 1674) * Thomas Tatumensis, O.P. (12 Nov 1675 – 14 Oct 1680 ?Resigned) * Sebastien Knab, O.P. (28 Sep 1682 – death 8 Sep 1690) * Paul Baptiste Avanian, O.P. (24 March 1692 – death 1701) * Stephanus Sciran, O.P. (15 Jan 1703 – death 1707?) * Giovanni Vincenzo Castelli, O.P. (15 April 1709 – 4 May 1709 Resigned), ''not possessed''; next

Marcianopolis Marcianopolis or Marcianople (Greek: Μαρκιανούπολις), also known as Parthenopolis was an ancient Greek, then Roman capital city and archbishopric in Moesia Inferior. It is located at the site of modern-day Devnya, Bulgaria. The a ...

(1709.06.19 – 1714.03.21),

(i.e. Archbishop of a residential, in casu suffragan, bishopric) of

Urbania Urbania is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region of Marche, located about west of Ancona and about southwest of Pesaro, next to the river Metauro. Urbania borders the following municipalities: ...

(Italy) (1714.03.21 – 1736.09) and

of Sant’Angelo in Vado (Italy) (1714.03.21 – death 1736.09) * Alessandro Felice (Pietro Martire) Mercanti, O.P. (6 May 1709 – death 25 Feb 1721) * Archangelus Feni, O.P. (20 April 1722 – 1731 Resigned), died 1747 * Domenico Maria (Michelangelo) Salvini, O.P. (born Italy) (21 July 1732 – death 10 Dec 1765)

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic
; Bibliography * Leonardus Lemmens, ''Hierarchia latina Orientis, mediante S. Congregatione de propaganda fide instituita (1622-1922)'', in ''Orientalia Christiana'', vol. I, n° 5 (1923), pp. 232–250 * François Tournebize, ''Les Frères Uniteurs ou Dominicains Arméniens (1330-1794)'', in ''Revue de l'Orient Chrétien'', vol. XXII (1920-1921), pp. 145–161 e 249-279 * Gaetano Moroni, lemma 'Naxivan' in ''Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica'', vol. 47, Venice 1847, pp. 250–251 * Konrad Eubel, ''Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi'', vol. 1, p. 354; vol. 2, p. 198; vol. 3, p. 252; vol. 4, p. 253; vol. 5, pp. 281–282; vol. 6, p. 303 * Michel Lequien, ''Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus'', Paris 1740, vol. III, coll. 1403-1414 {{Nakhchivan Nakhchivan Nakhchivan History of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic Nakhchivan (city)

History

Episcopal ordinaries

See also

References

Sources and external links