Hypselis or Hypsela ( grc, Ύψηλή; cop, ϣⲱⲧⲡ), known to the
ancient Egyptians as Shashotep, is an ancient Egyptian city and
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 lette ...
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 ...
, which was located near the modern town of Shutb (or ash-Shatb, Chutb) in the
Asyut Governorate
AsyutAlso spelled ''Assiout'' or ''Assiut'' ( ar, أسيوط ' , from ' ) is the capital of the modern Asyut Governorate in Egypt. It was built close to the ancient city of the same name, which is situated nearby. The modern city is located at ...
.
History
Antiquity
''Shashotep'' is first mentioned in texts dating back to the
First Intermediate Period. During the subsequent
Middle Kingdom it was the main town of the
11th Upper Egyptian nome.
The main deity of ancient Shashotep was
Khnum
Khnum or also romanised Khnemu (; egy, 𓎸𓅱𓀭 ẖnmw, grc-koi, Χνοῦβις) was one of the earliest-known Egyptian deities, originally the god of the source of the Nile. Since the annual flooding of the Nile brought with it silt an ...
, who was sometimes called "Lord of Shashotep".
The cemeteries near the modern place
Rifeh
Rifeh or Deir Rifeh (also known as Rifa) is a village in Egypt. The name refers today most often to a series of ancient Egyptian cemeteries nearby. These are the burial grounds of the ancient town Shashotep. The cemeteries date from the end of th ...
, once belonged to the town.
[ Later, the city became known by the Greeks as ''Hypselis''.][
]
Titular see
During Roman time, and before fading into the desert, the city became one of the suffragan sees of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Antinoë, capital of the province of Thebais Prima
The Thebaid or Thebais ( grc-gre, Θηβαΐς, ''Thēbaïs'') was a region in ancient Egypt, comprising the 13 southernmost nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos to Aswan.
Pharaonic history
The Thebaid acquired its name from its proximity to ...
. The diocese was nominally restored in 1933 as Latin Titular bishopric
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 ...
by the names of ''Hypselis'' / ''Ipseli''. It is vacant since 1997, following the death of its last bishop, Jesús Serrano Pastor.GCatholic
/ref>
See also
*
* List of Catholic dioceses in Egypt
The Catholic Church in Egypt is presently composed of an exempt Latin missionary jurisdiction and 14 Eastern Catholic (arch)eparchies (mainly the Coptic Catholic Patriarchate's province), but also yielded over 90 titular sees.
Current dioceses ...
* Apollonopolis Parva (Hypselis)
References
Catholic titular sees in Africa
Cities in ancient Egypt
Former populated places in Egypt
Suppressed Roman Catholic dioceses
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