Agathonicea
Agathonice (Greek: Ἀγαθονίκη, romanized: Agathonikē) or Agathonicea (Greek: Ἀγαθονίκεια, romanized: Agathonikeia) was a town and bishopric in Thrace during the Middle Ages. It remains a titular see of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, and of the Roman Catholic Church.
History[edit]
Agathonice is most likely to be identified with the modern settlement of Oryahovo in southern Bulgaria.[1]
It is first mentioned in the Suleymanskyoy Inscription, which lists the terms of the Byzantine–Bulgarian treaty of 815, among the border towns between the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgar Khanate.[1]
In 1095, during his campaign against the Cumans, Emperor Alexios I Komnenos came to the town.[1]
Orthodox see[edit]
The town is attested as a bishopric, as the first among the suffragan sees of the metropolitan see of Philippopolis, in the Notitiae Episcopatuum of the Patriarchate of Constantinople from the 10th to the 12th century.[2] Only one bishop, Basil, is known, from the second half of the 11th century.[1]
Agathonicea remains a titular see of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.[3] Until 1860, it was often a title given to an auxiliary bishop to the Metropolitan of Philippopolis, who resided at the town of Tatar Pazardzhik.[4] The most recent incumbents were:[3]
- Bishop Orestes Chornock, 18.9.1938–17.2.1977 (†) (titular Metropolitan since 1966), Auxiliary Bishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America for the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese
- Metropolitan Apostolos Daniilidis, 26.11.1995–4.9.2000
In the 20th century, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church also began appointing titular bishops of Agathonicea:[5]
- Bishop Naum Shotlev, 28.11.1982–31.3.2005 (†)
- Bishop Boris Dobrev, since 22.3.2008
Catholic titular see[edit]
The diocese was nominally restored as a Roman Catholic titular bishopric in the 18th century.[6] Its incumbents were:[6]
- Ferdinand Oesterhoff, O. Cist. (1723.12.20 – 1748.10.22)
- Jean-Baptiste Lamy (1850.07.23 – 1853.07.29) (later Archbishop)
- Pasquale Pagnucci (林奇愛), O.F.M. (1867.04.15 – 1901.01.29)
- William Brasseur, C.I.C.M. (1948.06.10 – death 1993.02.01), Apostolic Vicar of Mountain Provinces (Philippines) (1948.06.10 – 1981.11.07)
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Soustal, Peter (1991). "Agathonikeia". Tabula Imperii Byzantini, Band 6: Thrakien (Thrakē, Rodopē und Haimimontos) (in German). Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. p. 168. ISBN 3-7001-1898-8.
- ^ Darrouzès, Jean (1981). Notitiae episcopatuum Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae: texte critique, introduction et notes. La Geographie ecclesiastique de l’Empire byzantin (in French). Paris: Institut français d'études byzantines. pp. 285, 304, 328, 363.
- ^ a b "ΟΙΚΟΥΜΕΝΙΚΟ ΠΑΤΡΙΑΡΧΕΙΟ: ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΗ ΑΓΑΘΟΝΙΚΕΙΑΣ (Επισκοπή Τιτουλαρίων και Βοηθών Επισκόπων)" (in Greek). Retrieved 25 December 2018.
- ^ Pétridès, S. (1909). "Agathoniceia". Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques (in French). Vol. I. Paris. col. 921.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "ΠΑΤΡΙΑΡΧΕΙΟ ΒΟΥΛΓΑΡΙΑΣ: ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΗ ΑΓΑΘΟΝΙΚΕΙΑΣ (Επισκοπή Τιτουλαρίων και Βοηθών Επισκόπων)" (in Greek). Retrieved 25 December 2018.
- ^ a b "Titular Episcopal See of Agathonice". GCatholic.org. Retrieved 25 December 2018.