Istria on the Internet - Religion - History and Theology

Spread of Christianity and Dioceses of Istria

di Sergio Galimberti

Christian Origins

The question of the evangelization and conversion to Christianity of the Veneto-lstrian area in pre-Constantinian times is extremely complex and fraught with problems. The general lack of data and inadequate documentation put in doubt the nature of any miissionary work in Apostolic times, as well as the Apostolic origin of the local church hierarchy.

According to tradition historical sources the spread of Christianity in Istria is intimately linked to the evangelization of Aquileia and the subsequent missionary activity which set out to convert the surrounding area using that city as a base. During the three centuries of persecutions which preceded Constantine's edict of toleration (313 A.D.) the Julian region had already been exposed to the influence of the new religion and there are well-documented examples of private places of worship in Pola and Parenzo. It even had its own martyrs in Mauro in Parenzo, Giusto in Trieste, Germano in Pola and perhaps others (although these are not well documented) in the various churches of Istria.

From the monuments which have come down to us it seems that the process of conversion really got under way in Trieste and Istria from the treaty of Constantine to the end of the 4th century.

The local churches in the various towns often established themselves independently of the missionary efforts of Rome or Aquileia. The inhabitants of the area were probably more responsive to the scope which the local administrative structures provided for the initial inroads of Christianity and for setting up the first religious organizations.

A connection between the religious communities of Trieste and Istria with Aquileia is further confirmed by similarities of style in the churches, liturgical paraphernalia and by the common use of the hexagonal font.

The Acts of the Antiarian Council of Aquileia of 381 A.D. do not specifically name any bishop of Trieste or Istria present at the council itself. The long-held assumption that the dioceses of Istria were all established together in 524 now seems untenable. A sound ecclesiastical structure based unequivocally on a network of dioceses was clearly in operation in Trieste, Istria and the northern Adriatic from the 4th century (Parenzo), 6th century (Trieste, Pedena, Cittanova, Pola, Veglia, Ossero, Arbe), 8th century (Capodistria) and 1925 (Fiume).

Church of Tergeste

There is a shortage of reliable literary and epigraphic material which might provide a sound basis for speculation about the development of Christianity in Tergeste in pre-Constantinian times.

Archaeological remains on the Capitoline Hill (the Cathedral of S. Giusto contains relics certainly datable to the 5th and 6th centuries) and those in the church of Madonna del Mare (single nave; plan on a Greek cross; a place of worship connected to the remains or tombs of martyrs; mosaic floors of the late 4th to early 6th centuries; probable original burial site of S. Giusto, the martyr) provide convincing evidence of the earliest liturgically organized and ecclesiastically consolidated Christian community in Trieste. These remains tend to suggest that the cult of the saint and the episcopal see must have coincided, outside the walls, for at least a century and point to a connection between the suffragan church of Tergeste and the primatial church of Aquileia.

The Passio, the account of the martyrdom of Giusto, which was possibly adapted in the Carolingian period from a core of .original material, also confirms the existence of a bishop of Trieste at least in the 5th century. At all events, it is clear that Christianity became established in Tergeste between the 4th and the 5th century.

Although the first known bishop of Trieste, for whom we have documentary evidence, is Frugiferus (mid 6th century), the highly-developed liturgical and ecclesiastical organization , already in place suggests at least one predecessor and perhaps even an episcopal organization in the city as early as the 2nd to 4th centuries.

Frugiferus lived at the time of Justinian and is the first of a series of bishops running uninterruptedly up to the present day, starting with Geminianus (568), Severus (who took part in the schismatic Council of Grado in 579), Firminus (who concluded a reconciliation with Pope Gregorius Magnus in 602), Gaudentius (680), etc. The diocese, which included all of the huge ager attributed to the colony of Tergeste, incorporating the whole of northern Istria up to the River Quieto, was under the Patriarch of Aquileia.

The schism of the Three Chapters, in 607, brought into existence the schismatic Patriarchate of Aquileia (including the sees of mainland Venice) and the orthodox Patriarchate of Grado (including the sees of Istria, with Trieste and and those on the coast of the lagoon).

The extensive royal concessions granted to the bishops ofTrieste date from the period of the Hungarian invasions (In 911 by Berengarius, in 928 by Hugo and in 948 by Lothair). The bishops were by ancient right elected by the cathedral chapter after consultation with the people. Between the late Empire and the Middle Ages the territory of the diocese was reduced owing to the establishment of new sees (Cittanova, Pedena and Capodistria).

