Cerenzia is a town, comune (municipality), former bishopric and Latin titular see with a population of 1000 people in the province of Crotone, in Calabria region, southernmost peninsular Italy.
The modern town is besides the Ancient settlement Acerenthia, now a rural site known as Cerenzia vecchia ('old C.'), which includes the ruins of the cathedral dedicated to Saint Theodorus of Amasea, all abandoned to peasantry by the second half of the Ottocento (19th century).
Ecclesiastical history
Circa 960 was founded a Diocese of Cerenz(i)a (Italian) / Pumentum (Latin) / Cerenza / Geruntin(us) (Latin adjective), bordering its invariable Metropolitan, the Archdiocese of Santa Severina, as well as the bishoprics of Umbriatico, Rossano and Cosenza. Its tiny territory comprised Cerenzia itself, the (now defunct) hamlets of Verzino and Lucrò and the castrum of Caccuri.
Until the Norman conquest of Calabria (mid 11th century), it was in the sway of the above patriarchate and used its Greek-language Byzantine rite. A papal bulla by Pope Lucius III in 1183 explicitly mentions its being a suffragan of Santa Severina.
Noted early (late 11th century) bishop Policronius, recuperated the 'Greek' abbey of Santa Maria di Altilia. The bishoprics rich gifts and possessions aroused greed among the local barons, especially Marchisorto, count of Crotone Stefano, tried to impose in 1205 his chaplain, Madio, instead of legitimate bishop Guglielmo, elected by the (cathedral) chapter.
The arrival of the Angevine rule spelled the diocese's decline, among more conflict with the feudal lords, requiring appeals to Metropolitan and Pope.
Mid Trecento (14th century), the area suffered health problems like malaria and from its poor position, even for drinking water, leading to the city being abandoned and the countryside depopulated by harsh feudal impositions.
In 1342 the phrase 'Bishop of Cerenzia and Cariati' was coined, after the new effective seat, and in 1437[4], Pope Eugenius IV formally erected a Diocese of Cariati, immediately placing it in personal union (aeque principaliter) with the old see of Cerenzia. Given the decay of Cerenzia and its episcopal palace, when the Council of Trento imposed on all bishops a fixed residence, Cariati at sea, despite its exposure to Ottoman Turkish raids, was chosen over sickly isolated Cerenzia.
A pest epidemic in 1528 caused the town of Cerenzia and its five parishes to be abandoned, losing its diocesan archive. È in questa occasione che andò in gran parte perduto anche l'archivio. Visiting in the late Cinquecento, bishop Properzio Resta described its pitiful state, including cathedral and palace (Pesavento). Bishops' attempts in the Seicento and Settecento to restore the cathedral and build a new palace were undone by repeated, demotivating earthquakes.
As is customary, the bull referred to the see in adjectival form, and called it ecclesia Geruntina, suggesting as the Latin substantive (noun) form: Geruntia. The Annuario Pontificio gives Pumentum as the Latin substantive form and Cerenza, rather than Cerenzia, as the Italian form, but indicates Geruntinus as the Latin adjective.
Gerardo (? – 1394.02.13), next Archbishop of Rossano (Italy) (1394.02.13 – 1399.09.27), Metropolitan Archbishop of Santa Severina (Italy) (1399.09.27 – death 1400)
Tommaso Rossi (1420.12.23 – 1429.05.18), next Bishop of Oppido Mamertina (Italy) (1429.05.18 – 1429.12.23), Bishop of Strongoli (Italy) (1429.12.23 – death 1433)
The diocese was nominally restored in 1968 as Latin Titular bishopric of Cerenzia (Curiate Italian) / Pumentum (Latin) / Cerenza / Geruntin(us) (Latin adjective).[7]
It has had the following incumbents, so far of the fitting Episcopal (lowest) rank:
Andrea Bernardo Schierhoff (born USA) (1968.11.11 –death 1986.12.01), first as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of La Paz (Bolivia) (1968.11.11 – 1982.12.17), then as Apostolic Vicar of Pando (Bolivia) (1982.12.17 – 1986.12.01)
José María Arancibia (1987.02.26 – 1993.02.13) as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Córdoba (Argentina) (1987.02.26 – 1993.02.13); later Coadjutor Archbishop of Mendoza (Argentina) (1993.02.13 – 1996.03.25), succeeding as Metropolitan Archbishop of Mendoza (1996.03.25 – retired 2012.11.10)
Minervino Murge is a town and comune, former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see in the administrative province of Barletta-Andria-Trani in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, lying on the western flank of the Murgia Barese mountain chain.
Strongoli is a comune and town with a population of over 6000 people in the province of Crotone, in Calabria, southernmost Italy.
The Archdiocese of Crotone-Santa Severina is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Calabria in southern Italy, created in 1986 when it was combined with the Diocese of Santa Severina. It is now a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Catanzaro-Squillace. In 2013 there was one priest for every 1,841 Catholics.
