Ecclesiastical Geography and Topography of the Christian World - Chapter XIV

Chapter 14

Geography of the Empire and geography of the Church: what is the impact of the structure? Administration of the Roman Empire on ecclesiastical territorial structures.

Geographical organization of Christian communities in the early fourth century

The principle of geographical organization of Christianity is ancient; It goes back at least to the early second century, and it says when you take the first episcopal meetings on Easter. Indeed, Christianity, as a predominantly urban phenomenon, is built as a community with a collective leadership in the Episcopal or any town with city status, which in turn also had an area like a small state.

In the first century, the Roman Empire is a constellation of cities, each having its own legal status concerning the emperor. The principle of geographical organization extends to the civil province with the birth of the first synods on Montanist and Easter. Practices and civil administrative reasons, not theological or apostolic foundation, have influenced the territorial division. The administrative centres of the provinces were the natural venues for the bishops' meeting, whose Bishop was recognized as president. These meetings were held according to the rules of local curies, already in the third century. In some regions, the meetings became annual, as then prescribed by the Council of Nicaea in 325.

             Senatorial (pink) and imperial (red) provinces in 14, under Augustus

The geographical organization of the Church is generally linked with the administrative organization of the Roman Empire. For this reason, we must keep in mind the evolution of the administrative organization of the Empire. In the period that interests us, we have three major administrative reforms of the empire: the reform of Augustus, Diocletian, and Constantine.

The Reform of Augustus 27 BC

    The reform of the emperor Augustus provincial administration and tax breaks and geographical areas:

1) Provinciae pacatae - pacified provinces (senatorial) entrusted to a proconsul, governor of the senatorial class.

2) Provinciae non pacatae - non-peaceful provinces (imperial) where the army was stationed, i.e. legions; they were governed by a legate Augustus proprietor, also of the senatorial class

3) Un praefectus - In a special case, an officer, e.g. Pontius Pilate; in particular Egypt, an imperial province, always entrusted to a commander, of the horsemen class (equities)

4) Italy was not a province, was a privileged place, was existent from taxes and divided into 11 regions; the city of Rome was instead divided into 14 regions (neighbourhoods)

The Reform of Diocletian (293-305)

Diocletian's reform (293-305) – Diocletian during his rule doubled the number of provinces in the Empire, from about 50 to about 100. Italy lost its special status and was divided into provinces (Italic provinces). It emerged from Diocletian's administrative reform completely assimilated to the other provinces of the Empire. All the provinces of the Empire were grouped into dioceses (dioceses) – the units of several provinces. Italy became the Italian diocese which included the provinces of Rezia and the Cottian Alps (now Switzerland and Austria) and absorbed the ancient Mediterranean provinces of Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica; it was governed by a Vicarius Italiae. From this moment on, the large diocese remained the definitive geo-administrative reference framework for Italy until the disappearance of Roman civilization in the second half of the 6th century AD. The provincialization of Italy in 293 AD, it did not in the least affect the privileged position of the city of Rome, which remained the largest and most important city of the Empire where the senate and the senatorial aristocracy played a very important role. Rome was governed by a Praefectus Urbi designated by the emperor. N.B.: from the second half of the 3rd century. the emperors no longer resided in Rome (an exception Maxentius 306-312).

                                            Rome early 3rd century

The Reform of Constantine

This reform concerned the diocese of Italy; it was carried out at the end of the year 312 and the beginning of the year 313, immediately after the victory at the Milvian bridge. Constantine divides the Italian diocese into two large administrative units:

1) Italy annonaria (annonaria regio) – the northern provinces - north of the Arno-Esino River line: Emilia and Liguria, Venice and Istria, Cottian Alps, Rezia.

2) Suburbicarian Italy (suburbicarian regio; “the region that gravitates around the city of Rome”) – the provinces south of that line: Tuscia and Umbria, Flaminia and Piceno, Campania, Apulia and Calabria, Lucania and Bruzzi, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica.

    The northern part, i.e. Italia Annonaria, was governed by a vicarius Italiae based in Milan, while the southern part, Italia Suburbicarian, was entrusted to the new vicar based in Rome: the vicarius in urbe Roma, then vicarius urbis (vicar in the city of Rome, vicar of Rome). The city itself was instead governed by the urban prefect (praefectus urbis), a mature and elderly senator, who presided over the meetings of the Senate of Rome. Furthermore, Constantine gave the urban prefect the cognitio vice sacra (the knowledge is vice sacred), that is, the "ability to instruct and issue sentences in place of the emperor": the tribunal of the prefect of the capital was probably located in the basilica of Constantine (the building known today as the basilica of Maxentius). The formula vice sacra iudicans, "who judges in place of the emperor", accompanied the official title of the prefects of Rome until the 6th century.

