Bishop of Bari
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Archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto Archidioecesis Barensis-Bituntinus |
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Cathedral in Bari
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| Location | |
| Country | Italy |
| Ecclesiastical province | Bari-Bitonto |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 1,264 km2 (488 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2006) 740,900 732,277 (98.8%) |
| Parishes | 125 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | 4th Century |
| Cathedral | Cattedrale-Basilica di S. Maria |
| Co-cathedral | Concattedrale di Maria SS. Assunta |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Archbishop | Francesco Cacucci |
| Website | |
| www.arcidiocesibaribitonto.it | |
The archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto (Latin: Archidioecesis Barensis-Bituntinus) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Apulia, southern Italy, created in 1986, when the historical archdiocese of Bari was united to the diocese of Bitonto.
The first known bishop of Bari was Gervasius, who, in 347, was at the Council of Sardica. In 530 bishop Peter held the title of Metropolitan under Epiphanius, bishop of Constantinople & Ecumenical Patriarch. In 780 bishop Leontius was present at the Seventh Ecumenical Council, the Second of Nicaea.
In the ninth century the Saracens laid waste Apulia, destroyed the city of Canosa (Canusium) and captured Bari. In 841, however, the Byzantine army reconquered Bari, and in 844 bishop Angelarius, Canosa, then in ruins, brought to Bari the relics of Saint Rufinus, Saint Memorus, and Saint Sabinus, which he had rescued from the ruins. Pope Sergius II conferred on him the title of Bishop of the two dioceses of Bari and Canosa, a title which the archbishops of Bari retain to the present.
In 933 Pope John XI granted the bishops of Bari the use of the pallium. It seems that the bishops were dependent on the Eastern Ecumenical Patriarch until the 10th century. Giovanni II (952) was able to withdraw from this influence, refusing to accept the prescriptions of the patriarch concerning liturgical points. All connection with the Eastern Churches was finally severed during the eleventh century, as Bari became a direct ecclesiastical dependency of Rome. So before the 10th c was over, the top ranking Orthodox episcopal dignitary throughout Byzantine Italy, became the archbishop of Melfi, in spite of Bari remaining the center of Byzantine authority in the area, as the seat of the katepano of Italia until the capture of the city by the Normans in 1071.
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Wikipedia