GERACE, DIOCESI of—G., in southern Calabria, in the province of Reggio, 480 m. above sea level, on a plateau joining the Aspromonte to the Serre. It is the heir of Locri Epizefirii, a Greek colony founded in 673, a republic rivaling Reggio and Croton, which possessed in the legislation of Zalcucovanta the oldest written code in all Europe. Conquered by Scipio Africanus in 205 B.C., it lost its importance throughout the Roman period and was destroyed by the Saracens in the 7th century. The surviving inhabitants took refuge in the mountains, giving rise to G. Superiore, called S. Ciriaca in Greek documents. The bishopric was also transferred there, contrary to what Ughelli writes, speaking of the union of the bishopric of Locri with that of G. In reality, medieval documents always mention only one bishop: of Locri from the beginning through the 7th century; of S. Ciriaca in Greek documents, that is, from the 7th to the 11th centuries; and of G. in Latin documents, that is, from the 11th century onward.
The d. of G. is among the oldest in Calabria: a Christian inscription from 501, found in its territory, attests to the vitality of Christianity from as early as the 4th century. Local writers recall a Basilio who in 451 is said to have taken part in the Council of Chalcedon, where he signed himself bishop of Paleopoli, which would have been the designation adopted by Locri in the early Middle Ages. But apart from the fact that the designation would be premature for that date, there is no doubt that this is an improper appropriation, since no Italian bishop took part in Chalcedon, apart from the papal legates, and therefore the Paleopoli mentioned is the homonymous city of the East. Likewise, according to Lanzoni, the bishop Pietro, who took part in the Council under Felix III in 487, is not «episcopus Locrensis», but «Locrensis», that is, from Loro in Etruria.
S. Gregory the Great mentions the church of Locri several times. From his Register it appears that in 597, upon the death of Bishop Dolcino, the people sent Rome a proposal for a candidate whom the Pope could not accept; it was necessary to seek in Catania a priest from Tauriano, named Marciano, who received papal approval.
In the 8th century G., like all the other dioceses of Calabria, was detached from Rome and incorporated into the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which, after creating the metropolitan see of Reggio, also assigned G. to it as a suffragan. The Normans restored the dioceses of Calabria to dependence on Rome, but the Byzantine territorial divisions were maintained, and therefore G. remained a suffragan of Reggio. The Greek rite, however, lasted there for a very long time, having been suppressed by Atanasio Calceopilo in 1461. Greek monasteries were abundant in its territory, and many bishops were Basilian monks.
Among its prelates, besides Calceopilo, who in 1472 also received the diocese of Oppido, which remained united with G. for half a century, Gioannicio and Giovanni Tirso should be remembered, a Basilian monk of the first half of the 14th century, renowned for his holy life; the monk Barlaam of Seminara, the greatest controversialist of the 14th century, Petrarch’s teacher of Greek and a forerunner of Humanism; Simone Atumano, a highly learned biblical scholar; the Caridi, Olivieri Caraffa, Bandinello Saulio, Francesco Armellino Medici, and Alessandro Cesarini, all of the 16th century; Andrea Candida (1552–74), who founded the Seminary; and Ottaviano Pasqua (1574–91), who collected the memoirs of his predecessors.
The cathedral of G. is one of the most interesting buildings in Calabria. It was built by the Normans; the central nave rests on 24 columns, originating from ancient Loeri. It has a magnificent carved choir.
In the diocese, in the municipality of S. Luca, is the sanctuary of Madonna di Polsi, of Basilian origin, one of the most celebrated and most frequented in the region, as well as the Basilian abbeys of s. Nicodemo of Mammola and s. Nicola of Butramo.
The saints Iciunio and Antonio, Basilians; the blessed Antonio, a Capuchin; the venerable Girolamo, a Dominican; and the venerable Bonaventura Perna, a Conventual, originated in G. Mammola, a pleasant town of the diocese, famous for the Basilian monastery of s. Nicodemo, who died there in 990, gave birth to Apollinare Agresta and Giuseppe Del Pozzo, generals of the Basilian Order, and to Gian Crisostomo Scarfò, a Basilian monk and an esteemed writer of the 18th century.
The d. of G. covers 3,500 sq. km.; it has 20 vicariates, with 73 parishes, 107 diocesan and regular priests, and a population of 148,700 Catholics out of 149,000 inhabitants.