View source for Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Athens

{{short description|Latin Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Greece}}
{{Infobox diocese
|jurisdiction     = Archdiocese 
|name             = Athens 
|latin            = Archidioecesis Atheniensis 
|local            = Ιερά Αρχιεπισκοπή Καθολικών Αθηνών
|image            = Attica_06-13_Athens_49_Catholic_StDionysius_Church.jpg
|image_size       = 250px
|image_alt        = 
|caption          = Cathedral Basilica of St. Dionysius the Areopagite, Athens
|map              = Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Athens.jpg 
|country          = [[Greece]]
|metropolitan     = Immediately [[Exemption (Catholic canon law)|exempt]] to the [[Holy See]]
|denomination     = [[Catholic Church]]
|sui_iuris_church = [[Latin Church]]
|rite             = [[Roman Rite]]
|established      = 23 July 1875
|cathedral        = Καθεδρικός Ναός Αγ. Διονυσίου Αρεοπαγίτου των Καθολικών <br>(''[[Cathedral Basilica of St. Dionysius the Areopagite]]'')  
|cocathedral      = 
|area_km2         = 46,775 
|population       = 
|population_as_of = 2015
|catholics        = 100,000
|catholics_percent= {{steady}}1.6  
|pope             = {{Incumbent pope}}
|metro_archbishop = 
|bishop           = [[Theodoros Kontidis]], [[Society of Jesus|S.J.]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2021/07/14/0463/01004.html|title=Rinunce e nomine}}</ref>    
|coadjutor        = 
|bishop_title     = Archbishop 
|auxiliary_bishops= 
}}

The '''Archdiocese of Athens''' ({{langx|la|Archidioecesis Atheniensis}} or ''Athenarum'') is a [[Latin Church]] ecclesiastical territory or [[archdiocese]] of the [[Catholic Church]] in [[Greece]]. Its [[cathedra]] is found within the neoclassic [[Cathedral Basilica of St. Dionysius the Areopagite]], in the [[episcopal see]] of [[Athens]].

==History==
The [[See of Athens]] is one of the oldest Christian bishoprics, dating back to [[Hierotheos the Thesmothete]] in the mid-1st century AD. In ca. 800, it was raised to a [[metropolitan see]].

In 1205, the city was captured by the [[Fourth Crusade|Crusaders]], who had conquered [[Constantinople]] and dissolved the [[Byzantine Empire]] the year before. The city's incumbent [[Greek Orthodox]] bishop, [[Michael Choniates]], retired to the island of [[Kea]], and a Latin Catholic archbishop was installed in his place, with the French cleric Berard being elected to the post in 1206.{{sfn|Setton|1976|pp=22–23, 407}}{{sfn|Koder|Hild|1976|p=84}}

The Crusaders largely maintained the ecclesiastical order they found, appointing Catholic bishops to replace the Orthodox prelates.{{sfn|Setton|1976|p=406}} Thus, in a letter by [[Pope Innocent III]] to Berard in 1209, 11 [[suffragan sees]] are mentioned under Athens, identical to those under Byzantine rule, although most of them were ''de facto'' vacant: [[Chalcis|Negroponte]] (''Egripontis''), [[Thermopylae]] (''Cermopilensis'', seat in [[Marquisate of Bodonitsa|Bodonitsa]]),  [[Davleia]] (''Davaliensem''),  [[Avlon, Euboea|Aulon]] (''Abelonensem''), [[Oreoi]] (''Zorconensis''), [[Karystos]] (''Caristiensem''), [[Koroneia, Boeotia|Koroneia]] (''Coroniacensem''), Andros (''Andrensem''), [[Megara]] (''Megarensem''), [[Skyros]] (''Squirensem''), and Kea (''Cheensem'').{{sfn|Koder|Hild|1976|p=84}}{{sfn|Setton|1976|p=408}} In the ''Provinciale Romanum'', a list of the sees subordinate to the [[See of Rome]], dating to some time before 1228, the number of suffragans is reduced to eight: Thermopylae, Daulia, [[Latin Bishopric of Salona|Salona]], Negroponte, Aulon, Oreoi, Megara, and Skyros.{{sfn|Koder|Hild|1976|p=84}}{{sfn|Setton|1976|p=409}}

