Blaundus ( grc, Βλαῦνδος) was a Greek city founded during 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 ...

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

, presently

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

(Asian Turkey), and is now a Latin Catholic titular bishopric.

History

The ancient city was between the regions of Lydia and Phrygia in the Seleucid Empire. Its ruins are at Sülümenli (formerly Süleimanli), near Ulubey (formerly Göbek) in Uşak Province of modern Turkey. Greek coins have been discovered which write the city name as Mlaundus.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), Blaundus
/ref> A Greek inscription of the Roman period though write the city Blaundus. Probably it is also the Blaeandrus that the

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...

is mentioning. Recent findings of cylinder-seals in archaeological excavation point towards the conclusion that there was a settlement already stablished at the beginning of the II millennium B.C., belonging to the Assyrian trade colony period.

Bishopric

In the Roman and Byzantine eras, the city was the seat of 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 ...

, a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Sardes. The diocese was known by the names Blaundus, Blandus and Balandus. It was part of the

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

. In the 5th century AD, the bishopric was connected to the diocese center at Sebaste. Three bishops of Blaundus are historically attested. * Phoebus ( fl. 359), who at the

Council of Seleucia The Council of Seleucia was an early Christian church synod at Seleucia Isauria (now Silifke, Turkey). History In 358, the Roman Emperor Constantius II requested two councils, one of the western bishops at Ariminum and one of the eastern bishops ...

in 359 distanced himself from his fellow

Arians Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...

, signing the

orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

formula drafted by Acacio of Caesarea, and for this reason was deposed. * Elijah or Helias (fl. 451) who took part 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, Bi ...

of 451.Richard Price, Michael Gaddis, ''The Acts of the Council of Chalcedon'', Volume
p90
* Onesiphorus (fl. 458), who signed a letter written by the bishops of Lydia to Emperor Leo in 458 following the killing of

Proterius of Alexandria Hieromartyr Proterius of Alexandria (died 457) was Patriarch of Alexandria from 451 to 457. He had been appointed by the Council of Chalcedon to replace the deposed Dioscorus. History Proterius was elected by the Council of Chalcedon in 451 t ...

. Additionally, a certain Eustathius of Alandos attended the Council of Constantinople (879-880) that rehabilitated Photius, but evidence is lacking that Alandos was the same as Balandus. The last record of Blaundus dates from the 12th century. The bishopric of Blaundus was nominally revived in 1953 as 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 archbis ...

of the lowest (episcopal) rank, but has been vacant since January 31, 1971, after only two incumbents: * Michael Mongkhol On Prakhongchit (1953.05.07 – 1958.01.23) * Victor-Jean Perrin (1961.11.26 – 1971.01.31)

References

External links

GigaCatholic, with titular incumbent biography links
{{Authority control Catholic titular sees in Asia History of Uşak Province Hellenistic colonies in Anatolia Archaeological sites in the Aegean Region Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Former populated places in Turkey Populated places in ancient Lydia Populated places in Phrygia Ulubey District, Uşak