Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Siracusa

The Archdiocese of Siracusa, also known as Syracuse, ( la, Archidioecesis Syracusana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Sicily. It became an archdiocese in 1844."Archdiocese of Siracusa"
'' Catholic-Hierarchy.org''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016."Metropolitan Archdiocese of Siracusa"
''GCatholic.org''. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016. The current archbishop is Francesco Lomanto.

History

Syracuse claimed to be the second Church founded by St. Peter, after that of Antioch. It also claims that St. Paul preached there. As its first bishop it venerates St. Marcianus, whose dates are uncertain, though some claim he was ordained by S. Peter himself. Little trust can be placed in the authenticity of the list of the seventeen bishops who were predecessors of Chrestus, to whom the Emperor Constantine wrote a letter.

In the times of St. Cyprian (mid-3rd century), Christianity certainly flourished at Syracuse, and the catacombs located there attest to Christian worship there in the 2nd century. Besides its martyred bishops, Syracuse claims other Christian martyrs, such as St. Benignus and St. Evagrius (204), St. Bassianus (270); and the martyrdom of the deacon Euplus and the virgin St. Lucy under Diocletian are thought to be historical.

The names of the known bishops of the following century are few in number: Germanus (346); Eulalius (465); Agatho (553), during whose rule Pope Vigilius died at Syracuse; another bishop was denounced by Pope Honorius for the protection which he accorded to prostitutes; St. Zozimus (640), who founded the monastery of Santa Lucia fuori-le-mura; St. Elias (d. 660).

Of Marcianos II it is said that he was consecrated not at Rome, but at Syracuse, since the Emperor Leo the Isaurian (726) had removed Southern Italy from the jurisdiction of Rome, and had then elevated Syracuse to the dignity of a metropolitan see, over the thirteen other dioceses of Sicily. Bishop Stephen II (c. 768–787) was present at the Second Council of Nicaea, and carried to Constantinople the relics of St. Lucy for safety against the Saracen incursions.

Archbishop Gregorios Asbestas was deposed by Ignatius, who had become Patriarch of Constantinople in 847, though Ignatius' election and then his act of deposition of Gregory were condemned by Pope Leo IV. Gregory and two other bishops had appealed to Rome, and Pope Leo insisted that no bishop should be deposed without the consent of Rome. Gregory then became the principal supporter of Patriarch St. Photius, and actually carried out his consecration in 857. He lost his See when Syracuse fell to the Arabs.

After Syracuse fell to the Arabs in 878, Bishop Sophronius was thrown into prison at Palermo together with the monk Theodosius, where he died in a dungeon. Until the Norman Conquest in the eleventh century the names of other bishops are not known. The series of bishops begins again in 1093 with Bishop Rogerius, who received the ''pallium'' from Pope Urban II.

On 19 October 1188 Pope Celestine III wrote to the Archbishop of Monreale, Guglielmo, finally settling the dissention between Siracusa and Monreale over the right to metropolitan status, which had turned into a scandal. The Pope decided that the pallium, which the Archbishops of Siracusa had been accustomed to wear through the indulgence of the Holy See, should not be used by the bishop of Syracuse and his successors. The diocese of Siracusa became suffragan of the archdiocese of Monreale