Archdiocese Of Sardes
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The See of Sardis or Sardes ( el, Σάρδεις, ''Sardeis'') was an
episcopal see An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...
in the city of that name. It was one of the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse, held by
metropolitan bishop In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis. Originally, the term referred to the b ...
s since the middle to late 1st century,Otto F. A. Meinardus. 1974. "The Christian Remains of the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse." ''The Biblical Archaeologist''. Vol. 37, No. 3. p. 78–80. with jurisdiction over the province of
Lydia Lydia (Lydian language, Lydian: ‎𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the mod ...
, when this was formed in 295. After 1369 it became 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 ...
both for the
Greek Orthodox Church The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...
and 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 ...
.


History

According to the '' Menologion'', Clement, a disciple of
Paul of Tarsus Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
and one of the Seventy ( Philippians 4:3), was the first bishop of Sardis. Little is known about the ancient bishopric of Sardis, with the notable exception of Saint Melito, a contemporary of Marcus Aurelius from the 2nd century, whom some sources refer to as the second bishop of Sardis—citing the "improbability of seventy years in the episcopate"—making him the successor to the " angel of the church of Sardis" referenced in the New Testament ( Rev. 3:1-3), while other sources regard Melito himself as the "apostle" or "angel of the church of Sardis." In the Book of Revelation, Saint John writes a letter to the church of Sardis, reproaching it and its bishop. After
Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
reorganized the region in 295, Sardis became the capital of the province of Lydia, the seat of the governor and of the metropolitan archbishop. The Council of Rimini deposed Bishop Hortasius of Sardis in 359 because he had been ordained without the sanction of the bishops of Lydia.Sozomen et al., Edward Walford (trans.), 1855.
The Ecclesiastical History of Sozomen: Comprising a History of the Church from A.D. 324 to A.D. 440
'. Henry G. Bohn. p. 191.
The See had 27
suffragan bishop 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 ...
s (including the bishop of Thyatira and Philadelphia) in the 7th century, and approximately that number until the end of the 10th century. There is only one known
epigraphic Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...
reference to the see of Sardis, dated to the 5th or 6th century. A 1959 landslide revealed several ecclesiastical artifacts and a throne that archaeologists postulated may have been used by the bishops of Sardis. The first systemic investigation of the ruins of Sardis came in 1910 with an expedition from Princeton University. Excavations in 1912 revealed a small "Church M", containing coins which were dated to the 5th century and an apse overhanging one of the earliest known Christian altars, near the north eastern corner of the Temple of Artemis. Arabs sacked Sardis in 716, but the city remained a part of a resurgent Roman ( Byzantine) Empire until the aftermath of 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 th ...
in 1071. Euthymius, a Metropolitan Bishop of Sardis, was martyred in 824 in relation to iconoclasm.


East-West schism

In 1118, Byzantine general Philocales recaptured Sardis from the Seljuk
Sultanate of Rum fa, سلجوقیان روم () , status = , government_type = Hereditary monarchyTriarchy (1249–1254)Diarchy (1257–1262) , year_start = 1077 , year_end = 1308 , p1 = By ...
. Andronikos], Bishop of Sardis c. 1283, made several attempts at East-West Schism, East-West reunification. The
Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
captured Sardis in 1306; the city was destroyed by Timur in 1402.Turkey forYou, 2006.
History of Sardis
"
The Metropolitan of Sardis, who had once ranked sixth in precedence in the Eastern church, continued to hold that rank into the 13th century, long after Sardis had shrunk to a village which was no longer a regional locus of power. In 1369, Philadelphia replaced Sardis as the see of the
metropolitan bishop In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis. Originally, the term referred to the b ...
, Sardis having been suppressed by the
Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...
. However, a bearer of the title of Metropolitan of Sardis, Dionysius, participated in the
Council of Florence The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1449. It was convoked as the Council of Basel by Pope Martin V shortly before his death in February 1431 and took place in ...
in 1438, but died before its conclusion and thus was not asked to sign its decree. From the 17th century, there were appointments of Roman Catholic archbishops of Sardis as a see '' in partibus infidelium'', meaning "within territory held by the infidels" (the Muslims), a term replaced in 1882 by that of "titular see". No new such appointments have been made to this eastern see since the Second Vatican Council.


Metropolitan bishops

One of the first scholarly listings of the bishops of Sardis is given by Michel Le Quien in ''Oriens christianus in quatuor patriarchatus digestus, in quo exhibentur Ecclesiae patriarchae caeterique praesules totius Orientis'' (abbreviated ''Oriens Christ.''), published posthumously in 1740. * Clement ( Philippians 4.3) * Melito of Sardis, c. 180 * Hieromartyr
Therapont of Sardis Therapont, Therapontos (Θεράποντος, also Therapontus, Ferapont) is a Greek given name. "Therapontos" is genitive for '' therapon''. "Therapontos" also may be usead as a surname. "Ferapont" was a common Russian name of Russian Orthodox t ...
, c. 259 * Heortasius (or Hortasius) (deposed in 359 by the Council of Ariminum) * Maeonius of Sardis fl 431 attendee at
Council of Ephesus The Council of Ephesus was a council of Christian bishops convened in Ephesus (near present-day Selçuk in Turkey) in AD 431 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius II. This third ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the church th ...
*
Florentin Florentin or Florentín (from Latin ''Florentinus'') can be a given name or surname. It is found as a given name among Romanian, German, French and Spanish speakers. The latter also use it as a surname. People Given name * Florentin Crihălmea ...
(or Florentius), c. the 448 Synod of Constantinople *Hieromartyr Euthymius, c. 787—December 26, 824 *John, successor of Euthymius *Peter, c. 835 *Euthymios, 10th century *Andronikos of Sardis, Andronikos, c. 1283—1315, deposed for being an Arsenios Autoreianos, Arsenite *Dionysius, c. the 1438
Council of Florence The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1449. It was convoked as the Council of Basel by Pope Martin V shortly before his death in February 1431 and took place in ...
* Germanos Troianos, c. 1923 * Maximos, 1946–1986 * Evangelos Kourounis, 2020-present (formerly of New Jersey)


Catholic titular archbishops

* Carlo Rossetti, c. 1641 *Invitti, c. 1726 *Binkentios Coressi (October 12, 1814 — March 7, 1835) ** Stabilini (1831–1834) *Jean-Marie Mioland (April 2, 1849 — September 29, 1851) *Pietro Gianelli (April 5, 1858 — March 15, 1875) *Bernardino del Vago, c. 1879 *Vicenzo Vannutelli (January 23, 1880 — June 23, 1890)Sardes
"
*Salvatore Palmieri (December 14, 1891 — October 1, 1892) *Giulio Tonti (July 15, 1893 — October 1, 1894) *Benedetto Lorenzelli (November 30, 1896 — November 14, 1904) *Giuseppe Aversa (May 25, 1906 — April 12, 1917) *Pope Pius XII, Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (April 20, 1917 — March 16, 1929)Marchione, Sr. Margherita, 2004. Man of Peace: An Abridged Life of Pope Pius XII. Paulist Press. . p. 11. *Arthur Hinsley (January 9, 1930 — April 1, 1935) *Antonino Arata (July 11, 1935 — August 25, 1948) *Giovanni Urbani (November 27, 1948 — April 14, 1955) *Giuseppe Maria Sensi (May 21, 1955 — May 24, 1976)


See also

* Byzantine churches at Sardis


References

{{reflist, 2 Dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Sardis Turkish Roman Catholic archbishops, Sardis Catholic titular sees in Asia, Sardes Geography of ancient Lydia Apostolic sees Sardis