BISTUA. — At the Synods of Salona in 530 and 533, Andria also appears, bishop of the church of Bistua (*bestoensis ecclesiae*). His diocese was vast but very poor; the Synod of Salona in 533 decided to divide it «cum Divinitas propitata concesserit». It is not known whether this was ever carried out, since subsequently the invasions of the Avars and Slavs almost completely annihilated Christianity in those regions.
B. Nova was a Roman municipality on the site of the present-day city of Zenica (Bosnia), where a famous two-aisled paleochristian basilica (basilica gemina) was discovered, while B. Vetus was located at the sources of the Rama near the village of Varvara. The bishopric of B. was the predecessor of the medieval Bosnian diocese.
BIBL.: D. Farlati, *Illyricum Sacrum*, II, Venezia 1753, pp. 162-74; M. Vanino, *Prve pojave krčanstva u Bosni*, Povjet lirv. zemalja Bosne i Hercegovine, Sarajevo 1942, pp. 140-42.