The Italian Catholic Diocese of San Marco Argentano-Scalea, in Cosenza, Calabria, has existed as the diocese of San Marco since at least 1171, when the name of Bishop Ruben appears in a document. It is now a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Cosenza-Bisignano.
The Italian Catholic Archdiocese of Rossano–Cariati in Calabria has existed since 597, beginning as the Diocese of Rossano. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Cosenza-Bisignano.
The Italian Catholic diocese of Cariati, in Calabria, existed until 1979. In that year it was united into the archdiocese of Rossano-Cariati. The diocese was a suffragan of the archdiocese of Santa Severina, and then of the archdiocese of Reggio Calabria. In 2001, it became a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Cosenza-Bisignano.
The Diocese of Acerra is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Campania, southern Italy, eight miles east of Naples, in the area once called Terra Laboris (Liburia). It has existed since the 11th century. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Naples.
The Italian Catholic Diocese of Diano (Teggiano)–Policastro (Latin: Dioecesis Dianensis-Policastrensis), in Campania, has existed since 1850, under its present name since 1986. In that year the Diocese of Diano (Teggiano) was united with the diocese of Policastro.
The archdiocese of Santa Severina was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Calabria, southern Italy, that existed until 1986. In that year it was united into the diocese of Crotone, forming the Archdiocese of Crotone-Santa Severina.
Sasabe, a small place near Jaca in Huesca province, Aragon region, Spain is an ermitage that became a former semi-itinerant bishopric and is now a Latin Catholic titular see.
The Diocese of Castro di Puglia was a Roman Catholic diocese located in the town of Castro of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-eastern Italy. In 1818, it was suppressed to the Archdiocese of Otranto. In 1968, it was restored as the titular see of Castro and then in 1976, as the titular see of Castro di Puglia.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Alessano was a Roman Catholic diocese in Italy, located in the city of Alessano, in the province of Lecce, part of Apulia region of south-east Italy. On 28 June 1818, it was suppressed to the Diocese of Ugento.
The Diocese of Belcastro in the town of Belcastro in the province of Catanzaro, in the Calabria region of southern Italy. In 1828, it was suppressed to the Archdiocese of Santa Severina.
The Diocese of Strongoli was a Roman Catholic diocese in Italy, located in the city of Strongoli, Calabria. In 1818, it was suppressed and changed, with the bull De utiliori of Pope Pius VII, and his territory was absorbed in the Diocese of Cariati.
The Diocese of Martirano was a Roman Catholic diocese located in the village and comune of Martirano in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of Italy. It was suppressed in 1818 to the Diocese of Nicastro.
The Diocese of Umbriatico was a Roman Catholic diocese located in the town of Umbriatico in the province of Crotone in southern Italian region of Calabria. In 1818, it was suppressed with the bull De utiliori of Pope Pius VII, and incorporated in the diocese of Cariati.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Pedena was a Catholic diocese located in the town of Pedena in the central part of Istria, Croatia, 12 km southeast of Pazin and is now a Latin titular see.
San Leone was a town and Catholic bishopric in Calabria, southern Italy, which remains a Latin titular see.
Agazio di Somma was a Roman Catholic prelate and baroque writer who served as Bishop of Catanzaro (1664–1671) and Bishop of Cariati e Cerenzia (1659–1664).
Santi Cosma e Damiano is a Roman Catholic church in the town of Isernia in the region of Molise, Italy.
Ferdinando Ughelli, Italia sacra, vol. IX, second edition, Venice 1721, coll. 498–505
Vincenzio d'Avino, Cenni storici sulle chiese arcivescovili, vescovili e prelatizie (nullius) del Regno delle Due Sicilie, Napels 1848, pp.138–139
Giuseppe Cappelletti, Le Chiese d'Italia dalla loro origine sino ai giorni nostri, vol. XXI, Venice 1870, pp.258–259
Domenico Taccone-Gallucci, Regesti dei Romani Pontefici per le chiese della Calabria, Rome 1902, p. 444
Andrea Pesavento, La cattedrale rovinata di San Teodoro a Cerenzia Vecchia, in La Provincia KR nr. 21-23/1998
Paul Fridolin Kehr, Italia Pontificia, X, Berlin 1975, p. 129
Norbert Kamp, Kirche und Monarchie im staufischen Königreich Sizilien, vol 2, Prosopographische Grundlegung: Bistümer und Bischöfe des Königreichs 1194 – 1266; Apulien und Kalabrien, Münich 1975, pp. 897–904
Pius Bonifacius Gams, Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae, Leipzig 1931, p. 869
Konrad Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, vol. 1, p.261; vol. 2, p.158
Papal bulla 'De utiliori', in Bullarii romani continuatio, vol. XV, Rome 1853, pp.56–61
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