Constantine, to avoid any future problems with Rome, quickly demilitarized the city, instead strengthening the military presence in the northern part to protect the frontier of the Empire. This bipartition of the administration of the single Italian diocese also allowed the emperor to optimize and strengthen fiscal flows towards the crucial sectors for the stability of the region: towards the Po Valley, heavily militarized and crossed by imperial officials and couriers from Gaul for Illyricum and vice versa; towards Rome, a populous megalopolis, inhabited by hungry plebs.

Ecclesiastical Geography of the 4th century

To reconstruct the ecclesiastical geography of the 4th century, and more precisely at the time of the Council of Nicaea in 325, it is therefore necessary to keep in mind the administrative division of the Roman Empire and the reforms. We can reconstruct this division thanks to the Laterculus Veronensis, a manuscript from the 7th century. of the Capitular Library of Verona, which presents the list of the provinces of the time of Constantine and Licinius. The administration of the Empire was organized into twelve dioceses, under the administration of vicariates, which were in turn divided into a hundred provinces.

Council of Nicaea in 325

To find out the number of bishops and dioceses, we studied the list of participants of the Council of Nicaea in 325. This list, reconstructed at a later time, which has come down to us in various linguistic versions, is however incomplete and inaccurate. Some scholars accept 194 names, others 220 or 237. The exact number of participants is not known, but accredited sources give a figure exceeding 300; other lists list a smaller number. Some bishops from beyond the border of the Roman Empire were also present: one from Persia, one from Gothia, and another from Cadmus in the Cimmerian Bosphorus (Crimea). From Italy the two Roman delegates from the city of Rome, bishop Silvestro and Marco from Calabria (in reality it is today's Puglia, the name of the diocese is not reported), the only bishop. Ossio of Cordoba (former province Hispaniae), Nicasius of Die in southeastern Gaul. Only two from the Balkan peninsula (Pannonia and Dacia), which instead was very well represented in the synod/council of Sardica in 343, and very few from the Greek-speaking provinces (Achaea, Macedonia, Dardania, Thessaly). Of these provinces, not far from Nicaea, there is a lack of bishops from important and ancient episcopal sees such as Philippi and Corinth. In any case, even if the lists are incomplete and the participants from some regions of the Empire are few or absent, the episcopal participation in the Council of Nicaea and its decisions reflect the evolution of the internal and external ecclesiastical organization and only very partially its geographical spread. In general, we can draw the following conclusions:

·      The lists of participants in the Council do not take into account the grouping of the provinces into dioceses; this new Roman administrative subdivision made by Diocletian is completely ignored.

·      The West is not actually represented except with a few characters; only 4 episcopal sees sent their bishop (Rome, Carthage, Die in Gaul, and an unnamed see in Puglia. Ossio of Cordova is present because he follows the emperor.

·      The new eastern division of the provinces is only partially taken into account.

·      The bishop of the provincial capital, when present, is usually appointed first.

To reconstruct the ecclesiastical geography of that period, two other lists of the two provincial councils may also be useful: that of Arles in Gaul in 314, very important for the West, and that of Sardica (or Serdica) in 343.

Council (synod) of Arles in 314

Council (synod) of Arles in 314 the first council called by Constantine. Only bishops from the Latin-speaking western sees under Constantine's rule were present. Only 44 Churches signatory to the decisions are represented: 13 from Italy (with the islands), 6 from Spain, 3 from Britain, 9 from Africa and 16 from Gaul. There were also 4 Donatist bishops present, who, having been condemned, did not sign. Only 32 bishops participated; the other Churches sent delegates (priests, deacons). Important Christian communities are represented: Milan, Aquileia, Syracuse, Mérida, Cologne, Carthage, and Rome. Three bishops from Britain: London, Lincoln, and York. Southern Gaul was quite Christianized, but few bishops were present or represented. In general, participation is small: 44 Churches out of a few hundred in total throughout the Latin West. The emperor's intention was not to convene a great council but to gather representatives of the major Western Churches - the episcopal geography was to reflect the various provinces. In fact, the twelve Gallic bishops personally present are pastors of provincial capital cities, those bishops who in the East were already called metropolitans. At the end of the debates, the assembly addressed a letter, with the canons, to the bishop of Rome, Silvestro, who had sent two delegates. The Roman practice of sending delegates was constant throughout antiquity. The sending and request for approval of the decisions reflect the conception that was already had of the Roman Church and its role about all the Western locations. The bishops gathered in Arles consider the Roman Church, presided over by Sylvester, their point of reference and more important than all the other main offices. The Roman bishop is like the one who gives definitive value to their decisions.

