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Roman Catholic Diocese of Sofia and Plovdiv

December 15, 2023

The Diocese of Sofia and Plovdiv (Latin: Diœcesis Sophiae et Philippopolis) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church[1][2] which includes the whole southern part of Bulgaria. The remainder of Bulgaria falls within the Diocese of Nicopoli. The diocese is exempt, i.e. immediately subject of the Holy See, not part of any ecclesiastical province.

Diocese of Sofia and Plovdiv

Diœcesis Sophiae et Philippopolis

Епархия София и Пловдив
Location
Country Bulgaria
MetropolitanImmediately subject to the Holy See
Statistics
Area80,000 km2 (31,000 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		(as of 2014)
4,935,000
33,000 (0.7%)
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
Established1601
(As Diocese of Sardica)
1642
(As Archdiocese of Sardica)
1759(As Vicariate Apostolic of Sofia and Plovdiv)
3 March 1979
(As Diocese of Sofia and Plovdiv)
CathedralКатедрален храм „Свети Лудвиг“
(Cathedral of St. Louis of France), Plovdiv
Co-cathedralКатедрален храм „Свети Йосиф“
(Cocathedral of St. Joseph), Sofia
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopGheorghi Ivanov Jovcev

The seat of the episcopal see is the Cathedral of St Louis is in Plovdiv and there is a new co-cathedral in Sofia — the Cathedral of St. Joseph, consecrated on May 21, 2006 by Cardinal Angelo Sodano. The construction was symbolically started by Pope John Paul II during his visit in Sofia in 2002.

History edit

The former name of the city, and of the previous diocese (now Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria) was Serdica, the city of the Serdi,[3] a Celtic people defeated by Crassus in 29 BC and subjected to the Kingdom of Thrace, then a vassal state of republican Rome. When this kingdom was suppressed in 49 BC, the Serdi were included in the Roman Province of Thracia. Roman Emperor Trajan transformed the borough of the Serdi into a city which he called Ulpia Serdica. In 275 Aurelian caused Dacia beyond the Danube to be evacuated, and transplanted to Moesia and Roman Thracia the soldiers and colonists who were faithful to the Roman cause. The country occupied by these immigrants formed the new Province of Dacia, Sardica being included in this province (Homo, "Essai sur le règne de l'empereur Aurélien", pp. 313–21).

Later, Diocletian divided Dacia into Dacia Ripensis and Dacia Mediterranea. Sardica was the civil and ecclesiastical metropolis of the latter. Gallienus established a mint at Sardica, and Constantine the Great, who was born in the region, contemplated making it his capital. The Edict of Serdica ending the Diocletian persecution was signed into law here.

Ecclesiastically, Sardica belonged to the Patriarchate of Rome until 733, when it was annexed to the Patriarchate of Constantinople until 809. Upon the conversion of the Bulgarians to Christianity in 865, Sardica was one of the first cities which had an episcopal see. Until 1204 it was included in the Graeco-Bulgarian Patriarchate of Achrida, until 1393 in the Bulgarian Patriarchate of Tirnovo and until 1872 again in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Since then Sardica, which is now called Sophia, belongs to the Orthodox national Church of Bulgaria.

The earliest known bishop is Protagenes, who assisted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325; the best known is Bonosus, who shortly afterwards attacked the virginity of the Blessed Virgin.

Julian of Sardica who was metropolitan of Dacia Meditteranea attended the Council of Ephesus, in 431.

When it was captured by the Bulgars, they changed its name to Sredetz, later transformed by the Greeks into Sraditza and Triaditza. Again occupied by the 'Greek' Byzantines from 1018 to 1186, it enjoyed great prosperity; a section of the population was Paulician or Manichaean, heresies from both Catholic and (later) Orthodox points of view. After some years of troubles it again fell into the power of the Bulgars. Its present name of Sophia dates from the Middle Ages, though the precise date of its first use cannot be assigned; in the sixteenth century Sredetz and Sophia were used simultaneously. In 1382 the city was captured by the Ottoman Turks, and for more than four centuries it was the residence of the beglerbeg (governor general) of all Rumelia. In 1878 Sophia was chosen as the capital of the tributary Principality of Bulgaria, and since 1908 became the capital of the Kingdom of Bulgaria, later of the present republic.