In 1180 the Patriarch of Grado surrendered his Istrian sees and Trieste returned to the jurisdiction of Aquileia until its suppression in 1751.

The church of Trieste also acquired political power in the early Middle Ages through royal concessions, privileges, immunities and benefices. From Arlongo dei Visgoni (1255-1281) the bishops of Trieste assumed the title of count. In 1236 Bishop Giovanni IV (1235-1237) surrendered his jurisdictions and immunities in favour of the commune.

Heinrich von Wildestein (1383-1396) was the first German bishop forced on the chapter by Count Leopold von Habsburg and the bishops of Trieste continued to be chosen from among candidates in favour at the Austrian Court, on the basis of Gennan ecclesiastical law, until 1918. Indeed, in 1459, with Bishop Enea Silvio Piccolomini (1447-1450), later Pope Pious II (1458-1464), the right of election of the bishop was conferred on the Emperor Frederick II and his successors.

The ideas of the Protestant Reformation had a certain success in Trieste and Istria. Trieste, in particular, forged links between the local Anabaptists and those of Moravia. The arrival of the Capucins (1617) and the Jesuits (1619) led to a revival of religious activity and a strengthening of orthodoxy.

In his Bull lniuncta nobis of 1751, Pope Benedict XIV ordained the suppression of the Patriarchate of Aquileia and the establishment of the two archbishoprics of Gorizia and Udine. The diocese of Trieste passed under the juridiction of Gorizia. In order to make the borders of the diocese coincide with the political boundaries (the part of the diocese incorporated in the territory of the Republic of Venice was to be administered by the bishop through a vicar in spiritualibus, a citizen of Venice resident in Trieste) in 1784 the diocese of Trieste ceded Umago to that of Cittanova, Muggia, Ospo and Lonche to Capodistria, Pinguente (with nine parishes) to that of Parenzo, and Postumia (with seven parishes and fourteen chaplainries) to the diocese of Lubiana. Conversely, the diocese of Trieste acquired the deanery of Pisino (with eleven parishes, previously attached to the diocese of Parenzo ), Chersano and Castua (previously attached to Pola), the diocese of Pedena (twelve parishes and six chaplainries, excluding Grimalda), the parish of Prosecco (which belonged to Gorizia) and the stretch of territory from Chersano to Castua (which had been part of the diocese of Pola).

In 1784 Joseph II (imperial decree, 25 March 1784), with the consent of the Holy See, suppressed the dioceses of Gorizia, Pedena and Trieste (Pious VI, Bull In universa gregis Dominici cura, 8 March 1788) and incorporated them in the newly-established diocese of Gradisca (1788-1791; Pious VI, Bull Super specula, 19 August 1788). The chapter was made up of three canons from Trieste and three from Gorizia.

With the suppression of the ecclesiastical province of Gorizia in 1788, the diocese of Trieste, together with those of Segna-Modrussa and Parenzo-Pola, was a suffragan of the metropolitan church of Lubiana from 1788 to 1807, during the turbulent rule of Joseph II.

The diocese of Trieste was revived in 1791 (Pious VI, Bull Recti prudentisque consilii, 20 September 1791 ), together with that of Gorizia (Pious VI, Bull Ad supremum, 12 September 1791 ), with the consent of Leopold II, and was placed under the jurisdiction of the metropolitan of Lubiana.

During the years of the Napoleonic Wars and of the Austrian reconquest (1791-1814) Trieste found itself trapped in the struggles between France, Italy and Austria, while the see remained vacant from 1803 to 1821. For a time in 1806 the diocese of Trieste was administered directly by the Holy See. In 1820 there was an abortive attempt to suppress the diocese of Trieste once again.

In 1828, during the episcopate of Antonio Lenardis (1821-1830), the last Italian bishop of Trieste in the 19th century, the diocese of Capodistria was combined with the suppressed dioceses of Cittanova and Pedena by Leo XII (Bull Locum beati Petri, 30 June 1828) and Francis I (Placitum regium, II October 1829) aeque principaliter to that of Trieste under a single titular bishop.

In order to make the borders of the diocese coincide with the political boundaries the Triestine deaneries in Carniola were surrendered in 1829 to the diocese of Lubiana, with the agreement of the Holy See.

In 1830 Pious VIII linked the diocese of Trieste to that of Capodistria (Bull In superimenti, 27 August 1830). The bishopric of Gorizia became an archbishopric controlling the dioceses of Lubiana, Trieste-Capodistria, Parenzo-Pola and Veglia.

