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22-643: Monreale forms its own archdiocese and is home to Monreale Cathedral , a historical Norman-Byzantine cathedral, one of several buildings named in a UNESCO World Heritage Site , a group of nine inscribed as Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale . After the occupation of Palermo by the Arabs (the Emirate of Sicily ), the Bishop of Palermo was forced to move his seat outside

44-500: A long time. When the Norman Kings of Sicily chose the area as their hunting resort, more people and commerce came to the area after the royalty built a palace (probably identifiable with the modern town hall). Under King William II, a large monastery of Benedictines coming from Cava de' Tirreni , with its church, was founded and provided with large assets. The new construction also had an important defensive function. Monreale

66-412: A publication now in the public domain :  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). " Archdiocese of Monreale ". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company. 38°05′00″N 13°17′00″E  /  38.0833°N 13.2833°E  / 38.0833; 13.2833 Diocese of Siracusa The Archdiocese of Siracusa , also known as Syracuse, ( Latin : Archidioecesis Syracusana )

88-591: Is twinned with: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Monreale The Archdiocese of Monreale ( Latin : Archidioecesis Montis Regalis ) is a Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Sicily . As of 2000 it is no longer a metropolitan see , and is now a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Palermo . In 1174 the abbey of Monreale was declared a prælatura nullius ; two years later its abbot

110-581: Is 102 metres long and 47 meters wide. The façade is characterized by two large towers (one partially destroyed by lightning in 1807) and a portal with Romanesque bronze doors decorated by Bonanno Pisano . The interior is on the Latin cross plan, divided by ogival arcades, and features fresco cycles executed during the reigns of William II and Tancred of Sicily (c. 1194). The cloister has 228 small columns, each with different decorations influenced by Provençal, Burgundian, Arab and Salerno medieval art. Monreale

132-470: Is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Sicily . It became an archdiocese in 1844. The current archbishop is Francesco Lomanto . Syracuse claimed to be the second Church founded by St. Peter , after that of Antioch . It also claims that St. Paul preached there. As its first bishop it venerates St. Marcianus, whose dates are uncertain, though some claim he

154-514: Is one of the greatest extant examples of Norman architecture . It was begun in 1174 by William II and completed four years later. In 1182 the church, dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary , was, by a bull of Pope Lucius III , elevated to the rank of a metropolitan cathedral . The church is a national monument of Italy and one of the most important attractions of Sicily. Its size

176-738: The diocese of Girgenti and diocese of Caltagirone also became suffragan to Monreale; but Siracusa, in 1844, and Catania, in 1860, became archiepiscopal sees. The former having become the metropolitan of Caltagirone, Monreale received the new diocese of Caltanisetta (1860), which see and Girgenti became its only suffragans. From 1775 to 1802 Monreale and Palermo were united under a single archbishop. Erected: 1176 Latin Name: Montis Regalis Elevated: 5 February 1183 Latin Name: Montis Regalis [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from

198-574: The General Parliament of Sicily. On 5 April 1778, they petitioned King Ferdinand to have the number of dioceses increased to solve the problem, and he graciously agreed to their supplication. In 1802, when the Bishop of Syracuse died, the town Council of Caltagirone petitioned the King again, and in the bull of appointment of the new bishop Pope Pius VII reserved the right to divide the diocese at

220-576: The Second Council of Nicaea, and carried to Constantinople the relics of St. Lucy for safety against the Saracen incursions. Archbishop Gregorios Asbestas was deposed by Ignatius , who had become Patriarch of Constantinople in 847, though Ignatius' election and then his act of deposition of Gregory were condemned by Pope Leo IV . Gregory and two other bishops had appealed to Rome, and Pope Leo insisted that no bishop should be deposed without

242-640: The appropriate moment. In 1806, the Pope and the Consistorial Congregation assigned the Archbishop of Palermo the task of carrying out the negotiations which would lead to a reordering of the dioceses of Sicily. A new bishop of Siracusa, Filippo Trigona, was appointed in 1807, and both he and the town council of Siracusa were opposed to the plan to diminish the size of the diocese. On 12 September 1816, however, Pope Pius VII proceeded to issue

