Metropolis of Ancyra

The Metropolis of Ancyra (Greek: Μητρόπολις Ἀγκύρας) was a Christian (Eastern Orthodox after the East–West Schism) bishopric in Ancyra (modern Ankara, Turkey) and metropolitan see of Galatia Prima. The see survived the Seljuk Turkish conquest at the end of the 11th century, and remained active until the end of the Ottoman Empire and the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923.

The city of Ancyra had been the political centre of the Roman province of Galatia since its establishment in 25 BC. The arrival of Christianity in Ancyra is probably to be dated to the time of the Apostles in the mid-1st century AD, but is attested in the sources only much later. Modern historians suggest that Apostles Peter and Andrew in person preached in the city, and founded the local Church, with a certain Cresces, a disciple of the Apostle Paul, who lived between 56 and 117 AD, as the city's first bishop. The existence of a Christian Church in Ancyra is not attested until around 180, and the earliest attested bishop, however, is Theodore, who became a martyr during one of the anti-Christian persecutions of the 3rd century. Other important early Christian martyrs, who developed a considerable local cult, were Plato of Ancyra and Clement of Ancyra.

The city is well known during the 4th century as a centre of Christian activity: Bishop Marcellus of Ancyra and Basil of Ancyra were active in the theological controversies of their day, and the city was the site of no less than three church synods in 314, in 358, and in 375, the latter two in favour of Arianism. Emperor Julian (r. 361–363) visited the city during his ill-fated Persian campaign in 362, and reportedly ordered the execution of the martyrs Basil and Gemellus; a third condemned, Busiris, was spared his life.

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