Roman Catholic Diocese of Locri-Gerace
Encyclopedia
The Italian Catholic diocese of Locri-Gerace is in Calabria
. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Reggio Calabria-Bova.
Historically it was the diocese of Gerace, becoming in 1954 the diocese of Gerace-Locri and taking the current name in 1986.
probably owes its origin, or at least its importance, to the ruin of the town of Locri Epizephyrii, one of the earliest Greek colonies in Lower Italy, founded by the Ozolian Locrians
(684-680 B.C.) and endowed with a code of laws by Zaleucus
. Before its total ruin, Locri Epizephrii had a bishop of its own; but in 709, under Bishop Gregory, the see was transferred to Gerace.
The name Gerace is probably derived from Saint Cyriaca
, whose church was destroyed by the Saracens in 915. They captured the town in 986, but in 1059 it fell into the hands of the Normans.
Until 1467 the Greek Rite was in use at Gerace, and such had probably been the custom from the beginning. As early as the thirteenth century efforts were made to introduce the Latin Rite, which accounts for the schism between Latins and Greeks about 1250-1253. The latter demanded as bishop the monk Bartenulfo, a Greek, whereas Pope Innocent IV
, in 1253, appointed Marco Leone. In 1467, bishop Atanasio Calceofilo introduced the Latin Rite.
Other bishops were:
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Reggio Calabria-Bova.
Historically it was the diocese of Gerace, becoming in 1954 the diocese of Gerace-Locri and taking the current name in 1986.
History
GeraceGerace
Gerace is a town and comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, Italy.Gerace is located some 10 km inland from Locri, yet the latter town and the Sea can be seen from Gerace's perch atop a 500 m vertical rock...
probably owes its origin, or at least its importance, to the ruin of the town of Locri Epizephyrii, one of the earliest Greek colonies in Lower Italy, founded by the Ozolian Locrians
Locrians
The Locrians were an ancient Greek tribe in Greece. The Locrians spoke the Locrian dialect, a Doric-Northwest dialect, which indicates that they may have been relatives of the Dorians. They inhabited the ancient region of Locris in Central Greece....
(684-680 B.C.) and endowed with a code of laws by Zaleucus
Zaleucus
Zaleucus was the Greek lawgiver of Epizephyrian Locri, in Italy, said to have devised the first written Greek law code, the Locrian Code.Although the Locrian code distinctly favored the aristocracy, Zaleucus was famous for his conciliation of societal factions. No other facts of his life at all...
. Before its total ruin, Locri Epizephrii had a bishop of its own; but in 709, under Bishop Gregory, the see was transferred to Gerace.
The name Gerace is probably derived from Saint Cyriaca
Cyriaca
Cyriaca, also known as Dominica, was a Roman widow, and patroness to St. Lawrence, and eventually suffered martyrdom. St. Lawrence, used her home in Rome, to give food to the poor. Cyriaca suffered martyrdom, through flagellation....
, whose church was destroyed by the Saracens in 915. They captured the town in 986, but in 1059 it fell into the hands of the Normans.
Until 1467 the Greek Rite was in use at Gerace, and such had probably been the custom from the beginning. As early as the thirteenth century efforts were made to introduce the Latin Rite, which accounts for the schism between Latins and Greeks about 1250-1253. The latter demanded as bishop the monk Bartenulfo, a Greek, whereas Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV , born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was pope from June 25, 1243 until his death in 1254.-Early life:...
, in 1253, appointed Marco Leone. In 1467, bishop Atanasio Calceofilo introduced the Latin Rite.
Other bishops were:
- Barlaam II (1342), Abbot of San Salvatore at Constantinople, and ambassador from the Emperor Andronicus to Pope Benedict XIIPope Benedict XIIPope Benedict XII , born Jacques Fournier, the third of the Avignon Popes, was Pope from 1334 to 1342.-Early life:...
, apropos of the union of the two Churches. Barlaam at one time had opposed the idea, but later reversed his position, and Pope Clement VIPope Clement VIPope Clement VI , bornPierre Roger, the fourth of the Avignon Popes, was pope from May 1342 until his death in December of 1352...
bestowed on him the see of Gerace. He taught Greek to PetrarchPetrarchFrancesco Petrarca , known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar, poet and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch is often called the "Father of Humanism"...
, Boccaccio, and others, and was thus one of the first of the Italian humanists. - Simon AtumanoSimon AtumanoSimon Atumano was the Bishop of Gerace in Calabria from 23 June 1348 until 1366 and the Latin Archbishop of Thebes thereafter until 1380. Born in Constantinople, Atumano was of Greco-Turkish stock, his surname deriving from the word "Ottoman." He was a famous humanist and an influential Greek...
(1348), humanist - Bishop Ottaviano Pasqua (1574) wrote a history of the diocese.
- Giovanni Maria Belletti (1625), wrote Disquisitiones Clericales;
- Giuseppe Maria Pellicano (1818) rebuilt the cathedral, destroyed by an earthquake in 1783.