The Diocese of Derbe is an ancient

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 ...

located at

Derbe Derbe or Dervi ( gr, Δέρβη), also called Derveia ( gr, Δέρβεια), was a city of Galatia in Asia Minor, and later of Lycaonia, and still later of Isauria and Cappadocia. It is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles at , , and . Derbe ...

in the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

Galatia Galatia (; grc, Γαλατία, ''Galatía'', "Gaul") was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir, in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace (c ...

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

, and in the ethnic region of Lycaonia. It flourished through the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

empires, being dissolved on the invasion of the Seljuks at the

Battle of Manzikert The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, theme of Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army and ...

in 1071. The diocese was nominally refounded as 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 archbis ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the 17th century, although the area had never actually been catholic in profession.

History

Christianity came to Derbe very early. The

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...

and

Barnabas Barnabas (; arc, ܒܪܢܒܐ; grc, Βαρνάβας), born Joseph () or Joses (), was according to tradition an early Christian, one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem. According to Acts 4:36, Barnabas was a Cypriot Jew. Name ...

came to Derbe after escaping a disturbance and attempted

stoning Stoning, or lapidation, is a method of capital punishment where a group throws stones at a person until the subject dies from blunt trauma. It has been attested as a form of punishment for grave misdeeds since ancient times. The Torah and T ...

Iconium Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it D ...

, about 60

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 Engli ...

s away, and successfully evangelized there. Paul made many converts at Derbe including future church leaders Paul and Barnabas returned there after being stoned again in

Lystra Lystra ( grc, Λύστρα) was a city in central Anatolia, now part of present-day Turkey. It is mentioned six times in the New Testament. Lystra was visited several times by Paul the Apostle, along with Barnabas or Silas. There Paul met a yo ...

. On these experiences, Paul commented, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God." He and

Silas Silas or Silvanus (; Greek: Σίλας/Σιλουανός; fl. 1st century AD) was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who according to the New Testament accompanied Paul the Apostle on his second missionary journey. Name and ...

later visited Derbe again.

Ancient Bishopric

Derbe became a

suffragan see A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria ...

but is not mentioned by later ''

Notitiae Episcopatuum The ''Notitiae Episcopatuum'' (singular: ''Notitia Episcopatuum'') are official documents that furnish Eastern countries the list and hierarchical rank of the metropolitan and suffragan bishoprics of a church. In the Roman Church (the -mostly Lati ...

''. Only four

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

s are known, from 381 to 672. we know but four bishops, from 381 to 672. *Daphnus, attendee at the

Council of Constantinople (381) The First Council of Constantinople ( la, Concilium Constantinopolitanum; grc-gre, Σύνοδος τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως) was a council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in AD 381 b ...

. *Thomas, attendee at the Council of Ephesus *Paulus, attendee at the

Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; la, Concilium Chalcedonense), ''Synodos tēs Chalkēdonos'' was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bi ...

. * Cyricus Bishop Anastasius Hartmann Bishop franzegon.

Titular see

Today, Derbe is included in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

's list of

s.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, ), p. 880 The

holds the

to be a

in the province of

Lycaonia Lycaonia (; el, Λυκαονία, ''Lykaonia''; tr, Likaonya) was a large region in the interior of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), north of the Taurus Mountains. It was bounded on the east by Cappadocia, on the north by Galatia, on the west b ...

. Although Titular bishops have been appointed since the 17th century the see is currently empty. *

Onofrio Costantini Onofrio is an Italian surname derived from Onuphrius. Notable people with the surname include: *Vincent D'Onofrio *Al Onofrio *Beverly Donofrio *Elizabeth D'Onofrio *Francesco Onofrio Manfredini *Marco Onofrio See also *Sant'Onofrio (disambiguatio ...

, ( 1665 Appointed – 20 Mar 1717) *

Stephan von Clodh Stephan may refer to: * Stephan, South Dakota, United States * Stephan (given name), a masculine given name * Stephan (surname), a Breton-language surname See also * Sankt-Stephan * Stefan (disambiguation) * Stephan-Oterma * Stephani * St ...

(Cloth), (20 Jan 1727 – 5 Sep 1727) * Franz Egon von Fürstenberg, (24 Jul 1786 – 6 Jan 1789) *

Franz von Raigesfeld Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see Fran ...

, (1 Jun 1795 Appointed – 16 Jul 1800) *

Karl Kajetan von Gaisruck Karl Kajetan von Gaisruck (Italian: Carlo Gaetano (di) Gaisruck) (1769 – 1846) was an Austrian Cardinal and the archbishop of Milan from 1816 to 1846. He also held the title of ''Graf'' or Count. Early life Gaisruck was born on 7 August 1769 ...

(Gaysruck) (20 Jul 1801 Appointed – 16 Mar 1818) *

Michael Angelo Buono Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

(27 Sep 1819 – ) *

Anastasius Hartmann Anastasius Hartmann, born as Joseph Alois Hartmann (* 24. February 1803 in Altwis, Canton Lucerne, Switzerland ; † 24. April 1886 in Kurji in Patna, India ), was a Capuchin, a missionary in India, Titular Bishop and Vicar Apostolic of Patna and ...

, (30 Sep 1845 Appointed – 1 May 1866) * Giovanni Cirino (22 Nov 1869 Appointed – 8 Nov 1884 Appointed, Titular Archbishop of Ancyra) * Vicente Alda y Sancho (7 Jun 1886 Appointed – 1 Jun 1888) *

Pietro Podaliri Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice * Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death * Pietro II C ...

(23 Jun 1890 Appointed – 10 Nov 1910) *

Angelo Bartolomasi Angelo is an Italian masculine given name and surname meaning "angel", or "messenger". People People with the given name *Angelo Accattino (born 1966), Italian prelate of the Catholic Church *Angelo Acciaioli (bishop) (1298–1357), Italian Rom ...

(24 Nov 1910 – 15 Dec 1919) * Maximino Ruiz y Flores (8 Mar 1920 – 11 May 1949) * João de Souza Lima, (14 May 1949 – 6 Feb 1955) *

Raymond Peter Hillinger Raymond Peter Hillinger (May 2, 1904 – November 13, 1971) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Rockford in Illinois (1954–1956) and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago (1956 ...

† (27 Jun 1956 – 13 Nov 1971)

References

{{Subject bar , portal1= Catholicism , portal2= Turkey Catholic titular sees in Asia Dioceses established in the 1st century Defunct dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Galatia (Roman province) Roman towns and cities in Turkey History of Christianity in Turkey