Ancient Bishopric edit

Melitone (2nd century) Giuliano (4th century) Protogene (316 - 343) Apollinare (fl380 ) Giuliano(424 - 431) Zosimo (fl 458) Domnus (fl 516) Basil (553 - circa. 550) Teupreprio † (6th century) Felice (fl 594) Eutimio(9th or 10th century)

Council of Sardica edit

Main article: Council of Sardica

The Council of Sardica was summoned as an Ecumenical Council in 342, 343, or 347 in response to the Arian Heresy. Emperors Constans and Constantius, the two remaining sons of Constantine worked together at the urging of Pope Julius in response to this heresy that not only divided the church, but the state as well. Constans, Augustus in Rome, favored the Nicene bishops while Constantius, Augustus in Constantinople, often supported Arian ones. To help insure equal representation to solve this divisive issue, Sardica (now Sofia in Bulgaria) was chosen as a location near the division between eastern and western portions of the Roman State. However, fearing domination of the council by Western bishops, many Eastern bishops left the council to hold another council in Philippopolis. As a result, the Council of Sardica failed to universally represent the church and is not one of the official Ecumenical Councils.

Sardica produced 21 canon. In addition to the attempt to resolve the Arian issue, other major points were:

  1. Bishops should not attempt to recruit from diocese other than their own
  2. Bishops should be permanent residents of their own diocese
  3. Bishops should spend most of their time in their own diocese (not at the court in Rome)
  4. Bishops should not be transferred to another diocese

Modern Catholic jurisdiction in Sofia edit

An Apostolic vicariate (missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction, entitled to a titular bishop) was created here at an early date and confided to the Franciscans.

In 1610 Rome reestablished – but now as a suffragan bishopric – the episcopal see of Sophia, which in 1643 was made archiepiscopal again.

It was suppressed towards the end of the eighteenth century, because the Catholics felt persecuted by the Turks and had emigrated, mostly to imperial Austria-Hungary and Russia, yet in 1758 restored, now as Apostolic Vicariate of Sofia–Plovdiv . Relative peace was restored in 1835, and Rome confided the direction of the Catholics to the Redemptorists, under a vicar Apostolic who had not received episcopal consecration. The Redemptorists were replaced by the Capuchins in 1841, their superior being consecrated bishop in 1848.

In the early 20th century a titular bishop (of various other sees) was the head of this vicariate Apostolic. Sophia had 105,000 inhabitants, of whom a small number are Catholics. The Christian Brothers had a school there, and the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition three convents.

Episcopal ordinaries edit

(incomplete?; all Latin Rite)

Metropolitan Archbishops of Sofia

Apostolic Vicars of Sofia–Plovdiv

Suffragan Bishops of Sofia–Plovdiv

Titular see of Philippopolis edit

The position of a Titular Bishop of Philippopolis (in Thracia) (i.e. Plovdiv) existed since 1893 and 1967[4]

It was originally just called Philippopolis, until 'in Thracia' was added (distinguishing it from several homonymous sees) in 1926 (in curiate Italian; also in Latin in 1933).

It is vacant for decades, having been occupied by the following individuals:

  • Giovanni Giorgio Topich, O.F.M. (10 Jul 1859 – 11 Jun 1868)
  • Félix-Clair Ridel, M.E.P. (27 Apr 1869 – 20 Jun 1884)
  • José Tomás Mazarrasa y Rivas (21 Feb 1885 – 11 Mar 1907 )
  • Macario Sorini: 1893–1895
  • François Lesné: 1896–1910
  • Bonaventura Cerretti: 1914–1914, later Cardinal
  • Wincenty Kluczynski: 1914–1917
  • Ernesto Cozzi: 1920–1926
  • Jean-Pierre Rey: 1926–1930
  • Carlo Salotti: 1930–1935, later Cardinal
  • Ivan Rafael Rodić: 1936–1954
  • Franjo Šeper: 1954–1960, later Cardinal
  • Emile-Arsène Blanchet: 1960–1967

Sources and external links edit

  • Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Sardica" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  • GigaCatholic Sofia-Plovid
  • GigaCatholic Titular Metropolitan Philippopolis in Thracia
  • Council of Sardica
  • Arms of the Cross site (Unification of Catholic and Orthodox) 2004-04-21 at the Wayback Machine
  • English translations of the Greek and Latin versions of the canon
  • Canon and documentation as to when the council was actually held

