Rhosus
Encyclopedia
Rhosus is the name of several ancient sites and/or present Roman Catholic titular see
s in what is now Turkey
.
of Cilicia Secunda, suffragan to Anazarba. Rhosus or Rhossus was a seaport situated on the Gulf of Issus, later Alexandretta, southwest of Alexandria (modern Iskenderun
or Alexandretta). It is mentioned by Strabo
, Ptolemy
, Pliny the Elder
who (mis?)places it in Syria and Stephanus Byzantius; later by Hierocles
and George of Cyprus, who locate it in Cilicia Secunda.
Towards 200 AD, Serapion of Antioch
composed a treatise on the Gospel of Peter
for the faithful of Rhosus who had become heterodox on account of that book. Theodoret
, who places it in Cilicia
, relates the history of the hermit Theodosius of Antioch, founder of a monastery in the mountain near Rhosus, who was forced by the inroads of barbarians to retire to Antioch, where he died and was succeeded by his disciple Romanus, a native of Rhosus; these two religious are honoured by the Greek Church on 5 and 9 February.
Six bishops of Rhosus are known:
The see is mentioned among the suffragans of Anazarba in Notitiæ episcopatuum of the Patriarchate of Antioch, of the sixth century and one dating from about 840. In another of the tenth century Rhosus is included among the exempt sees.
In the twelfth century the town and neighbouring fortress fell into the hands of the Armenians. In 1268 this castle was captured from the Templars
by Sultan Bibars. Rhosus is near the village of Arsous in the former Ottoman vilayet of Adana.
Titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular bishop", "titular metropolitan", or "titular archbishop"....
s in what is now Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
Cilician Rhos(s)us
A titular bishopric in the former Roman provinceRoman province
In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
of Cilicia Secunda, suffragan to Anazarba. Rhosus or Rhossus was a seaport situated on the Gulf of Issus, later Alexandretta, southwest of Alexandria (modern Iskenderun
Iskenderun
İskenderun is a city and urban district in the province of Hatay on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. The current mayor is Yusuf Hamit Civelek .-Names:...
or Alexandretta). It is mentioned by Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
, Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
, Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
who (mis?)places it in Syria and Stephanus Byzantius; later by Hierocles
Hierocles (author of Synecdemus)
Hierocles or Hierokles was a Byzantine geographer of the sixth century and the attributed author of the Synecdemus or Synekdemos, which contains a table of administrative divisions of the Byzantine Empire and lists of the cities of each...
and George of Cyprus, who locate it in Cilicia Secunda.
Towards 200 AD, Serapion of Antioch
Serapion of Antioch
Serapion was Patriarch of Antioch . He is known primarily through his theological writings. Eusebius refers to three works of Serapion in his history, but admits that others probably existed: first is a private letter addressed to Caricus and Pontius against Montanism, from which Eusebius quotes an...
composed a treatise on the Gospel of Peter
Gospel of Peter
The Gospel According to Peter , commonly called the Gospel of Peter, is one of the non-Canonical gospels which were rejected by the Church Fathers and the Catholic Church's synods of Carthage and Rome, which established the New Testament canon, as apocryphal...
for the faithful of Rhosus who had become heterodox on account of that book. Theodoret
Theodoret
Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus was an influential author, theologian, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus, Syria . He played a pivotal role in many early Byzantine church controversies that led to various ecumenical acts and schisms...
, who places it in Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
, relates the history of the hermit Theodosius of Antioch, founder of a monastery in the mountain near Rhosus, who was forced by the inroads of barbarians to retire to Antioch, where he died and was succeeded by his disciple Romanus, a native of Rhosus; these two religious are honoured by the Greek Church on 5 and 9 February.
Six bishops of Rhosus are known:
- Antipatros, at the Council of Antioch, 363
- Porphyrius, a correspondent of St. John Chrysostom
- Julian, at the Council of ChalcedonCouncil of ChalcedonThe Council of Chalcedon was a church council held from 8 October to 1 November, 451 AD, at Chalcedon , on the Asian side of the Bosporus. The council marked a significant turning point in the Christological debates that led to the separation of the church of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 5th...
, 451 - a little later a bishop (name unknown), who separated from his metropolitanMetropolitan bishopIn Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
to approve of the reconciliation effected between John of AntiochJohn of AntiochJohn of Antioch was Patriarch of Antioch and led a group of moderate Eastern bishops during the Nestorian controversy. He is sometimes confused with John Chrysostom, who is occasionally also referred to as John of Antioch. John gave active support to his friend Nestorius in the latter's dispute...
and St. CyrilCyril of AlexandriaCyril of Alexandria was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444. He came to power when the city was at its height of influence and power within the Roman Empire. Cyril wrote extensively and was a leading protagonist in the Christological controversies of the later 4th and 5th centuries... - Antoninus, at the Council of Mopsuestia, 550;
- Theodore, about 600.
The see is mentioned among the suffragans of Anazarba in Notitiæ episcopatuum of the Patriarchate of Antioch, of the sixth century and one dating from about 840. In another of the tenth century Rhosus is included among the exempt sees.
In the twelfth century the town and neighbouring fortress fell into the hands of the Armenians. In 1268 this castle was captured from the Templars
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
by Sultan Bibars. Rhosus is near the village of Arsous in the former Ottoman vilayet of Adana.
Other
- a place on the PierianPieresThe Pieres were a Thracian tribe connected with the Brygi, that long before the archaic period in Greece occupyied the narrow strip of plain land, or low hill, between the mouths of the Peneius and the Haliacmon rivers, at the foot of the great woody steeps of mount Olympus.-Expulsion:The Pieres...
coast in MacedonMacedonMacedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
ia, site of the wedding of Seleucus I NicatorSeleucus I NicatorSeleucus I was a Macedonian officer of Alexander the Great and one of the Diadochi. In the Wars of the Diadochi that took place after Alexander's death, Seleucus established the Seleucid dynasty and the Seleucid Empire...
, king of SyriaSeleucid EmpireThe Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
, and StratoniceStratonice of SyriaFor other persons with the same name, see StratoniceStratonice of Syria was the daughter of king Demetrius Poliorcetes and Phila, the daughter of Antipater...
, daughter of king Demetrius I PoliorcetesDemetrius I of MacedonDemetrius I , called Poliorcetes , son of Antigonus I Monophthalmus and Stratonice, was a king of Macedon...
.