Council of Sardica

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sofia and Plovdiv is a Roman Catholic diocese

Diocese

A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

of the Latin Rite, which includes the whole southern part of Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

. The remainder of Bulgaria is comprised in the Diocese of Nicopoli

Roman Catholic Diocese of Nicopoli

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nicopoli is a Roman Catholic diocese of the Latin Rite, which includes the whole Northern part of Bulgaria. The seat of the episcopal see is in Rousse, although the diocese is named after Nikopol...

. The seat of the episcopal see

Episcopal See

An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...

is in Plovdiv

Plovdiv

Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...

. The diocese is immediately subject of the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

. The Cathedral of St Louis

Cathedral of St Louis, Plovdiv

The Cathedral of St Louis is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Co-cathedral of the Diocese of Sofia and Plovdiv together with the Cathedral of St Joseph in Sofia, it is one of the largest and most important Roman Catholic places of worship in the country...

is in Plovdiv

Plovdiv

and there is a new co-cathedral

Co-cathedral

A co-cathedral is a cathedral church which shares the function of being a bishop's seat, or cathedra, with another cathedral. Instances of this occurred in England before the Protestant Reformation in the dioceses of Bath and Wells, and of Coventry and Lichfield, hence the names of these dioceses...

in Sofia

Sofia

Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...

— the Cathedral of St. Joseph

Cathedral of St Joseph, Sofia

The Cathedral of St Joseph is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It is the co-cathedral of the Diocese of Sofia and Plovdiv, together with the Cathedral of St Louis in Plovdiv....

, consecrated on May 21, 2006 by Cardinal Angelo Sodano

Angelo Sodano

Angelo Sodano is an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the current Dean of the College of Cardinals and former Vatican Secretary of State, having held that post from 1990 to 2006, under both popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI...

. The construction was symbolically started by Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II

Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...

during his visit in Sofia in 2002.

History

The former name of the city, and of the previous diocese (now Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria) was Serdica, the city of the Serdi

Serdi

The Serdi were a Celtic tribe inhabiting Thrace. They were located around Serdika , which reflects their ethnonym. They would have established themselves in this area during the Celtic migrations at the end of the 4th century BC, though there is no evidence for their existence before the 1st...

, a Celt

Celt

The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....

ic people defeated by Crassus in 29 BC and subjected to the Kingdom of Thrace, then a vassal state

Vassal state

A vassal state is any state that is subordinate to another. The vassal in these cases is the ruler, rather than the state itself. Being a vassal most commonly implies providing military assistance to the dominant state when requested to do so; it sometimes implies paying tribute, but a state which...

of republican Rome. When this kingdom was suppressed in 49 BC, the Serdi were included in the Roman Province of Thracia. Roman Emperor

Roman Emperor

The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...

Trajan

Trajan , was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, in Spain Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in Spain, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against...

transformed the borough of the Serdi into a city which he called Ulpia Serdica. In 275 Aurelian

Aurelian

Aurelian , was Roman Emperor from 270 to 275. During his reign, he defeated the Alamanni after a devastating war. He also defeated the Goths, Vandals, Juthungi, Sarmatians, and Carpi. Aurelian restored the Empire's eastern provinces after his conquest of the Palmyrene Empire in 273. The following...

caused Dacia beyond the Danube

Danube

The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....

to be evacuated, and transplanted to Moesia

Moesia

Moesia was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans, along the south bank of the Danube River. It included territories of modern-day Southern Serbia , Northern Republic of Macedonia, Northern Bulgaria, Romanian Dobrudja, Southern Moldova, and Budjak .-History:In ancient...

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

Diocletian

Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....

divided Dacia into Dacia Ripensis and Dacia Mediterranea. Sardica was the civil and ecclesiastical metropolis

Metropolis

A metropolis is a very large city or urban area which is a significant economic, political and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections and communications...

of the latter. Gallienus

Gallienus

Gallienus was Roman Emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260, and alone from 260 to 268. He took control of the Empire at a time when it was undergoing great crisis...

established a mint at Sardica, and Constantine the Great, who was born in the region, contemplated making it his capital.

Ecclesiastically, Sardica belonged to the Patriarchate of Rome

Holy See

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

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople

The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , part of the wider Orthodox Church, is one of the fourteen autocephalous churches within the communion of Orthodox Christianity...

. Since then Sardica, which is now called Sophia, belongs to the national Church of Bulgaria.

The earliest known bishop is Protagenes, who assisted at the First Council of Nicaea

First Council of Nicaea

The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325...

in 325; the best known is Bonosus

Bonosus

Bonosus can refer to the following figures in ancient history:*the usurper Bonosus * Bonosus of Sardica, founder of the Bonosians * Bonosus of Naissus, Eastern Christian bishop...

, who shortly afterwards attacked the virginity of the Blessed Virgin.

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

Ottoman Turks

The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...

, 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

Principality of Bulgaria

The Principality of Bulgaria was a self-governing entity created as a vassal of the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. The preliminary treaty of San Stefano between the Russian Empire and the Porte , on March 3, had originally proposed a significantly larger Bulgarian territory: its...