The Catholic see remained vacant for a period after the [[Catalan Company]] [[battle of Halmyros|conquered]] the [[Duchy of Athens]] in 1311 due to the Catalans' conflict with the papacy, and a residential archbishop is not attested until around the mid-14th century.{{sfn|Koder|Hild|1976|p=86}} Beginning with [[Dorotheus I of Athens|Dorotheus I]] ca. 1388, the Orthodox bishops of Athens, who had been continued to be appointed as titular holders since the Latin conquest, were allowed to resume residence in the city, but the Latin Archbishop retained his pre-eminent position until the conquest of the [[Duchy of Athens]] by the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1456. The last Latin Archbishop, Nicholas Protimo, fled to Venetian-held [[Euboea]], where he died in 1482. The Catholic see was held by [[titular archbishop]]s thereafter.

On 23 July 1875, the see was restored as the modern Catholic Archdiocese of Athens, ministering to the Catholic inhabitants of the Greek capital and most of mainland Greece.

Caritas Athens, founded in 1978 and a member of [[Caritas Hellas]], is the official social arm of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Athens.<ref>[https://caritasathens.gr/en/who-we-are-en/caritas-athens-en.html caritasathens.gr]</ref>

==List of Archbishops of Athens ==
{{For|the Orthodox archbishops|List of archbishops of Athens}}

=== Medieval metropolitan archbishops ===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;width:95%;"
|-
! Name !! Appointed !! Term ended !! Notes
|-
| Berard ||align="center"| summer 1206 ||align="center"| 1223? ||  Frenchman, replacing the exiled Orthodox archbishop [[Michael Choniates]].{{sfn|Setton|1976|p=462}}
|-
| Corrado di Sumo ||align="center"| 15 February 1253 ||align="center"| ? ||  
|- 
| Uldrico ||align="center"| 20 May 1273 ||align="center"| ? ||  
|- 
| Stefano Mangiatero, [[Dominican Order|O.P.]] ||align="center"| 1300? ||align="center"| ? ||  
|- 
| Henry ||align="center"| ca. 1305 ||align="center"| ||  {{sfn|Setton|1976|p=461 (note 128)}}
|- 
| [[Nicholas Salamon]] ||align="center"| 1328–1351 ||align="center"| ||  Appointed in 1328 until his death in early 1351.{{sfn|Setton|1976|p=461 (note 128)}}
|-
| John ||align="center"| 8 June 1351 – 1357 ||align="center"| ? ||  Formerly [[archdeacon]] of [[Heraklion|Candia]], died in office.{{sfn|Setton|1976|pp=461 (note 128), 463}}
|-
| Nicholas de Raynaldo ||align="center"| 9 June 1357 ||align="center"| ? || Venetian sub-[[deacon]], [[Dean (religion)|dean]] of [[Chalcis|Negroponte]], elected by the local canons and (re)confirmed by the Pope.{{sfn|Setton|1976|p=463}}
|-
| Francis, [[Order of Friars Minor|O.F.M.]] ||align="center"| 20 August 1365 ||align="center"| ? || Elected by the local canons and (re)confirmed by the Pope.{{sfn|Setton|1976|p=463}}
|-
| John ||align="center"| ? ||align="center"|  || Unknown, except as a name.{{sfn|Setton|1976|p=463}}
|- 
| [[Antonio Ballester]], O.F.M. ||align="center"| 27 March 1370 ||align="center"| 1387 || Catalan, and a prominent figure of Latin Greece. Loyal to the Roman papacy during the [[Western Schism]], vicar of the [[Latin Patriarch of Constantinople]].{{sfn|Setton|1976|pp=463–464 (esp. note 139)}}  
|-
| [[Antonio Blasi]] [Dexart]?, [[O.Merc.]] ||align="center"| 14 May 1388 ||align="center"| 21 February 1403 || Catalan, appointed at the request of [[John I of Aragon]] by the [[Avignon papacy]], although Athens had been captured by the Florentine adventurer [[Nerio I Acciaioli|Nerio Acciaioli]]. Consequently, Blasi never visited Athens, until his transfer to [[Diocese of Cagliari|Cagliari]] in 1403.{{sfn|Setton|1976|p=464 (note 140)}}
|-
| Gerard Boem, O.F.M. ||align="center"| 1388 ||align="center"| || Appointed by the Roman papacy, represented by Bishop James of Argos as vicar in 1389-90 at least.{{sfn|Setton|1976|p=464 (note 140)}}