References edit

  1. ^ "Diocese of Sofia e Plovdiv" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved October 7, 2016
  2. ^ "Diocese of Sofia e Plovdiv" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved October 7, 2016
  3. ^ The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume 3, Part 2: The Assyrian and Babylonian Empires and Other States of the Near East, from the Eighth to the Sixth Centuries BC by John Boardman, I. E. S. Edwards, E. Sollberger, and N. G. L. Hammond, ISBN 0-521-22717-8, 1992, page 600: "In the place of the vanished Treres and Tilataei we find the Serdi for whom there is no evidence before the first century bc. It has for long being supposed on convincing linguistic and archeological grounds that this tribe was of Celtic origin"
  4. ^ "Philippopolis in Thracia". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 January 2015.

42°0′N 25°0′E / 42.000°N 25.000°E / 42.000; 25.000

December 15, 2023
roman, catholic, diocese, sofia, plovdiv, this, article, require, cleanup, meet, wikipedia, quality, standards, specific, problem, dates, need, reformatting, please, help, improve, this, article, july, 2019, learn, when, remove, this, template, message, dioces. This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia s quality standards The specific problem is dates need reformatting Please help improve this article if you can July 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Diocese of Sofia and Plovdiv Latin Diœcesis Sophiae et Philippopolis is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church 1 2 which includes the whole southern part of Bulgaria The remainder of Bulgaria falls within the Diocese of Nicopoli The diocese is exempt i e immediately subject of the Holy See not part of any ecclesiastical province Diocese of Sofia and PlovdivDiœcesis Sophiae et PhilippopolisEparhiya Sofiya i PlovdivCathedral of St Louis PlovdivLocationCountry BulgariaMetropolitanImmediately subject to the Holy SeeStatisticsArea80 000 km2 31 000 sq mi Population Total Catholics as of 2014 4 935 000 33 000 0 7 InformationDenominationCatholicSui iuris churchLatin ChurchRiteRoman RiteEstablished1601 As Diocese of Sardica 1642 As Archdiocese of Sardica 1759 As Vicariate Apostolic of Sofia and Plovdiv 3 March 1979 As Diocese of Sofia and Plovdiv CathedralKatedralen hram Sveti Ludvig Cathedral of St Louis of France PlovdivCo cathedralKatedralen hram Sveti Josif Cocathedral of St Joseph SofiaCurrent leadershipPopeFrancisBishopGheorghi Ivanov JovcevThe seat of the episcopal see is the Cathedral of St Louis is in Plovdiv and there is a new co cathedral in Sofia the Cathedral of St Joseph consecrated on May 21 2006 by Cardinal Angelo Sodano The construction was symbolically started by Pope John Paul II during his visit in Sofia in 2002 Contents 1 History 2 Ancient Bishopric 3 Council of Sardica 4 Modern Catholic jurisdiction in Sofia 5 Episcopal ordinaries 6 Titular see of Philippopolis 7 Sources and external links 8 ReferencesHistory editThe former name of the city and of the previous diocese now Sofia the capital of Bulgaria was Serdica the city of the Serdi 3 a Celtic people defeated by Crassus in 29 BC and subjected to the Kingdom of Thrace then a vassal state of republican Rome When this kingdom was suppressed in 49 BC the Serdi were included in the Roman Province of Thracia Roman Emperor Trajan transformed the borough of the Serdi into a city which he called Ulpia Serdica In 275 Aurelian caused Dacia beyond the Danube to be evacuated and transplanted to Moesia and Roman Thracia the soldiers and colonists who were faithful to the Roman cause The country occupied by these immigrants formed the new Province of Dacia Sardica being included in this province Homo Essai sur le regne de l empereur Aurelien pp 313 21 Later Diocletian divided Dacia into Dacia Ripensis and Dacia Mediterranea Sardica was the civil and ecclesiastical metropolis of the latter Gallienus established a mint at Sardica and Constantine the Great who was born in the region contemplated making it his capital The Edict of Serdica ending the Diocletian persecution was signed into law here Ecclesiastically Sardica belonged to the Patriarchate of Rome until 733 when it was annexed to the Patriarchate