Ierissos ( el, Ιερισσός) is a small town on the east coast of the Akti peninsula in

Chalkidiki Chalkidiki (; el, Χαλκιδική , also spelled Halkidiki, is a peninsula and regional unit of Greece, part of the region of Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia in Northern Greece. The autonomous Mount Athos region co ...

, Greece. It is located 160 km from

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

, and 10 km from the border of the Autonomous Monastic State of the Holy Mountain, or

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

. It is the site of Ancient city and former bishopric Hierissus, and as such remains a Latin 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 archbish ...

. Ferries run from Ierissos to the east coast of Mount Athos. Since the 2011 local government reform Ierissos has been the seat of the municipality of

Aristotelis Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

, and of the municipal unit of Stagira-Akanthos.

Names

The name of Ierissos is derived from the Latin ''Ericius'', a translation of Akanthos, the name of the ancient city (also Latinized as Acanthus) located on a ridge bordering the southeast side of the town, from it.

History

Akanthos, near mount Athos, was an Ancient Greek city 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 Macedonia Prima (

civil diocese In the Late Roman Empire, usually dated 284 AD to 602 AD, the regional governance district known as the Roman or civil diocese was made up of a grouping of provinces each headed by a ''Vicarius'', who were the representatives of praeto ...

of Macedonia)) During the Byzantine era Erissos 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 ...

, evidenced from 883 (see below). From the 10th century onwards, the town's history is indissolubly linked with that of

. In 942 there were disputes between Ierissos and the monks of Mount Athos over the borders between Ierissos and the monastic community's lands and, the following year, the differences were settled in person by a large commission of major politicians and church officials. In the summer of 1425, Ierissos came into the hands of the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...

. During that time the Venetians, starting from

Cassandreia Cassandreia, Cassandrea, or Kassandreia ( grc, Κασσάνδρεια, ''Kassándreia'') was once one of the most important cities in Ancient Macedonia, founded by and named after Cassander in 316 BC. It was located on the site of the earlier Anc ...

, landed on the coastline of Ierissos, burnt down the settlement (by then only a large village) and its surroundings and (on departure) set alight the castle and five towers. Under Ottoman rule, Ierissos was one of the privileged Mademochoria. In 1821 Ierissos took part in the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

and during the repression the village was burnt down by the Turks and a large number of residents killed. In 1932 the village was destroyed by a powerful earthquake, with 121 people killed and approximately 500 injured. After the earthquake the new Ierissos was built in its current position, a little north west of the ancient city.Pavlides, S. B.; Tranos,M. D.: ''Structural characteristics of two strong earthquakes in the North Aegean: Ierissos (1932) and Agios Efstratios (1968).'' Journal of Structural Geology, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 205 to 214, 1991.

Ecclesiastical history

The bishopric was a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Thessalonica, in the sway of the

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

. Its only historically documented bishop was Elia, flourishing in 1054, known from a seal.Vitalien Laurent, ''Le corpus des sceaux de l'empire Byzantin'', vol. V/1, Paris 1963, nº 471.

Titular see

The diocese was nominally restored in 1927 as Latin Catholic

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 ...

of Hierisus (Latin) / Geriso (Curiate Italian; ). It was renamed in 1929 Hierissus (Latin) / Geriso (dropped in 1933) or Gerisso (Italian) / Hierissen(sis) (Latin adjective). It is vacant, having had the following incumbents, so far of the fitting Episcopal (lowest) rank: * Giuseppe Antonio Caruso (1928.07.06 – death 1930.01.03) as emeritate; 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 coas ...

(Italy) (1919.03.10 – 1927.08.26), Bishop of

Oppido Mamertina Oppido Mamertina ( el, label= Calabrian Greek, script=Latn, Oppidù, ) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Reggio Calabria in Calabria in southern Italy at about northeast of Reggio Calabria and about southwest of Catanzaro. It is the ...

(Italy) (1927.08.26 – 1928.07.06) * Teodoro Eugenín Barrientos,

Picpus Fathers The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary () abbreviated SS.CC., is a Roman Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men priests and brothers. The congregation is also known as the Picpus because their first ...

(SS.CC.) (1931.04.10 – death 1974.12.24), first 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 admi ...

of the then 'permanent'

Apostolic Administration of Valdivia The Roman Catholic Diocese of Valdivia ( la, Valdivien(sis)) is a Latin rite suffragan diocese in the Ecclesiastical province of Concepción in Chile. Its cathedral episcopal see is Catedral Nuestra Señora del Rosario, dedicated to Our Lady of ...

(

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, now a diocese) (1931.04.10 – 1942.06.20), then as

Military Vicar A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, of the Latin or an Eastern church, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation. Until 1986, they were called "military v ...

(Chile) (1942.06.20 – retired 1959.12.21) and on emeritate.

References

Bibliography

* Michel Lequien, ''Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus'', Paris 1740, vol; II, coll. 99-102 * Konrad Eubel, ''Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi'', vol. 5, p. 66; vol. 6, p. 62; vol. 7, p. 56; vol. 8, p. 71

External links

Local government website (English)Official web site of Ierissos city (Greek)

{{Aristotelis div Populated places in Chalkidiki