Below is a list of bishops of Edessa.
Early bishops
The following list is based on the records of the Chronicle of Edessa (to c.540) and the Chronicle of Zuqnin.
| Name of bishop | Start date or floruit |
End date or death |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thaddeus (Addai I) | c.100 | According to Eusebius of Caesarea | |
| Aggai | c.190 | According to Eusebius | |
| Palut | c.200 | According to Eusebius; He was a contemporary of Serapion of Antioch | |
| Barsamya | c. 250 | ||
| Conon | 304 | ||
| Sha'ad (Saades) | The Chronicle of Edessa places him between Conon and Ethalaha | ||
| Aitalaha | 324 | The Chronicle of Edessa omits his date of death; Abraham became bishop in 346 | |
| Abraham (I) | 346 | 361 | |
| Barses | 361 | March 378 | Translated by imperial order from Harran to Edessa |
| Eulogius | 379 | Good Friday 387 | Said to have been ordained the same year Theodosius I became emperor |
| Cyrus I | 22 July 396 | ||
| Silvanus | 397 | 17 October 398 | |
| Pakida (Facidas) | 23 November 398 | "neomenia of the month of Ab" 409 | |
| Diogenes | 409 | 411 | |
| Rabbula | 411 | 8 August 435 | |
| Ibas | 435 | 1 January 448 | The Chronicle of Edessa states he was deposed 1 January 448 and restored two years later |
| Nonnus | 21 July 448 | 450 | The Chronicle of Edessa states he left the see in 450, but was restored to Edessa after Ibas' death in 457 |
| Ibas (restored) | 450 | 28 October 457 | |
| Nonnus (restored) | 457 | 471 | |
| Cyrus II | 471 | 5 June 498 | Cyrus convinced Emperor Zeno to close the School of the Persians in Edessa |
| Peter | 498 | 10 April 510 | Entered Edessa on 12 September |
| Paul | 510 | 27 July 522 | Deposed for monophysitism |
| Asclepius | 23 October 522 | 27 June 526 | Died in Antioch; Paul had appointed him bishop of Harran |
| Paul (restored) | 8 March 526 | 30 October 526 | Accepted the council of Chalcedon and restored after Asclepius' death |
| Andrew | 7 February 527 | 6 December 532 | |
| Addi (Addai II) | 28 August 533 | 541 | Died after the completion of the Chronicle of Edessa |
| Amazonius | 553 | ||
| Thomas | |||
| Theodore | c.570 | 600 | Perhaps bishop of Bostra (not Edessa) |
Jacobite (Syriac) bishops
These bishops belonged to the Syriac Orthodox Church. During the later period there were also Byzantine rite bishops alongside them.
| Name of bishop | Start date or floruit |
End date or death |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacob Baradeus (James I) | 541 | 30 July 578 | |
| Severus | 578 | 602/603 | Stoned to death by Narses |
| In the first half of the seventh century, the episcopal structure appears to have been disrupted due to war: 602/603 — Edessa captured by the Persians; recovered by the Romans 604/605 May 611 — Edessa recaptured by the Persians 627 — Persians evacuate Edessa as part of treaty 638 — Edessa surrenders to the Muslim general Yazid | |||
| John | 609 | ||
| Ahischema (Nestorian) | 609 | A Nestorian imposed by the Persian king Khosrau II | |
| Paul | fl. 624 | In exile in Egypt (c.609–619) and Cyprus (619–629) | |
| Isaiah | 628 | Sent into exile | |
| Simon I (Simeon I) | before 644 | 649/650 | Died in Amida; Possibly an Orthodox bishop |
| Cyriacus I | 650/651 | 664/665 | |
| Daniel | 669 | ||
| Jacob II (James II) | 664/665 | 709/710 | According to some sources, ruled twice: from c.684 to 688 and again in 708 until his death on 5 June |
| Habib | 709/710 | 728/729 | Some sources place him between the two terms of Jacob II |
| Gabriel | 724 | ||
| Constantine I | 728/729 | Date of death missing from the Chronicle of Zuqnin, which extends his episcopate up to 745 | |
| Athanasius | Known only from the Chronicle of 846 | ||
| Timothy (I) ? | before 755 | 754/755 | |
| Zacharias the Stylite ? | 754/755 | 760/7671 | |
| Simon II (Simeon II) | 761 | Retired | |
| Anastasius | 761 | Retired | |
| Elijah of Qartnim (Elijah I) | 760/761 | after 775 | The Chronicle of Zuqnin says that he was never ordained; Was apparently still bishop when the Chronicle of Zuqnin ends (775) |
| Basil I | Ruled during the patriarchate of Cyriacus (793–817) | ||
| Theodosius I | Ruled during the patriarchate of Cyriacus (793–817) | ||
| Cyril | Ruled during the patriarchate of Dionysius I (817–845) | ||
| Elijah II | Ruled during the patriarchate of Dionysius I (817–845) | ||
| Constantine II | Ruled during the patriarchate of Dionysius I (817–845) | ||
| Theodosius II | 825 | ||
| Cyriacus II | Ruled during the patriarchate of Ignatius II (878–883) | ||
| Theodosius III | Ruled during the patriarchate of Dionysius II (897–909) | ||
| Dioscorus | Ruled during the patriarchate of Dionysius II (897–909) | ||
| Timothy (II) | Ruled during the patriarchate of Dionysius II (897–909) | ||
| Philoxenus I | Ruled during the patriarchate of Basil I (923–935) | ||
| Abraham (II) | Ruled during the patriarchate of John VI (936–953) | ||
| Philoxenus II | Ruled during the patriarchate of John VIII (1004–1033) | ||
| Athanasius I (Joshua) | Ruled during the patriarchate of Dionysius IV (1034–1044) | ||
| Hayya | before 1034 | after 1074 | |
| Athanasius II | Ruled during the patriarchate of Basil II (1074–1075) | ||
| Basil II | after December 1101 | Deposed | |
| Ignatius | after December 1101 | ||
| Athanasius III | 1130 | ||
| Basil III bar Soumana | before 1144 | after 1166 | |
| Athanasius IV | c.1169 | ||
| Basil IV | |||
| Abdallah | 1444 | Ruled during the patriarchate of Ignatius V (1412–1454); Entered into communion with the Roman church at the Council of Florence (1444) | |
Armenian bishops
These bishops belonged to the Armenian church. They ruled alongside Jacobite, Byzantine and Latin bishops.