of Constantinople until 809 Upon the conversion of the Bulgarians to Christianity in 865 Sardica was one of the first cities which had an episcopal see Until 1204 it was included in the Graeco Bulgarian Patriarchate of Achrida until 1393 in the Bulgarian Patriarchate of Tirnovo and until 1872 again in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Since then Sardica which is now called Sophia belongs to the Orthodox national Church of Bulgaria The earliest known bishop is Protagenes who assisted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 the best known is Bonosus who shortly afterwards attacked the virginity of the Blessed Virgin Julian of Sardica who was metropolitan of Dacia Meditteranea attended the Council of Ephesus in 431 When it was captured by the Bulgars they changed its name to Sredetz later transformed by the Greeks into Sraditza and Triaditza Again occupied by the Greek Byzantines from 1018 to 1186 it enjoyed great prosperity a section of the population was Paulician or Manichaean heresies from both Catholic and later Orthodox points of view After some years of troubles it again fell into the power of the Bulgars Its present name of Sophia dates from the Middle Ages though the precise date of its first use cannot be assigned in the sixteenth century Sredetz and Sophia were used simultaneously In 1382 the city was captured by the Ottoman Turks and for more than four centuries it was the residence of the beglerbeg governor general of all Rumelia In 1878 Sophia was chosen as the capital of the tributary Principality of Bulgaria and since 1908 became the capital of the Kingdom of Bulgaria later of the present republic Ancient Bishopric editMelitone 2nd century Giuliano 4th century Protogene 316 343 Apollinare fl380 Giuliano 424 431 Zosimo fl 458 Domnus fl 516 Basil 553 circa 550 Teupreprio 6th century Felice fl 594 Eutimio 9th or 10th century Council of Sardica editMain article Council of Sardica The Council of Sardica was summoned as an Ecumenical Council in 342 343 or 347 in response to the Arian Heresy Emperors Constans and Constantius the two remaining sons of Constantine worked together at the urging of Pope Julius in response to this heresy that not only divided the church but the state as well Constans Augustus in Rome favored the Nicene bishops while Constantius Augustus in Constantinople often supported Arian ones To help insure equal representation to solve this divisive issue Sardica now Sofia in Bulgaria was chosen as a location near the division between eastern and western portions of the Roman State However fearing domination of the council by Western bishops many Eastern bishops left the council to hold another council in Philippopolis As a result the Council of Sardica failed to universally represent the church and is not one of the official Ecumenical Councils Sardica produced 21 canon In addition to the attempt to resolve the Arian issue other major points were Bishops should not attempt to recruit from diocese other than their own Bishops should be permanent residents of their own diocese Bishops should spend most of their time in their own diocese not at the court in Rome Bishops should not be transferred to another dioceseModern Catholic jurisdiction in Sofia editAn Apostolic vicariate missionary pre diocesan jurisdiction entitled to a titular bishop was created here at an early date and confided to the Franciscans In 1610 Rome reestablished but now as a suffragan bishopric the episcopal see of Sophia which in 1643 was made archiepiscopal again It was suppressed towards the end of the eighteenth century because the Catholics felt persecuted by the Turks and had emigrated mostly to imperial Austria Hungary and Russia yet in 1758 restored now as Apostolic Vicariate of Sofia Plovdiv Relative peace was restored in 1835 and Rome confided the direction of the Catholics to the Redemptorists under a vicar Apostolic who had not received episcopal consecration The Redemptorists were replaced by the Capuchins in 1841 their superior being consecrated bishop in 1848 In the early 20th century a titular bishop of various other sees was the head of this vicariate Apostolic Sophia had 105 000 inhabitants of whom a small number are Catholics The Christian Brothers