Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 6.djvu/822

 GREECE

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GREECE

In this first period in C'.reece, as everywhere, the bishops of the chief towns have a certain precedence, even jurisdiction, over their fellow-bishops ("Orth. Eastern Church", pp. 7-8). Heraclea was the ecclesi- astical metropolis of Thrace, Thessalonica of Mace- donia, Corinth of Achaia. Domitius of Heraclea, under Antoninus Pius (138-61), witnessed the martyr- dom of St. Glycera; his successor, Philip, was burnt to death at Adrianople under Diocletian (284-05). Piny- tus, Bishop of Crete, corresponded with Dionysius of Corinth (Euseb., H. E., IV, xxiii). After Constantine (324-.337) the local Churches were organized more systematically, according to Diocletian's division of the empire (Orth. Eastern Church, pp. 21-23). Greece became part of the Prefecture of lUyricum, Thrace be- longed to the "East" (Proejectuni Orientis). The Prefectures of Gaul, Italj;, and lUyricum made up the Roman Patriarchate (ibid., p. 21), so that, legally, Greece became part of that patriarchate. Normally it should have used the Roman Rite and belonged to Western Christendom. But lUyricum was an endless source of dispute between East and West, till the Great Schism (ibid., pp. 44-45, Duchesne, "LTllyri- cum eccl&iastique ", in " Eglises separees" (Paris, 2nd ed., 1905, pp. 229-79). In Thrace, Constantinople succeeded in displacing the old metropolis, Heraclea, and then in becoming a patriarchate, eventually claiming even the second place after Rome, at the Second and Fourth General Councils (Orth. Eastern Church, pp. 28-47). Since the Council of Ephesus (431) Cyprus has been an autocephalous Church (ibid., 47-50) ; Crete was part of Illyricum and shared in the disputes about it. In 379, under Gratian and Theo- dosius, Illyricum was divided politically into Eastern and Western Illyricum. The western half (Pannonia Prima and Secunda, Pannonia Ripariensis, Dalmatia and Noricum Priravmi and Secundum) remained joined to the Italian prefecture; the eastern part (Macedo- nia, Thessalia, old Epirus, Achaia, New Epirus, Crete, Prsevalitana — which is now Albania — Dacia Mediter- ranea, and Dardania — i. e. our Servia) became part of the eastern half of the empire, then of the Eastern Empire. The Patriarchs of Constantinople claimed this Ea.stern Illyricum as part of their patriarchate, and eventually, in spite of the popes' protests, suc- ceeded in asserting their jurisdiction over it. East- ern Illyricum then included part of what we call Greece, the rest was occupied by the (civil) diocese of Thrace and Cyprus.

Lequien, in his "Oriens Christianus", I and II (Paris, 1740), gives lists of the Churches of these lands with their arrangement in provinces and the names of all their bishops, as far as they were known in his time. The Byzantine Patriarchate consisted of the (civil) dioceses of Pontus (I, 351-G62), Asia (I, 663-1090), Thrace (I, 1091-1246), Eastern Illyricum (II, 1-26). Of these the diocese of Thrace, to some extent, and the diocese of Eastern Illyricum, entirely, cover our Greece.

The diocese of Thrace had seven ecclesiastical prov- inces: (1) Europe, with Heraclea as metropolis (I, 1101-1154). This province once had twenty, in Le- quien's time only five, sees, Rhedsestus, Parium, Metra-and-Athyra, Tzurloes and Myriophyta. (2) Thrace (as distinct from the diocese) with Philip- popolis as metropolis (I, 1155-1170). (3) Hsemimon- tum, metropolis Adrianople (I, 1171-1192). (4) Rhodopes, metropolis Trajanople (I, 1193-1210). (5) Scythia, metropolis Tomi (T6/i7;s or Ti^is, now ex- tinct, I, 1211-1216). (6) Moe.sia (or Mysia) Infe- rior, metropolis Marcianople (Preslav XlpiaXapa), I. 1247-1251). (7) Walachia, metropolis Tergovite, is no longer in any sense Greek. Compare with this list the metropolitan sees (74) of the patriarchate, ar- ranged in three classes, according to their place in the synod, ia Silbernagl, " Verfassung u. gegenwartiger Bestand ^amtlicher Kirchen des Orients", Regens-

burg, 2nd ed., 1904, pp. 33-35. The title metropolitan is now given to almost every bishop.

