The Catholic Archdiocese of Nakhchivan (also known as (Arch)diocese of Naxivan, - of Nakhtchevan, or of Nachitschewan; Latin Name: Naxivansus) was a Latin Catholic (arch)diocese in
Armenia, located in the city of
Nakhchivan, in modern-day
Azerbaijan. In 1847, it was suppressed.[1][2]
The last remains of its ancient cathedral of
All Saints in the (archi)episcopal see were destroyed in the 1845 earthquake.
History
Established in 1318 as Diocese of Nakhijevan, on territory previously not covered by the Latin church, covering historical
Armenia and present-day
Azerbaijan,[2] presumably exempt. It was the only Latin see in the region to survive the ravaging hordes of conqueror
Tamerlane (1380s).
The
Dominican Order, whose missionaries founded it, branched out there into a new associated congregation, the Fratres Unitores ('Uniting Friars'), which fielded all the clergy in the bishopric. From its 15th century peek with circa 700 friars in some 50 convents, by 1602 it shrinks to twelve convents pastorally serving circa 19.000 Catholic faithful.
By privileges, confirmed by
Paul III's
papal bullaEtsi ex debito on 28 February 1544, it could celebrate the
Latin rite in
Armenian language (instead of Latin) and its episcopate was chosen by an assembly representing the Dominican monasteries and the Armenian Catholic elite
Its actual see (not the title) was moved in the 16th century to more central
Abaran (now Aparan), closer to the actual Catholic communities, until the 17th century, when diocesan activity seems effectively to have halted. Around 1620 Pope
Gregory XV instigated the founding of a Dominican seminary in Abaran.
Elevated on 21 February 1633 as Archdiocese of Nakhchivan, but not Metropolitan, and indeed never had a suffragan.[2]
Suppressed in 1847, apparently vacant since 1765, as its faithful had fled the country during the wars between Ottoman Turks and Safavid Persia.
It is without direct successor jurisdiction, but the last Archbishop took his flock to
Smyrna (now Izmir, Asian Turkey), where their Armenian community flourished. Its former territories are presently part of the larger jurisdiction of the
Apostolic Administration of the Caucasus (Armenia and
Georgia) and by the
Apostolic Prefecture of Baku (all Azerbaijan) [2]
Episcopal ordinaries
[3](all
Roman Rite, (mostly Italian) missionary members of Latin congregations)
Leonardus Lemmens, Hierarchia latina Orientis, mediante S. Congregatione de propaganda fide instituita (1622-1922), in Orientalia Christiana, vol. I, n° 5 (1923), pp. 232–250
François Tournebize, Les Frères Uniteurs ou Dominicains Arméniens (1330-1794), in Revue de l'Orient Chrétien, vol. XXII (1920-1921), pp. 145–161 e 249-279
Gaetano Moroni, lemma 'Naxivan' in Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica, vol. 47, Venice 1847, pp. 250–251
Konrad Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, vol. 1, p. 354; vol. 2, p. 198; vol. 3, p. 252; vol. 4, p. 253; vol. 5, pp. 281–282; vol. 6, p. 303
Michel Lequien, Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus, Paris 1740, vol. III, coll. 1403-1414
The Catholic Archdiocese of Nakhchivan (also known as (Arch)diocese of Naxivan, - of Nakhtchevan, or of Nachitschewan; Latin Name: Naxivansus) was a Latin Catholic (arch)diocese in
Armenia, located in the city of
Nakhchivan, in modern-day
Azerbaijan. In 1847, it was suppressed.[1][2]
The last remains of its ancient cathedral of
All Saints in the (archi)episcopal see were destroyed in the 1845 earthquake.
History
Established in 1318 as Diocese of Nakhijevan, on territory previously not covered by the Latin church, covering historical
Armenia and present-day
Azerbaijan,[2] presumably exempt. It was the only Latin see in the region to survive the ravaging hordes of conqueror
Tamerlane (1380s).
The
Dominican Order, whose missionaries founded it, branched out there into a new associated congregation, the Fratres Unitores ('Uniting Friars'), which fielded all the clergy in the bishopric. From its 15th century peek with circa 700 friars in some 50 convents, by 1602 it shrinks to twelve convents pastorally serving circa 19.000 Catholic faithful.
By privileges, confirmed by
Paul III's
papal bullaEtsi ex debito on 28 February 1544, it could celebrate the
Latin rite in
Armenian language (instead of Latin) and its episcopate was chosen by an assembly representing the Dominican monasteries and the Armenian Catholic elite
Its actual see (not the title) was moved in the 16th century to more central
Abaran (now Aparan), closer to the actual Catholic communities, until the 17th century, when diocesan activity seems effectively to have halted. Around 1620 Pope
Gregory XV instigated the founding of a Dominican seminary in Abaran.
Elevated on 21 February 1633 as Archdiocese of Nakhchivan, but not Metropolitan, and indeed never had a suffragan.[2]
Suppressed in 1847, apparently vacant since 1765, as its faithful had fled the country during the wars between Ottoman Turks and Safavid Persia.
It is without direct successor jurisdiction, but the last Archbishop took his flock to
Smyrna (now Izmir, Asian Turkey), where their Armenian community flourished. Its former territories are presently part of the larger jurisdiction of the
Apostolic Administration of the Caucasus (Armenia and
Georgia) and by the
Apostolic Prefecture of Baku (all Azerbaijan) [2]
Episcopal ordinaries
[3](all
Roman Rite, (mostly Italian) missionary members of Latin congregations)
Leonardus Lemmens, Hierarchia latina Orientis, mediante S. Congregatione de propaganda fide instituita (1622-1922), in Orientalia Christiana, vol. I, n° 5 (1923), pp. 232–250
François Tournebize, Les Frères Uniteurs ou Dominicains Arméniens (1330-1794), in Revue de l'Orient Chrétien, vol. XXII (1920-1921), pp. 145–161 e 249-279
Gaetano Moroni, lemma 'Naxivan' in Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica, vol. 47, Venice 1847, pp. 250–251
Konrad Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, vol. 1, p. 354; vol. 2, p. 198; vol. 3, p. 252; vol. 4, p. 253; vol. 5, pp. 281–282; vol. 6, p. 303
Michel Lequien, Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus, Paris 1740, vol. III, coll. 1403-1414