SEBASTE (Sebastia), Armenian Diocese of. - Ancient capital of Armenia. It had, around 260, first a bishop; Eulalius then took part in the Council of Nicaea and among the ranks of its titulars S. glories in St. Athenogenes, St. Blaise and St. Peter, brother of St. Basil the Great. Among the numerous martyrs, special fame belongs to the "40 martyrs of S.", that is, that group of soldiers killed in 320 and later exalted by St. Basil. Toward the middle of the 7th century S. is a metropolis with 5 suffragans and with 4 in the 10th century. In the 12th century it became the seat of a Turkish emirate. In the 15th century the bishopric of S. is merely titular.

The diocese was reestablished in 1858 for the Catholics of the Armenian rite and elevated to the dignity of archbishopric on 30 May 1892. It has united to it, by personal title, the diocese of Tokat. S., that is, the modern Sivas, counted before the First World War 3,000 faithful, 18 priests, 11 churches and chapels and 2 colleges. But after the massacre of the Armenians the diocese has remained devastated.

For the martyrs of S., v.: QUARANTA MARTIRI DI S.

Bibliography2 works

BIBL.: M. Le Quien, Oriens Christianus, I, Paris 1740, pp. 419-26; D. M. Girard, Sivas, huit siècles d'histoire, in Rev. de l'Orient chrétien, 10 (1905), pp. 79-95, 169-81, 283-88, 337-49.

Ignazio Ortiz de Urbina

@incollection{ec11_sebaste_sebastia_diocesi_armen, author = {Ortiz, de Urbina Ignazio}, title = {Sebaste (Sebastia), diocesi armena di}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {XI}, pages = {207--208}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1953}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/sebaste-sebastia-diocesi-armena-di} }

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Sebaste (Sebastia), Armenian Diocese of

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