Diocese of Hierapolis

Martyrium

The dioceses of Hierapolis of Phrygia, was a Christian bishopric in Modern Turkey.

Through the influence of the Christian apostle Paul, a church was founded here while he was at Ephesus.[1] The Christian apostle Philip spent the last years of his life here.[2] The town's Martyrium was alleged to have been built upon the spot where Philip was crucified in AD 80. His daughters were also said to have acted as prophetesses in the region.[3][4]

During the 4th century, Christianity had become the dominant religion and begun suppressing other faiths in the area. Originally a see of Phrygia Pacatiana,[5] the Byzantine emperor Justinian raised the bishop of Hierapolis to the rank of metropolitan in 531. The Roman baths were transformed to a Christian basilica. During the Byzantine period, the city continued to flourish and also remained an important centre for Christianity. Tiberiopolis was suffergan.

Gallery

Bishops

References

  1. Colossians 4:13.
  2. Papias. Early Christian Writings.
  3. Eusebius Church History 3.31.4
  4. Eusebius Church History 3.39.9
  5. Ramsay, Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia (Oxford, 1895–1897)
  6. The Roman Martyrology. Transl. by the Archbishop of Baltimore. Last Edition, According to the Copy Printed at Rome in 1914. Revised Edition, with the Imprimatur of His Eminence Cardinal Gibbons. Baltimore: John Murphy Company, 1916. p. 55.
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