The Bishopric of Samland (Sambia) (german: Bistum Samland, pl, Diecezja sambijska) was a

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 ...

in Samland (Sambia) in medieval Prussia. It was founded as a

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 let ...

diocese in 1243 by papal legate

William of Modena William of Modena ( – 31 March 1251), also known as ''William of Sabina'', ''Guglielmo de Chartreaux'', ''Guglielmo de Savoy'', ''Guillelmus'', was an Italian clergyman and papal diplomat.

. Its seat was

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...

, until 1523 the episcopal residence was in Fischhausen. The bishopric became

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

in the 16th century during the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

and was eventually dissolved following the establishment of

Ducal Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the region of Prussia establishe ...

, a Protestant vassal duchy of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...

. The territory of the defunct bishopric of Samland came nominally under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic

bishopric of Warmia The Prince-Bishopric of Warmia ( pl, Biskupie Księstwo Warmińskie; german: Fürstbistum Ermland) was a semi-independent ecclesiastical state, ruled by the incumbent ordinary of the Warmia see and comprising one third of the then diocesan ar ...

in the 17th century, and the title of bishop of Samland was occasionally used by Warmian bishops. From 1617 to 1773, the Bishops of Warmia were the Catholic Apostolic administrators of Sambia. In 1821 Pope Pius VII formally dissolved the Diocese, and merged its territory with the Diocese of Warmia. Most of the area of the medieval bishopric of Sambia became a part of the Russian

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast (russian: Калинингра́дская о́бласть, translit=Kaliningradskaya oblast') is the westernmost federal subject of Russia. It is a semi-exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. The largest city and admin ...

in 1945 and is now under the jurisdiction of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Moscow The Archdiocese of Moscow, also known as Archdiocese of the Mother of God at Moscow ( la, Moscovien(sis) Matris Dei, russian: Архиепархия Матери Божией в Москве) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdioc ...

. A small section around the town of

Gołdap Gołdap ( or variant ''Goldapp''; lt, Geldupė, Geldapė, Galdapė) is a town in northeastern Poland, in the region of Masuria, seat of Gołdap County in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. It is located on the Gołdapa River, between the Szeskie ...

became again a part of Poland and maintains its ties to the Archdiocese of Warmia, being administered by its suffragan diocese of Ełk. Samland cathedral chapter was established in Königsberg in 1285 and was dissolved in the 16th century together with the bishopric. In 1989, it was re-established as the Sambian Collegiate Chapter (Sambian Co-Cathedral Chapter since 1992) in

Bishops of Samland

* Dietrich I. 1252–1254 * Heinrich I. von Streitberg 1254–1274 * Hermann von Köln 1274–1276, † 1287 * Christian von Mühlhausen 1276–1295 *

Siegfried von Regenstein Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

1295–1318 * Johann I. von Clare 1320–1344 * Jakob von Bludau 1344–1358 * (

Jakob von Kulm Jakob may refer to: People * Jakob (given name), including a list of people with the name * Jakob (surname), including a list of people with the name Other * Jakob (band), a New Zealand band, and the title of their 1999 EP * Max Jakob Memoria ...

1344–1354) * Bartholomäus von Radam 1354–1378 * Thilo von Marburg 1378–1386 * Heinrich II. Kuwal 1387–1395 * Heinrich III. von Seefeld 1395–1414 * Heinrich IV. von Schanenburg 1415–1416 * Johann II. von Saalfeld 1416–1425 * Michael Jung 1425–1442, † 1443 * Nikolaus I. Schlotterkopf 1442–1470 * Dietrich II. von Cuba 1470–1474 * Johann III. von Rehewinkel 1474–1497 * Nikolaus II. Krender 1497–1503 * Paul von Watt 1503–1505 * Günther von Bünau 1505–1518 *

George of Polentz George of Polentz (born: ; died: 1550 in Balga) was bishop of Samland and Pomesania and a lawyer. He was the first Lutheran bishop and also a Protestant reformer. Polentz was a member of an old Saxon noble family. He studied law in Bologna a ...

1518–1550, turned it into a Lutheran bishopric *

Joachim Mörlin Joachim Mörlin (5 April 1514, Wittenberg, Electorate of Saxony – 29 May 1571, Königsberg, Duchy of Prussia (now Kaliningrad in Russia) - 1945) was an Evangelical Lutheran theologian and an important figure in the controversies following ...

1550–1571 *

Tilemann Heshusius Tilemann Heshusius (also ''Hesshus, Heßhusen, Hess Husen, Heshusen'') (3 November 1527 in Wesel — 25 September 1588 in Helmstedt) was a Gnesio-Lutheran theologian and Protestant reformer. Life Heshusius came from an influential family in ...

1571–1577

Catholic Apostolic Administrators

*Szymon Rudnicki 1617–1621 *

John Albert Vasa John Albert Vasa (''Jan Albert Waza'') (25 June 1612 – 29 December 1634) was a Polish cardinal, and a Prince-Bishop of Warmia and Kraków. He was the son of Sigismund III Vasa and Constance of Austria. Biography John Albert Vasa was born ...

1621–1633 * Mikołaj Szyszkowski 1633–1643 *Jan Karol Konopacki 1643–1644 * Wacław Leszczyński 1644–1659 *Jan Stefan Wydżga 1659–1679 * Michał Stefan Radziejowski 1680–1688 *Jan Stanisław Zbąski 1688–1697 *

Andrzej Chryzostom Załuski Andrzej Załuski Chrysostom (1650 – 12 May 1711) was a seventeenth-century Polish preacher, translator, prolific writer, Chancellor of the Crown and bishop. Early life He was born in 1650 in Kiev, into the Junosza noble family, the son of A ...

1698–1711 *

Teodor Andrzej Potocki Teodor Andrzej Potocki (13 February 1664 – 12 December 1738) was a Polish nobleman ( szlachcic), Primate of Poland, interrex in 1733. Teodor was Rector of Przemyśl and canon of Kraków since 1687, Bishop of Chełmno since 1699 and Bish ...

1711–1723 *Krzysztof Jan Szembek 1724–1740 * Adam Stanisław Grabowski 1741–1766 *

Ignacy Krasicki Ignacy Błażej Franciszek Krasicki (3 February 173514 March 1801), from 1766 Prince-Bishop of Warmia (in German, ''Ermland'') and from 1795 Archbishop of Gniezno (thus, Primate of Poland), was Poland's leading Enlightenment poet"Ignacy Krasic ...

1767–1773

References

External links

GCatholic.org
1243 establishments in Europe Dioceses established in the 13th century Former Roman Catholic dioceses Christianity in Prussia Religious organizations established in the 1240s 1577 disestablishments Former Roman Catholic dioceses in Poland {{Europe-RC-diocese-stub de:Liste der Bischöfe von Samland