Latin West participants of the Synod of Arles (Arelate)

N.B.: already in the middle of the 3rd century. there is an appeal to Rome by the African bishops (ca. 240). Others also appeal to the bishop of Rome for local disputes. The bishop of Rome also informed the other Christian communities, through a circular letter, on important issues.

Council (synod) of Sardica 343

Council (synod) of Sardica 343 – even though the list of participants in this local council is approximate, it helps us to see the geographical organization from another perspective, the Balkan one. There are many Westerners in this council. According to various estimates, over  90 Western bishops (97 + the Roman see represented by delegates) and around 66 Eastern bishops were present.

All three of the aforementioned councils (Arles, Nicaea and Sardica) give us a different but still incomplete ecclesiastical geographical perspective. It is impossible to establish the exact number of episcopal sees of this period, but according to Angelo Di Berardino's calculations throughout the Roman Empire and outside the Roman Limes, there were approximately one thousand episcopal sees.

Christian communities in the West and in the East until 325 Universal Atlas of Church History pp 4-5

Who decides to create a new episcopal seat and when? Who determines its geographic extent?

The general principle is the coincidence of the episcopal seat with an inhabited centre with the municipal statute, but it can only be achieved when the spread of Christianity is at an advanced stage. We must assume a close connection between the increase in the number of Christians in a locality and its constitution into a hierarchical community. This, in turn, relates to urbanization: where there are more inhabited centres with city statutes, we have more bishoprics e.g. Asia Minor and Africa Proconsular. The decision to establish a new episcopal see should rest with the bishop or neighbouring bishops, but there could also be a request from local Christians. The first decisions in this regard were decreed by the council of Sardica in 343 and of Carthage in 407.

Decisions of the Council of Nicaea

The Council of Nicaea in 325 uses the term province (eparchy). It takes into account the civil provinces and ecclesiastical geography is also organized according to the civil provinces. This principle is not always valid throughout the Empire. The Council of Nicaea among others issues some canons, which on the one hand consecrate the existing situation of the organization of Christian communities in the East, on the other they can be a stimulus for geographical organization in other areas. Here is Canon IV:

Canon IV. How many should be consecrated a bishop? It exercises the greatest care that a bishop must be set up by all the bishops of the province. If this is difficult or in case of difficulties, or the distance, at least three, gathering together in one place, and not without having had prior written consent of the absent, celebrate the consecration. The confirmation of what has been accomplished is reserved in each province to the metropolitan bishop.

The aforementioned canon bears in mind the civil organization created by Diocletian and Constantine. The civil province coincides with the ecclesiastical one. Therefore, in the years immediately preceding there was a great development of ecclesiastical organization in relation to the multiplication of the number of civil provinces.

In the 4th century, it was an absolute and undisputed rule that there was only one bishop in each city - the territorial bishop - whose jurisdiction extended to the entire surrounding territory and not just within the city.

Synod of Antioch in 341

The Canon IX of the Synod of Antioch 341 states: In fact, each bishop has the power over their own diocese, he should administer according to piety that is proper and watch over all the country that depends on its cities, so too can ordain priests and deacons and examine everything with judgment. But besides all this you cannot do anything without the consent of the metropolitan bishop, or they can decide anything without the consent of the other.

Ecclesiastical Province - metropolitan

In the fourth century, the word province (in the field east called eparchy) indicated civil province and the ecclesiastical province. Diocletian multiplied the civil provinces that came from fifty to over a hundred. In principle, a group of bishoprics of a civil province constituted an ecclesiastical province that is the metropolitan.