, and since 1908 became the capital of the Kingdom of Bulgaria

Kingdom of Bulgaria

The Kingdom of Bulgaria was established as an independent state when the Principality of Bulgaria, an Ottoman vassal, officially proclaimed itself independent on October 5, 1908 . This move also formalised the annexation of the Ottoman province of Eastern Rumelia, which had been under the control...

, later of the present republic.

Council of Sardica was summoned as an Ecumenical Council

Ecumenical council

An ecumenical council is a conference of ecclesiastical dignitaries and theological experts convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice....

in 342, 343, or 347 in response to the Arian

Arianism

Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...

Heresy

Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...

. Emperors Constans

Constans

Constans , was Roman Emperor from 337 to 350. He defeated his brother Constantine II in 340, but anger in the army over his personal life and preference for his barbarian bodyguards saw the general Magnentius rebel, resulting in Constans’ assassination in 350.-Career:Constans was the third and...

and Constantius

Constantius II

Constantius II , was Roman Emperor from 337 to 361. The second son of Constantine I and Fausta, he ascended to the throne with his brothers Constantine II and Constans upon their father's death....

, the two remaining sons of Constantine worked together at the urging of Pope Julius

Pope Julius I

Pope Saint Julius I, was pope from February 6, 337 to April 12, 352.He was a native of Rome and was chosen as successor of Mark after the Roman seat had been vacant for four months. He is chiefly known by the part he took in the Arian controversy...

in response to this heresy that not only divided the church, but the state as well. Constans, Augustus in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, favored the Nicene bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

s while Constantius, Augustus in Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

, often supported Arian ones. To help insure equal representation to solve this divisive issue, Sardica (now Sofia

Sofia

in Bulgaria

Bulgaria

) was chosen as a location near the division between eastern and western portions of the Roman

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

State. However, fearing domination of the council by Western bishops, many Eastern bishops left the council to hold another council in Philippopolis

Plovdiv

. 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

Canon law

Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...

. 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 diocese

Modern Catholic jurisdiction in Sofia

A vicariate Apostolic was created here at an early date and confided to the Franciscans. In 1610 Rome reestablished -but now as a suffragan- 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. 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

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin

The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is an Order of friars in the Catholic Church, among the chief offshoots of the Franciscans. The worldwide head of the Order, called the Minister General, is currently Father Mauro Jöhri.-Origins :...

in 1841, their superior being consecrated bishop in 1848.

In the early 20th century a titular archbishop was the head of this vicariate Apostolic. Sophia had 105,000 inhabitants, of whom a small number are Catholics. The Christian Brothers

Congregation of Christian Brothers

The Congregation of Christian Brothers is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. The Christian Brothers, as they are commonly known, chiefly work for the evangelisation and education of youth, but are involved in many ministries, especially with...

had a school there, and the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition three convents.

Ordinaries

Gjergj Radovani
Gjergj Radovani
Gjergj Radovani was an Albanian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church.- Life :Born in Shkodër, northern Albania in 1734 from 1767 to 1771 he served as the apostolic vicar of the Diocese of Sofia and Plovdiv. In 1771 he was ordained as Bishop of Shkodër. During his tenure he founded the diocese's...

(1767-1771)
Paolo Dovanli (1771-1776)
Andrea Canova (1851-1856)
Francesco Domenico Raynaud (Reynaudi), O.F.M. Cap. † (12 Dec 1867 Appointed - 1885 Resigned)
Roberto Menini, O.F.M. Cap. † (19 May 1885 Appointed - 14 Oct 1916 Died)
Cleto Vincenzo Pejov, O.F.M. Cap. † (14 Oct 1916 Succeeded - 1941 Died)
Ivan Romanoff † (6 Jul 1942 Appointed - 1959 Died)
Bogdan Stefanov Dobranov † (22 Jul 1975 Appointed - 4 Oct 1983 Died)
Gheorghi Ivanov Jovcev (13 Nov 1995 Appointed - )

Titular see of Philippopolis

The position of a Titular Bishop of Philippopolis in Thracia (Plovdiv) existed between 1893 and 1967, occupied by the following individuals:

Macario Sorini: 1893 - 1895
François Lesné: 1896 - 1910
Bonaventura Cerretti
Bonaventura Cerretti
Bonaventura Cerretti was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura from 1931 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1925....

: 1914 - 1914
Wincenty Kluczynski: 1914 - 1917
Ernesto Cozzi: 1920 - 1926
Jean-Pierre Rey: 1926 - 1930
Carlo Salotti
Carlo Salotti
Carlo Salotti was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Congregation of Rites from 1938 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in pectore in 1933.-Biography:...

: 1930 - 1935
Ivan Rafael Rodić: 1936 - 1954
Franjo Šeper
Franjo Šeper
Franjo Šeper was a Croatian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1968 to 1981, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1965....

: 1954 - 1960
Emile-Arsène Blanchet: 1960 - 1967

Sources and external links

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