|-
| Lodovico Aliotti ||align="center"| 12 June 1392 ||align="center"| 1 June 1398 || Afterwards appointed [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Volterra|Bishop of Volterra]]. Died 6 April 1411.
|-
| Franceschino, [[Cistercians|O.Cist.]] ||align="center"| ? ||align="center"| 9 May 1400 || Died.
|-
| Andrea de Lucha, [[Carmelites|O.Carm.]] ||align="center"| 6 September 140 ||align="center"| ? ||  
|-
| John Antony of Corinth ||align="center"| 2 August 1426 ||align="center"| ? || 
|-
| Francesco ||align="center"| 5 November 1427 ||align="center"| ? || 
|-
| Filippo Aulini ||align="center"| 18 May 1429 ||align="center"| ? ||  
|-
| [[Nicholas Protimo]] ||align="center"| 6 July 1446 ||align="center"| 1482 || Last archbishop under Latin rule. Fled to Negroponte after the Ottoman conquest in 1456.
|-
| align="center" colspan="4" | Source(s):<ref name=gcatholicathens>{{cite web |url=http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/athe0.htm |title=Archdiocese of Athens |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=gcatholic.org |publisher= |access-date=22 March 2015}}</ref>{{sfn|Eubel|1913|loc=''Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi'', volume 1, pp. 114–115}}{{sfn|Eubel|1914|loc=''Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi'', volume 2, p. 98}}
|}