A special case was the Church of Alexandria in Egypt, whose authority extended over many provinces. The Nicene Council ratified a factual situation, stating that in Egypt, Libya, and the Pentapolis (Cyrenaica and Libya) the ancient custom applies, according to which the bishop of Alexandria has authority over all these provinces. The Egyptian Church has a different organization compared to other regions, having had a different development. There were not many bishops in the so-called chora (civil administrative units) in the third century, but when the process of creating bishops was triggered, their number grew with surprising rapidity. The Egyptian Church had no metropolitans in the individual provinces, not even after Diocletian's administrative reform. The bishop (patriarch) of Alexandria had no intermediate mediation with the bishops of Egypt but had direct relations with each of them. Even in Egypt, the episcopal seats normally coincided with the administrative subdivisions and were in inhabited centres with civic statutes (the main village). The bishop of Alexandria, however, was free to create episcopal sees as he pleased wherever and whenever he wanted. Between the 4th and 5th centuries, there were just seventy-five episcopal sees in Egypt.

Pastoral care

When the territory is very large, pastoral care is provided in various ways:

• corepiscopoes (co-bishops) were established as bishops of the countryside (since the 4th century an attempt was made to avoid this solution, bishops had to reside only in urban centres)
•  a travelling priest is sent (periodeuta)
•  stable parishes administered by presbyters are created

Christianity was first and foremost an urban phenomenon. The cities, according to the Greco-Roman conception, were the centre of the local organization of the communities, led, as already mentioned, by the bishop. Each community is autonomous and is equipped with the structures necessary for operation. For each civil province, the number of episcopal sees is related to the degree of evangelization, the intensity of the population the number of inhabited centres (cities or municipalities) and the Roman municipal structure.

Parish network and presbyteries

As the Christian community grows in the same city or in an administrative district, the need for ecclesial decentralization arises in the division of a large community into other smaller communities and the construction of new places of worship; thus urban "parishes" were born, is, small communities headed by a presbyter, who certainly celebrated the Eucharist. But already at the time of Cyprian, priests could celebrate the Eucharist.

We find the first beginnings of the parish system in Egypt as early as the end of the 3rd century. In large cities such as Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, and Milan, as well as in medium-sized centres such as Nicomedia, various places of worship are built due to decentralization needs and the impossibility of the faithful gathering in the same place.

Rome was divided into pastoral districts, in each of which there was a domus ecclesiae, a building for worship and the home of the clergy, which in the 4th century was called titulus.

Furthermore, in this same century oratories and rural churches were built in small inhabited centres, that is, in the villae (estates), in the vici (villages), especially in those very large dioceses, so that the population could participate in worship. In the West, the parish system spread to Spain and Gaul during the 5th and 6th centuries. N.B.: Initially both urban and rural churches that were not episcopal seats had little autonomy because only the cathedral had a baptistery and all the faithful normally had to gather there.

The role and hierarchy of the bishops

The bishops, personifications, and representatives of their respective Churches, were of equal rights but mutually dependent. This idea is expressed in the ordination rite itself (three consecrating bishops, transmission of the apostolic succession); some of them, however, have a privilege of honour compared to others, either because their seat was an apostolic foundation or because their city was important for political, cultural, economic, or religious reasons. This privilege of honour includes a certain authority, as neighbouring Churches refer to the bishop of this city, for episcopal ordinations and synodal assemblies. These meetings were made up of the bishops of the same territory, which may not even coincide with the Roman administrative structure, i.e. the province. In this way, provincial ecclesiastical federations arose as early as the 3rd century, but not everywhere. These do not always follow the boundaries of the provinces; in fact, a city like Antioch had an influence that went from Palestine to the Caspian Sea. Alexandria embraced all of Egypt up to Cyrenaica; Carthage emerged across all of Africa.

Metropolitan Bishop

In the Council of Nicaea, Canon IV uses the term metropolitan bishop for the first time, that is, the bishop of the capital city of the province or of several civil provinces. Already during the 3rd century, this bishop acquired not only greater importance but also a certain authority over other bishops. Various canons of the Council of Nicaea underline the importance of the metropolitan, for example, the confirmation of the election of a bishop falls in each region to the metropolitan bishop; in each province (eparchy) synods are held twice a year (can. 5); in episcopal ordinations, possibly all the bishops of the province must come together and the consent of the metropolitan is required (can. 4), that is, the bishop of the metropolis, the capital of the province.

The metropolitan was the centre of the provincial communion (eparchy): It is appropriate that the bishops of each community know who their primus (metropolitan) is and that they do nothing outside their own church without having first consulted with him [...] But the primus must also do nothing without consulting with others (Apostolic Canons, can. 9). The synod of Antioch in 341 specifies even better: the metropolitan has the care of the entire province, has the place of honour and each bishop cannot operate outside his territory (can. 9). (To be Continued)

Dr. Nicholas Macedon OCD

Carmelite Priory, Oxford.            

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