Aprus or Apros ( grc, Ἄπρος), also Apri or Aproi (Ἄπροι), was a town of

ancient Thrace The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

and, later, a

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 ...

city established in the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

of Europa.

History

Stephanus of Byzantium collects a quote of

Theopompus Theopompus ( grc-gre, Θεόπομπος, ''Theópompos''; c. 380 BCc. 315 BC) was an ancient Greek historian and rhetorician. Biography Theopompus was born on the Aegean island of Chios. In early youth, he seems to have spent some time at Athen ...

that mentions Aprus.

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

notes that Aprus is situated in the interior of Thrace, 22 M.P. from Resisto (likely the same as Bisanthe), 50

Roman mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 Engli ...

s from

Bizya Vize ( el, Βιζύη, bg, Виза) is a town and district of Kırklareli Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. The district governor is Elif Canan Tuncer, and the mayor is Ercan Özalp ( CHP). According to the Turkish Statistical Institu ...

and 180 Roman miles from Philippi. The city was re-founded as Colonia Claudia Aprensis in the mid-1st century AD, probably in connection with the emperor Claudius's annexation of

Thracia Thracia or Thrace ( ''Thrakē'') is the ancient name given to the southeastern Balkan region, the land inhabited by the Thracians. Thrace was ruled by the Odrysian kingdom during the Classical and Hellenistic eras, and briefly by the Greek D ...

, and was intended for retired members of the Roman military. It was situated on the

Via Egnatia The Via Egnatia was a road constructed by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. It crossed Illyricum, Macedonia, and Thracia, running through territory that is now part of modern Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, and European Turkey as a continu ...

that ran from the Adriatic coast in the province of Illyricum to Byzantium, the city that was to become

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

. In the 4th century, Aprus was the principal city of the region southwest of Heraclea, the capital of the province. The city was called Theodosiopolis in documents of the 6th century, in honour of

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after the death of his ...

, emperor from 401 to 450, or of

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...

(347–395). After the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade (1204), the

Henry of Flanders Henry (c.1178 – 11 June 1216) was Latin emperor of Constantinople from 1205 until his death in 1216. He was one of the leaders of the Fourth Crusade in which the Byzantine Empire was conquered and Latin Empire formed. Life Henry was born i ...

, brother of Baldwin I, attacked the city and behaved savagely towards the citizens. The

Latin Empire The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzant ...

made

Theodore Branas Theodore Branas or Vranas ( el, , ''Theodōros Branas''), sometimes called Theodore Komnenos Branas, was a general under the Byzantine Empire and afterwards under the Latin Empire of Constantinople. Under the Latin regime he was given the title Ca ...

(called Li Vernas by

Geoffroi de Villehardouin Geoffrey of Villehardouin (c. 1150 – c. 1213) was a French knight and historian who participated in and chronicled the Fourth Crusade. He is considered one of the most important historians of the time period,Smalley, p. 131 best known for w ...

) lord of Aprus. In 1206, Tsar Kaloyan of Bulgaria destroyed the city, but Branas rebuilt it. In the

Battle of Apros The Battle of Apros occurred between the forces of the Byzantine Empire, under co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos, and the forces of the Catalan Company, at Apros on July 1305. The Catalan Company had been hired by the Byzantines as mercenaries ...

of July 1305, the

Catalan Company The Catalan Company or the Great Catalan Company (Spanish: ''Compañía Catalana'', Catalan: ''Gran Companyia Catalana'', Latin: ''Exercitus francorum'', ''Societas exercitus catalanorum'', ''Societas cathalanorum'', ''Magna Societas Catalanorum' ...

annihilated the Byzantine imperial army under

Michael IX Palaiologos , image = 154 - Michael IX Palaiologos (Mutinensis - color).png , caption = 15th-century portrait of Michael IX (from a 15th-century codex containing a copy of the ''Extracts of History'' by Joannes Zonaras) , succession ...

Site

Its location is near the modern Turkish village of Kermeyan.

Name

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

n the town is known as Garin, In

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Karenitis and in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

as Kalikelah. The

s named the town Colonia Claudia Aprensis, and the Byzantines called it Apros and latter Theodosiopolis.

Ecclesiastical history

The former archbishopric was a double Catholic titular archbishopric - under the name Theodosiopolis ante Apri it was the only Bulgarian Catholic

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 archbis ...

, but has been suppressed as such, yet it remains a Latin titular see as Aprus.