=== Titular archbishops ===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;width:95%;"
|-
! Name !! Appointed !! Term ended !! Notes
|-
| Giovanni Nicolini ||align="center"| 26 April 1482 ||align="center"| ? || Previously [[Archbishop of Amalfi]]. 
|-
| [[Alexander Gordon (bishop of Galloway)|Alexander Gordon]] ||align="center"| 4 September 1551 ||align="center"| 11 November 1575 || Died
|-
| Attilio Amalteo ||align="center"| 14 August 1606 ||align="center"| 25 May 1633 || Died
|-
| [[Gaspare Mattei]] ||align="center"| 5 September 1639 ||align="center"| 14 December 1643 || Afterwards appointed [[Cardinal-Priest]] of [[San Pancrazio]]
|-
| Nicolò Guidi di Bagno ||align="center"| 14 March 1644 ||align="center"| 9 April 1657 || Afterwards appointed [[Cardinal-Priest]] of [[Sant'Eusebio]]
|-
| Giacomo Altoviti ||align="center"| 29 July 1658 ||align="center"| 18 April 1667 || Afterwards appointed [[Latin Patriarch of Antioch|Titular Patriarch of Antioch]]
|-
| Carlo de' Vecchi ||align="center"| 27 April 1667 ||align="center"| 13 March 1673 || Died 
|-
| Francesco Boccapaduli ||align="center"| 15 July 1675 ||align="center"| 23 November 1680 || Died 
|-
| Marcello d'Aste ||align="center"| 10 December 1691 ||align="center"| 3 February 1700 || Afterwards appointed Archbishop of Ancona e Numana (personal title)
|-
| [[Filippo Antonio Gualterio (cardinal)|Filippo Antonio Gualtieri]] ||align="center"| 30 March 1700 ||align="center"| 21 November 1701 || Afterwards appointed Archbishop of Imola (personal title)
|-
| Giuseppe Vallemani ||align="center"| 5 December 1701 ||align="center"| 28 November 1707 || Afterwards appointed [[Cardinal-Priest]] of [[Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri|Santa Maria degli Angeli]] 
|-
| Pier Marcellino Corradini ||align="center"| 7 November 1707 ||align="center"| 21 November 1712 || Afterwards appointed [[Cardinal-Priest]] of [[San Giovanni a Porta Latina]] 
|-
| Silvius de Cavalieri ||align="center"| 5 October 1712 ||align="center"| 11 January 1717 || Died 
|-
| Bartolomeo Massei ||align="center"| 3 February 1721 ||align="center"| 8 January 1731 || Afterwards appointed [[Cardinal-Priest]] of [[Basilica of Sant'Agostino, Rome|Sant'Agostino]] 
|-
| Nicola Saverio Albini ||align="center"| 8 January 1731 ||align="center"| 11 April 1740 || Died 
|-
| Ludovico Merlini ||align="center"| 27 October 1740 ||align="center"| 21 July 1760 || Afterwards appointed [[Cardinal-Priest]] of [[Santa Prisca]] 
|-
| [[Giovanni Carlo Boschi]] ||align="center"| 22 September 1760 ||align="center"| 21 July 1766 || Afterwards appointed [[Cardinal-Priest]] of [[Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Rome|Santi Giovanni e Paolo]] 
|-
| Ignazio Reali ||align="center"| 26 September 1766 ||align="center"| 8 December 1767 || Died 
|-
| Giuseppe Maria Contesini ||align="center"| 25 January 1768 ||align="center"| 28 February 1785 || Died 
|-
| Giulio Cesare Zoglio ||align="center"| 27 June 1785 ||align="center"| 13 April 1795 || Died 
|-
| Camillo Campanelli ||align="center"| 27 June 1796 ||align="center"| 23 September 1805 || Afterwards appointed Archbishop of Perugia (personal title) 
|-
| [[Giovanni Francesco Guerrieri]] ||align="center"| 16 March 1808 ||align="center"| 27 September 1819 || Afterwards appointed Archbishop of Rimini (personal title) 
|-
| Giovanni Francesco Falzacappa ||align="center"| 27 September 1819 ||align="center"| 10 March 1823 || Afterwards appointed Archbishop of Ancona e Numana (personal title)  
|-
| Filippo Filonardi ||align="center"| 16 May 1823 ||align="center"| 3 July 1826 || Afterwards appointed [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ferrara-Comacchio|Archbishop of Ferrara]] 
|-
| Francesco Tiberi Contigliano ||align="center"| 2 October 1826 ||align="center"| 2 July 1832 || Afterwards appointed Archbishop of Jesi (personal title)  
|-
| Ludovico Tevoli ||align="center"| 17 December 1832 ||align="center"| 17 October 1856 || Died 
|-
| Mariano Falcinelli Antoniacci, O.S.B. ||align="center"| 21 December 1857 ||align="center"| 4 May 1874 || Afterwards appointed [[Cardinal-Priest]] of [[San Marcello al Corso|San Marcello]] 
|-
| align="center" colspan="4" | Source(s):<ref name=gcatholicathens/>{{sfn|Eubel|1914|loc=''Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi'', volume 2, p. 98}}<ref name=d4a71>{{Catholic-hierarchy|diocese|d4a71|Athenae (Titular See)|22 March 2015}}</ref>{{sfn|Eubel|1923|loc=''Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi'', volume 3, p. 122}}{{sfn|Eubel|1935|loc=''Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi'', volume 4, p. 99}}{{sfn|Eubel|1952|loc=''Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi'', volume 5, p. 103}}{{sfn|Eubel|1958|loc=''Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi'', volume 6, pp. 104–105}}
|}

