Narona () was an Ancient Greek trading post on the Illyrian coast and later Roman city and bishopric, located in the

Neretva The Neretva (, sr-Cyrl, Неретва), also known as Narenta, is one of the largest rivers of the eastern part of the Adriatic basin. Four Hydroelectricity, hydroelectric power plants with Dam, large dams (higher than 15 metres) provide flood ...

valley in present-day Vid, Croatia, which remains a Latin Catholic

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 ...

History

It was founded as a Greek emporium in c. 3rd/2nd century BC. First time it is mentioned in the chapter 24 of the Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax. Narona became the major Roman stronghold in the 1st century BC. It was part of the Roman province of Dalmatia. In the 6th century AD, it came under

Byzantine 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 the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

rule. The settlement ceased to be in 7th century after the arrival of Slavic tribes in the region (see Narentines).

Ecclesiastical history

* In 530 was established a Diocese of Narona (Latin = Curiate Italian) / Naronen(sis) (Latin adjective), apparently

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 Metropolitan Archdiocese of Salona (now Split). * In 533 it lost territories to establish the Diocese of Makarska and the Diocese of Sarsenterum * In 600 it was suppressed, the city being ruined, its territory being merged into the Diocese of Ragusa. The only recorded bishop was * Marcello (530? – 533?), who attended councils of bishops at Salona in both named years.C. L. de Voinovitch, Histoire de la Dalmatie, 2008, p. 219.

Titular see

It was nominally restored in 1933 as Latin

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 ...

of Narona. It has had the following incumbents, mostly of the fitting Episcopal (lowest) rank, ''with an archiepiscopal exception'' : * Leo Pietsch (1948.08.27 – death 1981.09.30) as

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. ...

of Graz–Seckau (

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

) (1948.08.27 – 1967) and on emeritate *Titular Archbishop: John Bulaitis (born England, UK) (1981.11.21 – 2010.12.25) as papal diplomat : Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Republic of Congo (1981.11.21 – 1987.07.11), Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Central African Republic (1981.11.21 – 1987.07.11), Apostolic Delegate to Chad (1981.11.21 – 1987.07.11), Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Iran (1987.07.11 – 1991.11.30), Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Korea (1991.11.30 – 1997.03.25),

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

(ambassador) to Mongolia (1992.09.08 – 1997.03.25), Apostolic Nuncio to Albania (1997.03.25 – 2008.07.26); died 2010 * Helmut Karl Dieser (2011.02.24 – 2016.09.23) as Auxiliary Bishop of

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

(western

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

) (2011.02.24 – 2016.09.23); later Bishop of

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

(Aix-la-Chapelle, Germany) (2016.09.23 – ...) * Heriberto Cavazos Pérez (2016.10.31 – ...), as Auxiliary Bishop of

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

(

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

) (2016.10.31 – ...).

Archeology

In 1995 a

Roman temple Ancient Roman temples were among the most important buildings in culture of ancient Rome, Roman culture, and some of the richest buildings in Architecture of ancient Rome, Roman architecture, though only a few survive in any sort of complete ...

building was discovered, which had been dedicated by the governor Dolabella and contained statues of the emperors

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

and

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

, as well as two of

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

and his wife

Livia Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC AD 29) was List of Roman and Byzantine empresses, Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal Adoption ...

. The statues had been vandalized in the 4th century: they were lying on the floor and their heads had been broken off. The heads of Vespasian and one of the Livias had been acquired in the surrounding area by

Arthur Evans Sir Arthur John Evans (8 July 1851 – 11 July 1941) was a British archaeologist and pioneer in the study of Aegean civilization in the Bronze Age. The first excavations at the Minoan palace of Knossos on the List of islands of Greece, Gree ...

in 1878. The heads were thus reunited with their bodies. The famous Roman statues have toured major

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an museums. A cathedral and at least two more churches were dug up.

References

Sources and external links

Archeological Museum of Narona -Vid Croatia

* Pius Bonifacius Gams, Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae, Leipzig 1931, p. 410 * Nuovo bullettino di archeologia cristiana, 1906, p. 211 {{Coord, 43, 02, 47, N, 17, 35, 55, E, region:HR-19_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title 7th-century disestablishments Illyrian Croatia Archaeology of Illyria Archaeological sites in Croatia Roman towns and cities in Croatia Greek colonies in Illyria Former populated places in the Balkans it:Diocesi di Narona

History

Ecclesiastical history

Titular see

Archeology

See also

References

Sources and external links