Beroea (or Berea) was an ancient city of the

Hellenistic period In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 3 ...

and

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

now known as

Veria Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of I ...

(or Veroia) in Macedonia,

Northern Greece Northern Greece ( el, Βόρεια Ελλάδα, Voreia Ellada) is used to refer to the northern parts of Greece, and can have various definitions. Administrative regions of Greece Administrative term The term "Northern Greece" is widely used ...

. It is a small city on the eastern side of the

Vermio Mountains The Vermio Mountains ( el, Βέρμιο), known in antiquity as the Bermion ( el, Βέρμιον), is a mountain range in northern Greece. It lies between the Imathia Regional Unit of the Central Macedonia Region and the Kozani Regional Unit of ...

north of

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...

. The town is mentioned in the ''

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...

'' as a place in which the apostles

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

Silas Silas or Silvanus (; Greek: Σίλας/Σιλουανός; fl. 1st century AD) was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who according to the New Testament accompanied Paul the Apostle on his second missionary journey. Name and et ...

and Timothy preached the Christian Gospel.

Location

Berea was in southwestern Macedonia. The city's foundation stood where

, or Kar-Verria, in Greece is today. Its a unique position has had a variety of terrain surrounding the city since then. Berea sat at the base of Mount Bermius, which is part of the Vermio Mountains and provides an ample supply of water for the city and the region. The main sources of water were the

Haliacmon The Haliacmon ( el, Αλιάκμονας, ''Aliákmonas''; formerly: , ''Aliákmon'' or ''Haliákmōn'') is the longest river flowing entirely in Greece, with a total length of . In Greece there are three rivers longer than Haliakmon, Maritsa ( e ...

and

Axios Axios commonly refers to: * Axios (river), a river that runs through Greece and North Macedonia * ''Axios'' (website), an American news and information website Axios may also refer to: Brands and enterprises * Axios, a brand of suspension produ ...

Rivers, which supported

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...

and

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the p ...

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...

s. The area is prosperous with a

hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

on the Haliacmon powering the area's industrial sector.

History

The city is reputed to have been named by its

myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), ...

ical founder Beres (also spelled Pheres) or from the daughter of the king of Berroia, who was thought to be the son of

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...

. A city of the same name that is mentioned in a section of

Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientifi ...

's history, which dates it to be around 432 BC. In

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

's history there were two insertions about an inscription that dates the city back to the later part of the 4th century BC. No one has verified the historical date of the establishment of the city although it has been known to have been surrendered to the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

from the Macedonians after the

Battle of Pydna The Battle of Pydna took place in 168 BC between Rome and Macedon during the Third Macedonian War. The battle saw the further ascendancy of Rome in the Hellenistic world and the end of the Antigonid line of kings, whose power traced back to ...

in 168 BC. Veria enjoyed great prosperity under the kings of the Argead Dynasty, whose most famous member was

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

, who made it their second-most important city after

Pella Pella ( el, Πέλλα) is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is best-known for serving as the capital city of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, and was the birthplace of Alexander the Great. On site of the ancient cit ...

. Veria reached the height of its glory and influence in the

, during the reign of the

Antigonid Dynasty The Antigonid dynasty (; grc-gre, Ἀντιγονίδαι) was a Hellenistic dynasty of Dorian Greek provenance, descended from Alexander the Great's general Antigonus I Monophthalmus ("the One-Eyed") that ruled mainly in Macedonia. History ...

. During that time, Veria became the seat of the

Koinon of Macedonians The League of the Macedonians ( el, Κοινὸν τῶν Μακεδόνων, ''Koinòn tōn Makedónōn'') was a confederationally-organized commonwealth institution (i.e., an ancient Greek regional state or ''koinon'') consisting of all Maced ...

(Κοινόν Μακεδόνων), minted its own

coinage Coinage may refer to: * Coins, standardized as currency * Neologism, coinage of a new word * '' COINage'', numismatics magazine * Tin coinage, a tax on refined tin * Protologism ''Protologism'' is a term coined in 2003 by the American literary ...

and held sports games named ''Alexandreia'' in honour of Alexander the Great, with

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

s from all over

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

competing in them. The city was the first

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

of the Macedonian region to fall to the

, after the

in 168 BC. In the 1st, century there were two major roads joining the towns of

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

and Beroea, one of them passing close to the ancient city of Pella. There are some assumptions that the Apostle Paul used that route when he visited Beroea. Within the city there was a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

settlement in which Paul, after he had left

, and his companion

preached to the Jewish and Greek communities of the city in AD 50/51 or 54/55. In the 7th century, the Slavic tribe of the

Drougoubitai The Drougoubitai, also Drogobitai or Dragobitai ( gr, Δρο ��ο ��ῖται/Δραγοβῖται), variously anglicized as Drugubites, Drogubites, Druguvites, Draguvites etc., were a South Slavic group (''Sclaveni'') who settled in the Balkans i ...

raided the lowlands below the city, and in the late-8th century, Empress

Irene of Athens Irene of Athens ( el, Εἰρήνη, ; 750/756 – 9 August 803), surname Sarantapechaina (), was Byzantine empress consort to Emperor Leo IV from 775 to 780, regent during the childhood of their son Constantine VI from 780 until 790, co-ruler ...

is said to have rebuilt and expanded the city and named it Irenopolis after herself, but some sources place that Berrhoea-Irenopolis further east. For subsequent history, see History of Veria.

