Euroea or Euroia (Ancient Greek: Εὔροια; also transcribed as Eurœa) was a city in Epirus, in western Greece, during late antiquity. It was abandoned in the early 7th century due to Slavic invasions. During the 4th–8th centuries, it was a bishopric. Since the 18th century, it has also been a titular see of the Catholic Church. Its site is located near the modern village of Glyki in Greece.[1]

History

St. Donatus, bishop of Euroea, lived under Theodosius I (r. 379–395) and performed miracles, including providing a local settlement with abundant watersources (likely connected to the name "Euroea", "well-flowing").[2][3] A church dedicated to St. Donatus was erected, probably on the site of an ancient pagan temple (Omphalion).[2] The town belonged to the Roman province of Epirus vetus.[4]

Bishops of Euroea are attested at councils in the 5th and 6th centuries,[2] and the city is mentioned by Hierocles.[5] According to Procopius, Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565) resettled the inhabitants of Euroea to an islet in a neighbouring lake and built there a strong city,[6] commonly thought to be on the site of Ioannina.[2]

As a result of the Slavic invasions, in 603 the Bishop of Euroea and the inhabitants, taking the relics of St. Donatus with them, fled to Kassiopi on Corfu.[2] The original site of Euroea is unclear: Michel Le Quien identified it with modern Paramythia, others with the nearby ancient settlement of Photice.[3] It is now tentatively located near the village of Glyki.[2][7][1]

Bishopric

The first (and only) mention of the bishopric in one of the Notitiae Episcopatuum is in the so-called "iconoclast notitia" (compiled some time after 787), where it is listed (as Εὐρόσου) as the second among the suffragans of the Metropolis of Nicopolis.[8]

The known bishops are:[4]

Catholic titular see

The Roman Catholic Church has established "Eurœa" (since 1933: "Eurœa in Epiro") as a titular see. Its incumbents are:[9]

References

  1. ^ a b Lund University. Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Soustal, Peter; Koder, Johannes (1981). Tabula Imperii Byzantini, Band 3: Nikopolis und Kephallēnia (in German). Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. p. 158. ISBN 978-3-7001-0399-8.
  3. ^ a b Public Domain Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Euroea". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  4. ^ a b Le Quien, Michel (1740). Oriens Christianus, in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus: quo exhibentur ecclesiæ, patriarchæ, cæterique præsules totius Orientis. Tomus secundus, in quo Illyricum Orientale ad Patriarchatum Constantinopolitanum pertinens, Patriarchatus Alexandrinus & Antiochenus, magnæque Chaldæorum & Jacobitarum Diœceses exponuntur (in Latin). Paris: Ex Typographia Regia. coll. 143–146. OCLC 955922747.
  5. ^ Synecdemus, 651, 6.
  6. ^ Procopius, De aedificiis, IV.1
  7. ^ Richard Talbert, ed. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. p. 54, and directory notes accompanying. ISBN 978-0-691-03169-9.
  8. ^ Darrouzès, Jean (1981). Notitiae episcopatuum Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae: texte critique, introduction et notes. La Geographie ecclesiastique de l’Empire byzantin (in French). Paris: Institut français d'études byzantines. pp. 32, 236.
  9. ^ "Titular Episcopal See of Eurœa in Epiro". GCatholic.org. Retrieved 21 December 2018.

39°20′09″N 20°36′26″E / 39.335898°N 20.607289°E / 39.335898; 20.607289

Categories