The Archdiocese of Rhodes ( la, Archidioecesis Rhodiensis) is a
Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or
archdiocese
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
Catholic Church in
Greece. The archdiocese is directly
exempt to the
Holy See and not part of an
ecclesiastical province. It was at various times a
titular see and later a
metropolitan see. It has its
cathedra
A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...
within
St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral in the eponymous capital of the island of
Rhodes.
One former
cathedral of "Our Lady of the Castle" was turned into a
mosque during the Ottoman period and is now a museum, the other former cathedral of St. John was turned into a Greek Orthodox church.
History
An ancient diocese was established in Rhodes around 200 AD and promoted to Metropolitan Archdiocese around 400 AD. It continues as the
Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Rhodes
The Metropolis of Rhodes ( el, Ιερά Μητρόπολις Ρόδου) is the Greek Orthodox metropolitan see covering the island of Rhodes in the Dodecanese island group in Greece. It belongs to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Ecumenical ...
.
A
Catholic see was established on the island when it became the seat of the
Knights Hospitaller in 1308 following
their conquest of Rhodes. In 1523, with the
fall of the island to the
Ottoman Empire, it was suppressed as a residential diocese but turned into a
titular see.
On March 28, 1928, it was restored as non-metropolitan, exempt Archdiocese of Rhodos on the territory of the suppressed
Apostolic Prefecture of Rhodes and adjacent islands.
Episcopal ordinaries
; Metropolitan Archbishops of Rhodes
* Belijan (? – 1324.09.26), later Metropolitan Archbishop of
Salona (Croatia) (1324.09.26 – 1328.01.28)
* Ugo de Scuria,
Friars Minor (O.F.M.) (1351.06.20 – 1361.12.15), later Metropolitan Archbishop of
Ragusa Ragusa is the historical name of Dubrovnik. It may also refer to:
Places Croatia
* the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa
* Cavtat (historically ' in Italian), a town in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Cro ...
(Croatia) (1361.12.15 – 1370.07.12), finally Archbishop-Bishop of
Ostuni (Italy) (1370.07.12 – death 1374)
*
*
*
...
; Titular Archbishops of Rhodes''
*
...
*
Francesco Niccolini, (1685.09.10 – 1692.02.04)
...
*
; Exempt Archbishops of Rhodes''
* Archbishop
Florido Ambrogio Acciari,
Friars Minor (O.F.M.) as
Apostolic Administrator (1928 – 1929)
*
Giovanni Maria Emilio Castellani, O.F.M. (1929.01.15 – 1937.03.25)
* Friar
Pier Crisologo Fabi, O.F.M. as Apostolic Administrator (1937 – 1938)
*
Florido Ambrogio Acciari, O.F.M. (1938.03.30 – 1970.03.10)
* Friar
Michail-Petros Franzidis,
O.F.M. as Apostolic Administrator (1970 – 1992)
* Archbishop
Nikolaos Foskolos as Apostolic Administrator (1992 – 2014)
*
Sevastianos Rossolatos
Sevastianos Rossolatos ( el, Σεβαστιανός Ροσσολάτος; born 19 June 1944) is a Greek Roman Catholic prelate who was Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Athens and Apostolic Administrator of the Roman Catholic Arc ...
as Apostolic Administrator (12 August 2014 – 14 July 2021)
*
Theodoros Kontidis
Theodoros Kontidis S.J. ( gr, Θεόδωρος Κοντίδης; born March 11, 1956) is the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Athens, apostolic administrator of Archdiocese of Rhodes and a Jesuit priest. He was appointed to the episcopate as Archbi ...
,
S.J. as Apostolic Administrator (14 July 2021 – present)
See also
*
Roman Catholicism in Greece
*
Panagia tou Kastrou
Panagia tou Kastrou ( el, Παναγία του Κάστρου, Panagía tou Kástrou, Panagia of the Castle), also known as Our Lady of the Castle is a medieval Greek Orthodox church in the city of Rhodes, in Rhodes, Greece. It is located inside ...
References
;Sources
GCatholic.org, with episcopal incumbent biography linksDiocese website
Former Roman Catholic dioceses in Europe
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rhodes
Roman Catholic dioceses in Greece
Christian organizations established in 1928
Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century
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