In Lequien's list the second great diocese. Eastern Illyricum, whose capital was Thessalonica (vol. II, 1-318), covers practically all Greece. Before the division of Illyricum its capital was Sirmium. We have seen that Western Illyricum remained part of the Roman patriarchate and was in no sense Greece. The eastern diocese had nine provinces (see above); of these only the first seven can be called Greek, and in many of them the Slav element was very powerful. The Slav invasions of the empire began under Anasta- sius I (491-518) in 493; various Slav tribes and the non-Aryan Bulgars (who soon adopted a Slav lan- guage and became practically Slavs too) pressed southward into Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaly, even Achaia, in increasing numbers, throughout the whole period of the empire at Constantinople; so that always, and still in our own time, they form a rival influence to the Greeks throughout these lands. The old sees of these seven more or less Greek prov- inces are, according to Lequien: (1) Province of Mace- donia (II, 27-102), metropolis Thessalonica, with suf- fragan Sees of Philippi, Berrhcea, Dium (A/oi'), Stobi (St6/3oc), Parthicopolis, Doberus, Cassandria, Edessa, Pydna or Citrum, Heraclea Sintica, Amphipolis, Lem- nos (the island), Thassus, Serra, Bargala, Theorium, Campania or Castrium, Poliana, Pogoiana, Zichnse, Drygobitzia, Melenias, Drama, Ardamerium, Rhend- ina, Deabolis, Hierissus, Lycostomium and Servia, (2) The Province of Thessaly (II, 102-132) had as metropolis, Larissa, as suffragan sees, Demetrias, Ze- tunium (Z-nroiviov or ZriTbvKiv), Csesarea in Thessaly, Gomphi (Tbii.(poi), Echinus, Pharsalus Lamia, Scope- lus, Tricca (TplKxii, now Trikala), Hypata (neut. plur.), metropolis, Thebes of Phthiotis, Sciathus, New Patras, Ezerus, Demonicum-and-Elasso, Stags, Thau- macus, Litza-and-Agraphorum, Pherie, Lcedori- cium, Marmaritzium, Bezena, Peparethi. (3) Old Epirus (II, 133-154) had for its metropolis Nicopolis, and for suffragan sees, Anchiasmum (or Onchisimus), Phoenices, Dodona, Buthrotus, Adrianople (in Epirus), Photica, Eurcea {Etpoia), Corcyra (the island, Corfu), ^tus, loannina (now Janina), Leucas, Achelous. (4) Hellas (II, 155-239) had as metropolis, Corinth, and for suffragan sees, Cenchreie (Vulg. Cenchrae, KevxP^at, the port of Corinth), Old Patras, Argos, Nauplia, Megalopolis in Arcadia, Lacedaemon, Coronea (Kopii- vaa in Bceotia), Elis, or Elea, in Achaia, Tegea in Arcadia, Messene in the Peloponnesus, Carystus in Eu- bcea, Naupactus, Arta (now Larta, formerly Ambra- cia), Oreus ('Ope6s), Porthmus, Marathon, Elatea, Megara (neut. plur.). Opus ('Ottoi}?), Platsea, Thebes in Bceotia, Thespiae, Tanagra (both fem. sing, and neut. plur.), Scarphia, Chalcis, Monembasia (fem. sing.), Strategis, Pyrgus (or Pyrgium), Trcezen, Elis in the Peloponnesus, jEgina (the island), Aulon, or Solon (the old Delphi), Amyclae, Olena, Methone, Scyrus (SxiJpos, the island), Zacynthus (Zante), Cephalenia, Diaulia, Pylus, Brestene, Andrusa, Mendinitza, Tzer- nitza, Ceos (the island). (5) New Epirus (II, 240- 255) had for metropolis, Dyrrhacium (Aii/Jpdx'o"), and for suffragan sees, Scampe, ApoUonia-and-Bullidis, Amantia, Decatera (neut. plur., in Dalmatia), Aulon (AuXciv), Listra (neut. plur.), Dribastus, Stephania- cum. (6) Crete (II, 256-274) had for metropolis Gor- tyna (of which St. Titus was first bishop), Gnossus, Arcadia, Hiera Petra, Lappa, Phoenix, Hieracleopolis, Subrita, Apollonia, Eleuthera', Chersonesus, Cydonia, Cissamus, Cantani. — The other provinces (Praevali- tana, Dacia Mediterranea, and Dardania) do not con- cern Greece.

The remnants of these sees left to the oecumenical patriarch, after Turkish spoliation and the independ- ence of the modern Greek Church, will be .seen in Sil- bernagl 's list.

III. The Orthodox Church in (Jreece. — The