New Testament references

Paul, Silas, and Timothy traveled to Beroea by night after fleeing from

, as recorded in . They 'immediately' went to the

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

to preach, and the Beroeans were accepting; the writer of the

noted the difference between the Thessalonians' response to the

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

and the Beroeans' response: the Beroeans were 'open-minded' or 'fair-minded' and willing to 'examine the

scriptures Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...

to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth'. Many of the Beroeans believed, both men and women, but when the Jewish Thessalonian non-believers heard about that, they came to Beroea; stirred up crowds; started riots and ensured that Paul, Silas, and Timothy could not preach. Then, the believers sent Paul to the coast while Timothy and Silas stayed behind. Paul was taken to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, and word was given to Timothy and Silas to join him as soon as possible. () Paul and Silas ministered to the

community of Beroea around 54 and 55 A.D. The two men had been driven out of the city of Thessalonica by an angry mob for spreading the gospel there. Paul and Silas made their journey from Thessalonica to Beroea by night (). It is also said that Timothy, a student of Paul, joined him during the journey to Beroea. The people of Beroea were more accepting than the people of Thessalonica of the message from the Apostle and his companions. The community was said to consider carefully what they learned from Paul before truly believing it (). After Paul, Silas and the other members of their group had spent several days in Beroea, some Jews from Thessalonica got word that Paul and Silas were preaching in Beroea and stirred up trouble, and Paul was again forced to leave. Some members of the congregation helped Paul to get to Athens, but Silas and Timothy stayed in Beroea, then later caught up with Paul in the city of

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...

(). Later,

Sopater Sopater Orr, James, M. A., D. D. General EditorSopater ''International Standard Bible Encyclopedia''. 1915. Retrieved December 9, 2005. ( el, Σώπατρος, ''Sṓpatros'') was the son of Pyrhus,bishopric 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 ...

at Beroea goes back to the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

. The former

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, pro ...

of the ancient city of Beroea was within the Roman province of Macedonia, in today's northern Greece. Presently the diocese is part of the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

. The

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

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 ...

of ''Berrhoea'', centred on northern Greece, is today a vacant

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 ...

History

Onesimus Onesimus ( grc-gre, Ὀνήσιμος, Onēsimos, meaning "useful"; died , according to Catholic tradition), also called Onesimus of Byzantium and The Holy Apostle Onesimus in the Eastern Orthodox Church, was probably a slave to Philemon of Colo ...

, formerly Philemon's slave, was its first bishop according to the ''

Apostolic Constitutions The ''Apostolic Constitutions'' or ''Constitutions of the Holy Apostles'' (Latin: ''Constitutiones Apostolorum'') is a Christian collection divided into eight books which is classified among the Church Orders, a genre of early Christian litera ...

'' (VII, 46). Known bishops attended ecclesiastical councils: Gerontius took part in the

Council of Sardica The Council of Serdica, or Synod of Serdica (also Sardica located in modern day Sofia, Bulgaria), was a synod convened in 343 at Serdica in the civil diocese of Dacia, by Emperors Constans I, augustus in the West, and Constantius II, augustus in t ...

(c. 344), Lucas in the

Second Council of Ephesus The Second Council of Ephesus was a Christological church synod in 449 AD convened by Emperor Theodosius II under the presidency of Pope Dioscorus I of Alexandria. It was intended to be an ecumenical council, and it is accepted as such by the mi ...

(449), Sebastian in 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, Bith ...

(451), Timothy in the synod convoked by the patriarch

Menas of Constantinople Menas (Minas) ( grc, Μηνάς) (died 25 August 552) considered a saint in the Calcedonian affirming church and by extension both the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church of our times, was born in Alexandria, and enters the recor ...

in 536, and Joseph in the Fourth Council of Constantinople (869) that condemned

Photius 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 ...

. The Byzantine emperor

Michael VIII Palaiologos Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Μιχαὴλ Δούκας Ἄγγελος Κομνηνὸς Παλαιολόγος, Mikhaēl Doukas Angelos Komnēnos Palaiologos; 1224 – 11 December 1282) reigned as the co-emperor of the Empire ...

promoted the local see to an

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 ...

after 1261, and it advanced further to the rank of a

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a t ...

by 1300. Berrhoea is listed by the Roman Catholic Church as a titular see. At the time of the last partition of the empire, it was allotted to Macedonia Prima, and its see made suffragan to

. Under

Andronicus II , image = Andronikos II Palaiologos2.jpg , caption = Miniature from the manuscript of George Pachymeres' ''Historia'' , succession = Byzantine emperor , reign = 11 December 1282 –24 May 1328 , coronation = 8 Novembe ...

(1283–1328) Beroea was made a metropolis. The Greek metropolitans added the title of Naoussa, a neighbouring city. It has about 10,000 inhabitants.

Known bishops

Amongst its bishops were: * The

Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

*Gerontius was present at

Council of Serdica The Council of Serdica, or Synod of Serdica (also Sardica located in modern day Sofia, Bulgaria), was a synod convened in 343 at Serdica in the civil diocese of Dacia, by Emperors Constans I, augustus in the West, and Constantius II, augustus in ...

in 344 *Luke at the

in 449 *Timothy at the Council of Constantinople under the Patriarch Menas in 536, *Joseph at the Fourth Council of Constantinople in 869 *un-named Catholic bishop in 1235

Catholic titular bishops of Berrhoea

* Alfredo Ottaviani (April 5, 1962April 19, 1962 ) * Pierre-Auguste-Marie-Joseph Douillard (May 22, 1963August 20, 1963) * Friedrich Kaiser Depel (October 29, 1963September 26, 1993)entry in '' catholic-hierarchy.org '' (English)
/ref>

Location

History

New Testament references

History

Known bishops

Catholic titular bishops of Berrhoea

See also

References

Further reading