Archbishopric

In a ''

Notitia Episcopatuum The ''Notitiae Episcopatuum'' (singular: ''Notitia Episcopatuum'') are official documents that furnish Eastern countries the list and hierarchical rank of the metropolitan and suffragan bishoprics of a church. In the Roman Church (the -mostly Lati ...

'' of about 640, the bishopric appears as an

autocephalous Autocephaly (; from el, αὐτοκεφαλία, meaning "property of being self-headed") is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern O ...

archdiocese and as the 22nd in order of precedence among 34 sees dependent upon the

Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...

. Perhaps due to error, it is missing from the next such document, composed at the start of the 10th century, but reappears in the middle of the same century. In the 15th century it was dropped from the official lists of the dioceses dependent on the Patriarchate of Constantinople.Michel Lequien
''Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus''
Paris 1740, Vol. I, coll. 1125-1128 No longer a residential diocese, it has been listed by 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 ...

as a double

, but remains only Latin''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. 836

Latin titular see

No later than 1848, the diocese was nominally restored as a Latin Episcopal as

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 ...

under the names of Theodosiopolis (Latin) / Teodosiopoli (Curiate Italian) / Apri / Apros / Aprus. It was repeatedly renamed : in 1926 as Titular Episcopal See of Theodosiopolis (Latin) / Teodosiopoli d’Europa (Italian) / Apri / Apros / Aprus; in 1929 as Titular Episcopal See of Theodosiopolis (Latin) / Teodosiopoli di Frigia (Italian) and in 1930 as Titular Episcopal See of Theodosiopolis (Latin) / Teodosiopoli d’Europa (Italian) / Apri / Apros / Aprus. In 1931 it was suppressed, having had the following incumbents, ''however none of the then fitting Episcopal (lowest) rank, all of the higher (and present) Archiepiscopal (intermediary) rank : * Antonius Merciai,

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of ...

(O.P.) (?Italian?) (1848.12.11 – death 1850.10.22), no prelature * Giovanni Tommaso Neuschel (1852.09.17 – death 1863.12.10) (born Italy) as emeritate and promoted for the former Titular Bishop of

Troas Troas may refer to: Places * The Troad, historical name for a region in the northwestern part of Anatolia * Alexandria Troas, a Hellenistic and Roman city in Anatolia * Troaș, a village in Săvârșin Commune, Arad County, Romania * Troaș, a r ...

(1828 – 1828.09.30), Bishop of

Guastalla Guastalla ( Guastallese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Reggio Emilia in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Geography Guastalla is situated in the Po Valley, and lies on the banks of the Po River. Guastalla is located at around from the citie ...

(Italy) (1828.09.30 – 1836.11.21), Bishop of Borgo San Donnino (Italy) (1836.11.21 – 1843.01.27), Bishop of

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

(Italy) (1843.01.27 – retired 1852.09.17) * Henri-Marie Amanton, O.P. (born France) (1865.03.11 – death 1869.10.12) as emeritate and promotion for the papal diplomat, former Titular Bishop of Arcadiopolis (1857.03.10 – 1865.03.11) as

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 ...

to Mesopotamia, Kurdistan and Lesser Armenia (1857.03.10 – 1865.03.27) * Josyf Sembratovyc (1882.12.22 – death 1900.10.23) as emeritate, previously Titular Archbishop of Nazianzus (1865.03.24 – 1870.06.27) as

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic adm ...

of Przemyśl of the Ukrainians (

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

) (1867.10.01 – 1870.06.27), Metropolitan of Lviv of the Ukrainians (Ukraine) (1870.06.27 – 1882.11.11) * Pietro Maglione (1900.12.17 – death 1903.04.13) (born Italy), as emeritate and promotion, previously Bishop of

Cariati Cariati () is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. Cariati is divided into two parts: Cariati Superiore, situated on top of a hill, and Cariati Marina, which is stretched along the Ionian c ...

(Italy) (1874.06.15 – 1876.12.18), Bishop of Capaccio–Vallo (Italy) (1876.12.18 – 1900.12.17) * Nicola Marconi,

Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...

O.F.M. (1911.01.21 – death 1930.04.11) (born Italy) as emeritate and promotion for the former Bishop of

Pult Pult or Pulat ( sq-definite, Pulti or Pulati), is a region in northern Albania. It is bordered by the Malësia Region to its north and by the Dukagjin Highlands to its east and its south. The region has traditionally been inhabited by the Plan ...