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264-518: The capital. The role of a cathedral was assigned to a modest little church, Aghia Kiriaki , in a nearby village later known as Monreale. After the Norman conquest in 1072 , Christians took back the former Palermo cathedral . Probably the village's role as a temporary ecclesiastical centre played a part in King William II's decision to build a cathedral here. Monreale was a small village for

286-472: The consent of Rome. Gregory then became the principal supporter of Patriarch St. Photius , and actually carried out his consecration in 857. He lost his See when Syracuse fell to the Arabs. After Syracuse fell to the Arabs in 878, Bishop Sophronius was thrown into prison at Palermo together with the monk Theodosius, where he died in a dungeon. Until the Norman Conquest in the eleventh century

308-510: The instructions to detach the new diocese of Caltagirone from Syracuse, and the King followed with executorial letters on 8 April 1817. On 15 May 1844, Pope Gregory XVI created the new diocese of Noto out of territory belonging to the diocese of Siracusa, and the action was approved by King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies on 2 July 1844. Noto was made suffragan to the diocese of Siracusa. On 6 May 1950, Pope Pius XII established

330-466: The martyrdom of the deacon Euplus and the virgin St. Lucy under Diocletian are thought to be historical. The names of the known bishops of the following century are few in number: Germanus (346); Eulalius (465); Agatho (553), during whose rule Pope Vigilius died at Syracuse; another bishop was denounced by Pope Honorius for the protection which he accorded to prostitutes; St. Zozimus (640), who founded

352-528: The monastery of Santa Lucia fuori-le-mura ; St. Elias (d. 660). Of Marcianos II, it is said that he was consecrated not at Rome, but at Syracuse, since the Emperor Leo the Isaurian (726) had removed Southern Italy from the jurisdiction of Rome, and had then elevated Syracuse to the dignity of a metropolitan see , over the thirteen other dioceses of Sicily. Bishop Stephen II (c. 768–787) was present at

374-405: The names of other bishops are not known. The series of bishops begins again in 1093 with Bishop Rogerius, who received the pallium from Pope Urban II . On 19 October 1188, Pope Celestine III wrote to the Archbishop of Monreale, Guglielmo, finally settling the dissention between Siracusa and Monreale over the right to metropolitan status, which had turned into a scandal. The Pope decided that

396-547: The new diocese of Ragusa out of the territory of the Archdiocese of Siracusa, and made it suffragan to the ecclesiastical province of Siracusa. The Archbishop of Siracusa, Ettore Baranzini, was appointed to guide the formation of the new diocese, and, on 9 September 1950, the Papal Legate, Cardinal Ernesto Ruffini of Palermo, handed over the new diocese to Archbishop Baranzini. His Auxiliary Bishop, Francesco Pennisi,

418-563: The pallium, which the Archbishops of Siracusa had been accustomed to wear through the indulgence of the Holy See, should not be used by the bishop of Syracuse and his successors. The diocese of Siracusa became suffragan of the archdiocese of Monreale . Among the bishops of this period were: Discussions about the small number of bishops on the island of Sicily and the large numbers of Catholics in their dioceses began as early as 1778 in

440-605: Was ordained by St. Peter himself. Little trust can be placed in the authenticity of the list of the seventeen bishops who were predecessors of Chrestus , to whom the Emperor Constantine wrote a letter. In the times of St. Cyprian (mid-3rd century), Christianity certainly flourished at Syracuse, and the catacombs located there attest to Christian worship there in the 2nd century. Besides its martyred bishops, Syracuse claims other Christian martyrs, such as Saints Benignus and Evagrius (204), St. Bassianus (270); and

462-445: Was the seat of the metropolitan archbishop of Sicily, which from then on exerted a significant influence over Sicily. In the 19th century, underage marriages, or those performed without the blessing of the bride's parents, were known as "the marriages of Monreale", according to Eliza Lynn Linton . These referred to marriages performed in remote places, where the law was less observed. (see Gretna Green ). The cathedral of Monreale

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484-523: Was vested with the title and jurisdiction of a bishop. On 2 February 1183, thanks to the Bull Licet Dominus of Pope Lucius III , Monreale became the metropolitan see for the diocese of Catania and the diocese of Siracusa . At first the archbishops were elected by the monks, but were not always Benedictines ; since 1275 the election has been reserved to itself by the Holy See . In time

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