It is located 9 km. northeast of Ödemiş/İzmir.(ref: Tmolos’ta saklı kutsal bir kent Dioshieron, Hüseyin Üreten, Journal of International Social Research , Vol 9, Issue 44: 562-578) Dios Hieron ( grc, Διὸς Ἱερόν, meaning 'Sanctuary of Zeus') was a town of ancient Lydia, in the upper valley of the Cayster River. The city became part of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingd ...

and 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 ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

with the annexation of the Kingdom of Pergamon. It also bore the name Diospolis (Διόσπολις), and was cited by the sixth century Byzantine geographer

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethni ...

under that name. It was renamed to Christopolis or Christoupolis (Χριστούπολις, meaning 'city of Christ') in the 7th century and was known as Pyrgium or Pyrgion (Πυργίον) from the 12th century on. Pyrgion fell to the Turks in 1307, and became the capital of the beylik of Aydin. The town minted coins in antiquity, often with the inscription "Διοσιερειτων". Its site is located near Birgi, Asiatic Turkey.

Bishopric

The Roman Era city had an ancient

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

bishop and is attested as an episcopal see from at least 451. It was a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

Ephesus Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built i ...

, which it remained under until the late 12th century when it became a separate

metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...

. There are four known bishops from antiquity. *Stephen took part in the Council of Ephesus of 431 *Eustorgios was not present 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 ...

(451) and his metropolitan, Stephen of Ephesus, signed on his behalf *Zoetus was among the fathers of the Council of Constantinople of 680 and the Council in Trullo of 692 *Stephen of Pyrgion participated at the two Councils of Constantinople in 869–870 and 879–880 who dealt with the issue of Patriarch

Photios I of Constantinople Photios I ( el, Φώτιος, ''Phōtios''; c. 810/820 – 6 February 893), also spelled PhotiusFr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., & Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Materia ...

Today Dioshieron survives as

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 ...

in 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 ...

, so far the see has never been assigned.Dioshieron
at GCatholic.org.

References

Populated places in ancient Lydia Former populated places in Turkey Former dioceses in Asia Defunct dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Titular sees in Asia Roman towns and cities in Turkey Populated places of the Byzantine Empire Ödemiş District History of İzmir Province {{Byzantine-geo-stub