The diocese of Teurnia (or Tiburnia) was a

Chalcedonian Christian Chalcedonian Christianity is the branch of Christianity that accepts and upholds Christian theology, theological and ecclesiological resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon, the Fourth Ecumenical Council, held in 451. Chalcedonian Christianity ac ...

church in the

Roman 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 letter ...

province of

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celts, Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were th ...

during the 5th through 7th centuries. It is today 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 ...

in the

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 ...

Ancient diocese

There was a Christian population in

Teurnia Teurnia (later Tiburnia) was a Roman city (''municipium''). Today its ruins lie in western Carinthia. In late antiquity it was also a bishop's see, and towards the end of Roman times it was mentioned as the capital of the province of Noricum me ...

by the 4th century. Several Norican bishops—not identified by see—attended the

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 343. They were of the Chalcedonian persuasion and subject to the ecclesiastical province of Aquileia. The first identifiable church, the ''Friedhofskirche'', was built shortly after 400. Another church was built in the

refuge castle A refuge castleCreighton, Oliver (2015). ''Early European Castles''. Bloomsbury. or refuge fort (german: Fliehburg, also ''Fluchtburg'', ''Volksburg'', ''Bauernburg'' or ''Vryburg'') is a castle-like defensive location, usually surrounded by rampa ...

, and the whole diocese of Teurnia was dotted with such castles. A bishopric existed at Teurnia at least from the time of

Severinus of Noricum Severinus of Noricum ( 410 – 8 January 482) is a saint, known as the "Apostle to Noricum". It has been speculated that he was born in either Southern Italy or in the Roman province of Africa. Severinus himself refused to discuss his personal ...

(active in Noricum in 460–482), as attested in

Eugippius Eugippius (circa 460 – circa 535, Castellum Lucullanum) was a disciple and the biographer of Saint Severinus of Noricum. After the latter's death in 482, he took the remains to Naples and founded a monastery on the site of a 1st-century Roman ...

's ''Vita sancti Severini'' (511). The

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

was probably the church on the Holzerberg. There are numerous references to bishops of Teurnia from the 6th century. It is unclear if the bishop of Teurnia was the metropolitan archbishop of the province of

Noricum Mediterraneum Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, ...

, of which Teurnia was the metropolis, or even if he was the metropolitan of both Noricums. In 473, Severinus warned the bishop of Teurnia, Paulinus, of a coming barbarian attack, allowing the bishop to organize the defence of his city. Around 540, Teurnia was under

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

control and a Frankish bishop was appointing priests there.Matthias Hardt, "The Bavarians", in

Hans-Werner Goetz Hans-Werner Goetz (born 16 July 1947) is a German historian who is Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at the University of Hamburg. Biography Hans-Werner Goetz was born in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. From 1969 to 1974, Goetz studied history and E ...

Jörg Jarnut Jörg Jarnut (born 1 March 1942) is a German historian who was Chair of Medieval History at the University of Paderborn from 1983 to 2007. Biography Jörg Jarnut was born in Weimar, Germany on 1 March 1942. He gained his PhD at the University of ...

and

Walter Pohl Walter Pohl (born 27 December 1953, in Vienna) is an Austrian historian who is Professor of Auxiliary Sciences of History and Medieval History at the University of Vienna. He is a leading member of the Vienna School of History. Biography Walter ...

(eds.), ''Regna and Gentes: The Relationship Between Late Antique and Early Medieval Peoples and Kingdoms in the Transformation of the Roman World'' (Brill, 2003), p. 438n. The last mention of the city and diocese of Teurnia is from 591 in a letter of the

Venetic Venetic is an extinct Indo-European language, usually classified into the Italic subgroup, that was spoken by the Veneti people in ancient times in northeast Italy (Veneto and Friuli) and part of modern Slovenia, between the Po Delta and ...

and

Rhaetic Rhaetic or Raetic (), also known as Rhaetian, was a language spoken in the ancient region of Rhaetia in the eastern Alps in pre-Roman and Roman times. It is documented by around 280 texts dated from the 5th up until the 1st century BC, which wer ...

bishops. ;Residential bishops of Teurnia (incomplete) * Paulinus (473) * Leonianus (579?)