=== Modern metropolitan archbishops ===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;width:95%;"
|-
! Incumbent !! Appointed !! Term ended !! Notes
|-
| [[Ioannis Marangos]] ||align="center"| 23 July 1875 ||align="center"| 17 December 1891 || Died
|-
| [[Giuseppe Zaffino]] || align="center" | 29 April 1892 ||align="center"| 7 February 1895 || Died
|-
| [[Caietanus Maria de Angelis]], O.F.M. Conv. || align="center" | 10 May 1895 ||align="center"| 28 March 1900 || Died
|-
| [[Antonio Delenda]] || align="center" | 29 April 1900 ||align="center"| 10 September 1911 || Died
|-
| [[Louis Petit]], A.A. || align="center" | 4 March 1912 ||align="center"| 24 June 1926 || Resigned
|-
| [[Giovanni Battista Filippucci]] || align="center" | 25 January 1927 ||align="center"| 29 May 1947 || Afterwards appointed [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Naxos, Andros, Tinos and Mykonos|Archbishop of Naxos, Andros, Tinos and Mykonos]]
|-
| [[Markos Sigalas]] || align="center" | 22 February 1947 ||align="center"| 10 March 1950 || Died
|-
| [[Marios Makrionitis]], S.J. || align="center" | 11 March 1953 ||align="center"| 8 April 1959 || Died
|-
| [[Venediktos Printesis]] ||align="center"| 15 May 1959 ||align="center"| 17 November 1972 || Resigned
|-
| [[Nikolaos Foskolos]] ||align="center"| 25 June 1973 ||align="center"| 12 August 2014 || Retired
|-
| [[Sevastianos Rossolatos]] ||align="center"| 12 August 2014 ||align="center"| 14 July 2021 || Retired
|-
| [[Theodoros Kontidis]], [[Society of Jesus|S.J.]] ||align="center"| 14 July 2021 ||align="center"| present || 
|-
| align="center" colspan="4" | Source(s):<ref name=gcatholicathens/><ref name=dathe>{{Catholic-hierarchy|diocese|dathe|Archdiocese of Athēnai {Athens}|22 March 2015}}</ref>
|}

==See also==
*[[Roman Catholicism in Greece]]
*[[List of Roman Catholic dioceses in Greece]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Eubel |first=Konrad |authorlink=Konrad Eubel |year=1913 |language=Latin |title=Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi (1198–1431) |url=https://archive.org/stream/hierarchiacathol01eubeuoft#page/114/mode/2up |volume=1 |publisher=Monasterii Sumptibus et typis librariae }}
* {{cite book |last=Eubel |first=Konrad |authorlink=Konrad Eubel |year=1914 |language=Latin |title=Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi (1431–1503) |url=https://archive.org/stream/hierarchiacathol02eubeuoft#page/98/mode/2up |volume=2 |publisher=Monasterii Sumptibus et typis librariae }}
* {{cite book |last=Eubel |first=Konrad |authorlink=Konrad Eubel |year=1923 |language=Latin |title=Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi (1503–1592) |url=https://archive.org/stream/hierarchiacathol03eube#page/122/mode/2up |volume=3 |publisher=Monasterii Sumptibus et typis librariae }}
* {{cite book |last=Eubel |first=Konrad |authorlink=Konrad Eubel |year=1935 |language=Latin |title=Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi (1592–1667) |url=https://archive.org/stream/hierarchiacathol04eubeuoft#page/99/mode/2up |volume=4 |publisher=Monasterii Sumptibus et typis librariae }}
* {{cite book |last=Eubel |first=Konrad |authorlink=Konrad Eubel |year=1952 |language=Latin |title=Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi (1667–1730) |url=https://archive.org/stream/hierarchiacathol05eubeuoft#page/103/mode/2up |volume=5 |publisher=Monasterii Sumptibus et typis librariae }}
* {{cite book |last=Eubel |first=Konrad |authorlink=Konrad Eubel |year=1958 |language=Latin |title=Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi (1730–1799) |url=https://archive.org/stream/hierarchiacathol06eubeuoft#page/104/mode/2up |volume=6 |publisher=Monasterii Sumptibus et typis librariae }}
* {{Tabula Imperii Byzantini|volume=1 }}
* {{The Papacy and the Levant|volume=1}}
{{Refend}}

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{{Catholicism in Greece}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Athens}}
[[Category:Roman Catholic dioceses in Greece]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic dioceses established in the 13th century]]
[[Category:Christianity in Athens]]