SEBASTE (SEBASTIA), ARMENIAN DIOCESE OF. — Ancient capital of Armenia. Around 260, it first had a bishop; Eulalius then took part in the Council of Nicaea, and among its titulars S. boasts SS. Athenogenes, Blase, and Peter, brother of St. Basil the Great. Among the numerous martyrs, special renown belongs to the “Forty Martyrs of S.”, that group of soldiers killed in 320 and later extolled by St. Basil. By the mid-7th century, S. was a metropolitan see with five suffragan dioceses, rising to four in the 10th century. In the 12th century it became the seat of a Turkish emirate. In the 15th century the bishopric of S. existed only in title.
The diocese was restored in 1858 for Armenian Catholics and raised to the dignity of an archbishopric on 30 May 1892. It is personally united with the diocese of Tokat. S., i.e., modern Sivas, had, 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., see: QUARANTA MARTIRI DI S.
Ignazio Ortiz de Urbina