Titular see

In 1968, the archdiocese was nominally restored as metropolitan titular archbishopric of Tiburnia (in both Latin and Curiate Italian). It has had the following incumbents, most of archiepiscopal rank, with episcopal exception: * Emilio Benavent Escuín, Titular Archbishop of Tiburnia, 26 August 1968 – 3 February 1974 as

Coadjutor Archbishop The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

(Spain) (1968.08.26 – 1974.02.03); later succeeded as Metropolitan Archbishop of Granada (1974.02.03 – 1977.05.25), then Titular Archbishop of Maximiana in Numidia (1977.05.25 – 1998.03.07) as

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of Military Vicariate of Spain) (1977.05.25 – retired 1982.10.27) and on emeritate; died 2008; previously Titular Bishop of

Cercina Cercina () is a ''frazione'' (rural borough) of the municipality of Sesto Fiorentino, in the Metropolitan City of Florence, central Italy, located on the slopes of Mount Morello Monte Morello is the highest mountain (934 m.) in the Flore ...

(1954.12.06 – 1967.04.07) as Auxiliary Bishop of

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

(Balearic

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

) (1954.12.06 – 1967.04.07), succeeded as Bishop of Málaga (1967.04.07 – 1968.08.26) *

Donato Squicciarini Donato Squicciarini (24 April 1927 – 5 March 2006) was an Italian Catholic archbishop who acted as Nuncio to Austria from 1989 to 2002. Squicciarini was born at Altamura, Apulia on 24 April 1927. He was ordained priest 12 April 1952, and ordaine ...

, Titular Archbishop of Tiburnia 31 August 1978 – 5 March 2006 as papal diplomat : Apostolic Nuncio (ambassador) to

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

(1978.08.31 – 1981.09.16),

Apostolic Delegate An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; 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 o ...

(envoy) to

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

(1981.09.16 – 1982),

Apostolic Pro-Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; 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 org ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

(1981.09.16 – 1989.07.01), Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

(1981.09.16 – 1989.07.01), Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to

(1982 – 1989.07.01),

Permanent Observer Observer status is a privilege granted by some organizations to non-members to give them an ability to participate in the organization's activities. Observer status is often granted by intergovernmental organizations (IGO) to non-member parties and ...

(multilateral organisation ambassador) to Office of the United Nations and Specialized Institutions in Vienna (UNOV) (1989 – 1994), Permanent Observer to

United Nations Industrial Development Organization The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in e ...

(UNIDO) (1989 – 1994), Permanent Representative to

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...

(IAEA) (1989 – 1994), Apostolic Nuncio to Austria (1989.07.01 – retired 2002.10.08), died 2006 * ''

Víctor René Rodríguez Gómez Víctor is a Spanish masculine given name, equivalent to Victor in English and Vítor in Portuguese. Notable people with the given name include: *Víctor Cabrera (Argentine footballer) *Víctor Cabrera (Chilean footballer) * Víctor Hugo Cabrera, ...

, Titular Bishop of Tiburnia 13 May 2006 – 25 October 2012; born 17 November 1950 in

San Martín de las Pirámides San Martín de las Pirámides is a municipality in the State of Mexico in Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the Unit ...

; appointed Titular Bishop of Tiburnia as Auxiliary Bishop of Texcoco (

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

), 13 May 2006 - 25 October 2012; ordained Bishop of Tiburnia 25 July 2006; succeeded as Bishop

Valle de Chalco Valle de Chalco, officially named Valle de Chalco Solidaridad, is a municipality located in the State of Mexico, Mexico, on the eastern outskirts of the metropolitan area of Mexico City. Formerly part of the municipality of Chalco, it was split o ...

(25 October 2012 - ...) . *

Víctor Manuel Fernández Víctor Manuel Fernández (born 18 July 1962) is an Argentine prelate of the Catholic Church and a theologian. He served as rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina from December 2009 to April 2018. He was named Archbishop of Rom ...

, Titular Archbishop of Tiburnia since 13 May 2013 (one of the first nominations of

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

), already President of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina (December 2009.12 – ...). * Andrés Gabriel Ferrada Moreira, titular archbishop of Tiburnia since 8 September 2021.

Ancient diocese

Titular see

References

Further reading