(

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

) (1890.12.23 – 1911.01.21). In 1933 however, it was restored, renamed and promoted as

Titular archbishopric 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 ...

of Aprus (Latin) / Apro (Italian) / Apren(sis) (Latin adjective). It has been vacant for several decades, having had the following incumbents, so far of the now fitting Archiepiscopal (intermediary) rank; * Giuseppe Lojacono (1939.06.01 – death 1945.03.13) (born Italy) as emeritate and promotion for the former Bishop of Ariano (Italy) (1918.11.04 – 1939.06.01) * Ercolano Marini (1945.10.03 – 1945.10.27) (born Italy) as emeritate, previously Titular Bishop of Archelaïs (1904.06.29 – 1905.12.11) as Auxiliary Bishop of

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome. History Spolet ...

(Italy) (1904.06.29 – 1905.12.11), Bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Norcia (Italy) (1905.12.11 – 1915.06.02), Archbishop of

Amalfi Amalfi (, , ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 metres, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramati ...

(Italy) (1915.06.02 – 1945.10.27); however quickly 'transferred' Titular Archbishop of

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart of Cilicia, wh ...

(1945.10.27 – 1950.11.16) * Arthur Hughes,

White Fathers , image = Cardinal Lavigerie.jpg , caption = Charles Lavigerie , abbreviation = M.Afr. , nickname = White Fathers , formation = , founder = Archbishop Charles-Martial Allem ...

(M. Afr.) (born England, UK) (1947.08.23 – death 1949.07.12) as papal diplomat : Apostolic Internuncio to Egypt (1947.08.23 – 1949.07.12); previously (honorary) Titular Bishop of

Hieropolis Hierapolis (; grc, Ἱεράπολις, lit. "Holy City") was originally a Phrygian cult centre of the Anatolian mother goddess of Cybele and later a Greek city. Its location was centred upon the remarkable and copious hot springs in classica ...

(1945.03.03 – 1947.08.23) * Philip Francis Pocock (1951.08.06 – 1952.01.14) (born Canada) 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: * Coad ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

(Canada) (1951.08.06 – 1952.01.14); later succeeding as Archbishop of Winnipeg (1952.01.14 – 1961.02.18), Titular Archbishop of

Isauropolis Isauropolis ( grc, Ἰσαυρόπολις) was a Roman and Byzantine-era town in southern Turkey. Possibly also known as Isaura Vetus, the city was in the Anatolian countryside of what was Lycaonia in today's southern Turkey and may have been t ...

(1961.02.18 – 1971.03.30) as Coadjutor Archbishop of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

(Ontario, Canada) (1961.02.18 – 1971.03.30) succeeding as Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto (Canada) (1971.03.30 – 1978.04.29); previously Bishop of

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...

(Canada) (1944.04.07 – 1951.08.06) * Antonio Gregorio Vuccino, Assumptionists (A.A.) (?Italian?) (1952.07.06 – 1968.04.23) as emeritate, previously Bishop of

Syros Syros ( el, Σύρος ), also known as Siros or Syra, is a Greek island in the Cyclades, in the Aegean Sea. It is south-east of Athens. The area of the island is and it has 21,507 inhabitants (2011 census). The largest towns are Ermoupoli, An ...

(insular Greece) (1937.06.09 – 1947.05.29), Metropolitan Archbishop of Corfu–Zakynthos–Kefalonia (insular Greece) (1947.05.29 – 1952.07.06).

Bulgarian Catholic titular see

No later than 1907, it was also and separately restored as the only-ever titular see of the particular

Bulgarian Byzantine Catholic Church The Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church ( bg, Църква на съединените с Рим българи; la, Ecclesiae Graecae Catholico Bulgarica), sometimes called, in reference to its Byzantine Rite, the Bulgarian Byzantine Catholic C ...

(Bulgarian Catholics of the Byzantine Rite) as

of Theodosiopolis ante Apri (Latin) / Teodosiopoli (Curiate Italian). In 1924 it was suppressed, having had a single incumbent of the fitting Archiepiscopal (intermediary) rank : * Michail Miroff (1907.01.08 – death 1923), no actual prelature.

References

Sources

*
GCatholic - Latin titular see

{{Authority control Populated places in ancient Thrace Catholic titular sees in Europe Archaeological sites in the Marmara Region Former populated places in Turkey History of Tekirdağ Province Roman sites in Turkey Coloniae (Roman)