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 associate ...

of the

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

with its seat (cathedral) at

Mopsuestia Mopsuestia and Mopsuhestia ( grc, Μοψουεστία and Μόψου ἑστία, Mopsou(h)estia and Μόψου ''Mopsou'' and Μόψου πόλις and Μόψος; Byzantine Greek: ''Mamista'', ''Manistra'', ''Mampsista''; Arabic: ''al-Maṣ� ...

(the Mamistra of the

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

and Misis of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

). 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 archbish ...

( la, Archidioecesis Mopsuestena or ''Mamistrensis'') 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 ...

. The diocese of Mopsuestia originally corresponded to the Roman province of

Cilicia Secunda Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coas ...

, part of the

Diocese of the East The Diocese of the East ( la, Dioecesis Orientis; el, ) 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 the majo ...

. It was originally 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 jurisdictiona ...

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'') 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 ...

''. 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 centers of the study of biblical exegesis and theology during Late Antiquity; the other was the Catechetical School of Alexandria. This group was known by this name because the advocates ...

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 rec ...

in 553. With the

Early Muslim conquests The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He estab ...

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 medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ru ...

. A series of

Latin rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...

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 (Osmanlı Beyliği) in , and ended circa 1453. This period witnessed the foundation of a political entity ruled by the Ottoman D ...

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

Genoese colony The colonies of the Republic of Genoa 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 ...

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

Ralph of Domfront Ralph of Domfront (or Radulph, la, Radulfus; 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 g ...

, who in 1135 was transferred to the Patriarchate of Antioch. A series of late bishops—James, Peter and Thomas—were Dominicans. The last Latin archbishop, Volcardus, was an

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

. He never got to his see on account of the

Mameluke Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') i ...

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 in the subfamily Catantopinae The subfamily Catantopinae is a group of insects classified under family Acrididae. Genera such as '' Macrotona'' may someti ...

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 bishops 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 ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

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

South West Africa South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...

, 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 (Roman) rite *Bartholomew (fl. 1099–1108) *

Ralph Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

(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 (, pronounced locally as or ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is the eighth-largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the ...

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

San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...

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 (french: Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris, short M.E.P.) is a Roman Catholic missionary organization. It is not a religious institute, but an organization of secular priests and lay persons ...

, auxiliary of

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

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 born in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France on August 1, ...

, 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 in 20 ...

References

Sources

* * * {{refend Catholic titular sees in Asia Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch Cilicia (Roman province)