had a school there and the Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition three convents Episcopal ordinaries edit incomplete all Latin Rite Metropolitan Archbishops of SofiaPetrus Deodatus Friars Minor O F M 1642 death 1672 Titular Bishop of Callipolis 1638 02 13 1642 succeeding as former Coadjutor Bishop of Sofia Bulgaria 1638 02 13 1642 Pavao Joscic 1719 07 Marko Andrijasevic 1723 11 20 Gjergj Radovani 1767 1771 Paolo Dovanli 1771 1776 Apostolic Vicars of Sofia Plovdiv Giovanni Nepomuceno Holy Ghost Fathers C SS R Andrea Canova 1851 1856 Francesco Domenico Raynaud Reynaudi Capuchin Franciscans O F M Cap 12 Dec 1867 Appointed 1885 Resigned Titular Bishop of AEgeae 1867 12 12 1885 05 05 Titular Archbishop of Stauropolis 1885 05 05 death 1893 07 24 Roberto Menini O F M Cap 19 May 1885 Appointed 14 Oct 1916 Died succeeding as former Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of Sofia Plovdiv Bulgaria 1880 01 30 1885 05 05 amp Titular Bishop of Metellopolis 1880 01 30 1885 05 19 emeritate as Titular Archbishop of Gangra 1885 05 19 1916 10 14 Vinkenti Peev Cleto Vincenzo Pejov O F M Cap 14 Oct 1916 Succeeded 1941 Died succeeding as former Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of Sofia Plovdiv Bulgaria 1912 12 13 1916 10 14 amp Titular Bishop of Lyrbe 1912 12 13 1941 11 03 Ivan Romanov Catholic bishop 6 Jul 1942 Appointed 1959 Died Titular Bishop of Prizren Kosovo 1942 07 06 1959 Apostolic Administrator Simeon Kokov Kokoff O F M 1958 04 20 1974 07 11 Bogdan Stefanov Dobranov 22 Jul 1975 Appointed 1978 12 14 see below Titular Bishop of Giufi 1959 10 10 1978 12 14 Suffragan Bishops of Sofia PlovdivBogdan Stefanov Dobranov see above 1978 12 14 4 Oct 1983 Died Apostolic Administrator 1988 07 06 1995 11 13 see below Gheorghi Ivanov Jovcev Titular Bishop of Lamphua 1988 07 06 1995 11 13 Gheorghi Ivanov Jovcev see above 13 Nov 1995 Appointed Titular see of Philippopolis editThe position of a Titular Bishop of Philippopolis in Thracia i e Plovdiv existed since 1893 and 1967 4 It was originally just called Philippopolis until in Thracia was added distinguishing it from several homonymous sees in 1926 in curiate Italian also in Latin in 1933 It is vacant for decades having been occupied by the following individuals Giovanni Giorgio Topich O F M 10 Jul 1859 11 Jun 1868 Felix Clair Ridel M E P 27 Apr 1869 20 Jun 1884 Jose Tomas Mazarrasa y Rivas 21 Feb 1885 11 Mar 1907 Macario Sorini 1893 1895 Francois Lesne 1896 1910 Bonaventura Cerretti 1914 1914 later Cardinal Wincenty Kluczynski 1914 1917 Ernesto Cozzi 1920 1926 Jean Pierre Rey 1926 1930 Carlo Salotti 1930 1935 later Cardinal Ivan Rafael Rodic 1936 1954 Franjo Seper 1954 1960 later Cardinal Emile Arsene Blanchet 1960 1967Sources and external links editHerbermann Charles ed 1913 Sardica Catholic Encyclopedia New York Robert Appleton Company GigaCatholic Sofia Plovid GigaCatholic Titular Metropolitan Philippopolis in Thracia Council of Sardica Arms of the Cross site Unification of Catholic and Orthodox Archived 2004 04 21 at the Wayback Machine English translations of the Greek and Latin versions of the canon Canon and documentation as to when the council was actually heldReferences edit Diocese of Sofia e Plovdiv Catholic Hierarchy org David M Cheney Retrieved October 7 2016 Diocese of Sofia e Plovdiv GCatholic org Gabriel Chow Retrieved October 7 2016 The Cambridge Ancient History Volume 3 Part 2 The Assyrian and Babylonian Empires and Other States of the Near East from the Eighth to the Sixth Centuries BC by John Boardman I E S Edwards E Sollberger and N G L Hammond ISBN 0 521 22717 8 1992 page 600 In the place of the vanished Treres and Tilataei we find the Serdi for whom there is no evidence before the first century bc It has for long being supposed on convincing linguistic and archeological grounds that this tribe was of Celtic origin Philippopolis in Thracia Catholic Hierarchy org David M Cheney Retrieved 21 January 2015 42 0 N 25 0 E 42 000 N 25 000 E 42 000 25 000 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Roman Catholic Diocese of Sofia and Plovdiv amp oldid 1178806254 Titular see of Philippopolis, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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