| Name of bishop | Start date | End date or death |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| John | before 1144 | after 1144 | Also called Ananias |
Latin archbishops
In the first half of the twelfth century, during the period of the Crusades and the county of Edessa, there was a Latin rite archdiocese based in the city. It seems to have displaced the Byzantine bishop, but ruled alongside the Jacobite and Armenian bishops. From the 13th century on, titular bishops were sometimes appointed.
Resident bishops
| Name of bishop | Start date | End date or death |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benedict | December 1099 | after 1104 | Consecrated in December 1099 |
| Hugh | before 1120 | 23 December 1144 | Killed when Edessa was conquered by the Turks |
Titular bishops
| Name of bishop | Start date | End date or death |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Freney | 1266 | after 1286 | Visited the Armenian kingdom of Cilicia; Possibly resident in Edessa |
| John | after 1286 | ||
| Martin | |||
| John David | 30 May 1343 | Possibly resident in Edessa | |
| No titular bishops appointed for centuries. | |||
| Livio Lilio | 18 August 1625 | 22 June 1643 | Died in office |
| Giacinto di Subiano, O.P. | 14 November 1644 | 13 July 1648 | Became archbishop of Smyrna |
| Johann Eberhard Nidhard, S.J. | 16 November 1671 | 8 August 1672 | Became cardinal-priest of San Bartolomeo all'Isola |
| Carlo Francesco Airoldi | 26 June 1673 | before 15 April 1683 | Died in office |
| Thomas Vidoni | 27 September 1690 | 29 October 1708 | Became a cardinal |
| Girolamo Grimaldi | 5 October 1712 | 2 October 1730 | Became a cardinal |
| Giovanni Battista Barni | 22 January 1731 | 9 September 1743 | Became a cardinal |
| Antonio Milón López | 5 April 1745 | 4 June 1762 | Died in office |
| Manuel Ferrer y Figueredo | 27 March 1765 | 23 June 1777 | Became bishop of Zamora |
| Gregorio Bandi | 17 December 1787 | 10 April 1802 | Died in office |
| Francesco Bertazzoli | 24 May 1802 | 16 May 1823 | Became cardinal-priest of Santa Maria sopra Minerva |
| Giacinto Placido Zurla, O.S.B. | 13 January 1824 | 29 October 1834 | Died in office |
| Ignazio Giovanni Cadolini | 12 February 1838 | 30 January 1843 | Became archbishop of Ferrara |
| Patrick Joseph Carew | 30 May 1843 | 2 November 1855 | Died in office |
| Vincenzo Massoni | 19 June 1856 | 3 June 1857 | Died in office |
| Gustav Adolf von Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst | 13 November 1857 | 25 June 1866 | Became cardinal-priest of Santa Maria in Traspontina |
| Giuseppe Cardoni | 22 February 1867 | 8 April 1873 | Died in office |
| Tommaso Michele Salzano, O.P. | 22 December 1873 | 12 September 1890 | Died in office |
| Filippo Castracane degli Antelminelli | 25 September 1891 | 21 August 1899 | Died in office |
| Gennaro Granito Pignatelli di Belmonte | 17 November 1899 | 30 November 1911 | Became cardinal-priest of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri |
| Tommaso Pio Boggiani, O.P. | 10 January 1912 | 4 December 1916 | Became cardinal-priest of Santi Quirico e Giulitta |
| Giovanni Battista Marenco, S.D.B. | 7 January 1917 | 22 October 1921 | Died in office |
| Mario Giardini, B. | 21 November 1921 | 16 May 1931 | Became archbishop of Ancona |
| Luigi Centoz | 28 January 1932 | 28 October 1969 | Died in office |
References
- The Chronicle of Edessa
- Amir Harrak (editor and translator), The Chronicle of Zuqnin, parts III and IV: A.D. 488-775. Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1999. ISBN 0-88844-286-6