Following the death of Bishop Teodoro Loredano of the Balbi Counts in 1831 (1795-1831), the bishopric ofCittanova, which had by then been politically under the control of Austria for years, was abolished owing to its extreme poverty and incorporated into that of Trieste-Capodistria.

From 1831 there followed an uninterrupted series of bishops (six Slavs and one German) who in one way or another supported the policies of Imperial Austria (the Slovene Matteo Raunicher from 1831 to 1845, the Slovene Bartolomeo Legat from 1847 to 1875, the Croat Giorgio Dobrila from 1875 to 1882, the Slovene Giovanni Nepomuceno Glavina from 1882 to 1896, the Croat Andrea Maria Sterk from 1896 to 1901, the German Francesco Saverio Nagl from 1902 to 1910 and the Slovene Andrea Karlin from 1911 to 1919).

.In 1880, after the upheavals caused by Napoleon, the diocese of Trieste-Capodistria became once again suffragan of Gorizia, together with those of Parenzo-Pola, Veglia and Lubiana. With the formation of the new diocese of Fiume in 1925, part of the deanery of Elsane (the parish of Elsane, the chaplaincy of Bergut and the vicariate of Villa Podigraie) was uncoupled from the diocese of Trieste-Capodistria and attached to the new .diocese. The part which remained became the new deanery of Crusizza (the parishes of Crusizza, Mune, Golazzo and Vodizze, and the chaplainries of Pregara, Castelnuovo d'lstria and Starada).

As a result of boundary changes in the diocese of Trieste, in 1934 the deanery of Crusizza was transferred to the diocese of Fiume (with the exception of the hamlets of Erpelle, Cosina, and parts of the parishes of Roditti, S. Elia and Tubliano, which were atteched to the parish of S. Pietro di Madrasso).

Two important figures emerge at the beginning of the twentieth century from among the bishops ofTrieste: Luigi Fogar (1924-1936) and Antonio Santin (1938-1975). The former was forced to resign on account of his fundamental antipathy for the Fascist regime. The latter had to face the traumatic events of the Second World War, the guerrilla warfare of the partisans and occupation by the Germans, Yugoslavs and Allies in turn. These events were then followed by the exodus of Italian families from Istria the controversies regarding the definition of the new eastern border of.ltaly and consequent dismembering of the diocese. Although the boundaries of the dioceses remained unaltered by the peace treaty of 10 February 1947, the deaneries of Tomadio (excluding the parish of Monrupino), S. Dorligo della Valle (almost entirely), Postumia, Chersano, Pedena, Pisino, Pinguente (almost entirely), Portole and Ospo passed under the control of Yugoslavia. Furthermore, Zone B was made up of the deaneries of Capodistria, Pirano, Carcase and Umago, and the parishes of Ospo, S. Antonio di Capodistria, Antignano d'Istria, Castagna, Momiano, Collalto. The areas surrendered to Yugoslav administration or sovereignty were divided into two apostolic administrations: one for the Slovene part, with residence at Capodistria (Franc Mocnik); one for the Croatian part, with residence first at Pisino and subsequently at Parenzo (Mihael Toros, followed by Dragutin Nežic).

Following the Treaty of Osimo, between Italy and Yugoslavia (10 November 1975), Pope Paul VI addressed the complex problem of the definition and administration of the diocese of Trieste. It was decided to separate it from that of Capodistria, thus returning to the situation before 1828 (apostolic settlement Prioribus saeculi, 17 October 1977), and appointed Lorenzo Bellomi (1977-1996) as the new Bishop of Trieste and Janez Jenko as the bishop of the re-established diocese of Capodistria.

Church of Pedena

The origin of the diocese of Petina (Pedena) is uncertain and the name of its first incumbent unknown. Although there is no firm data to confirm it, according to some authors Pedena is the old bishopric ab antiquo, going back even to the time of Constantine. Others suggest it goes back to the 5th century, while others again see its beginnings in the period of Byzantine domination (early 6th century).

In the absence of further evidence the traditional series of bishops should not include Niceforo d' Antiochia (524), Teodoro (546) and Marciano (579). The first authenticated Bishop of Pedena appears to have been Ursiniano (579), who was present at the Roman council which took place under Pope Agathon in 620.

Many authors agree on the year 579 as the date of foundation of the diocese. At the synod of 3 November 579 the Patriarch of Grado Elia consecrated sixteen bishops, including the Bishop of Pathena (Pedena). Ursiniano was followed by Lorenzo (804), Frideberto (961), Stefano (1015), and so on in an uninterrupted series (according to some authors 61, to others 66 and some even suggesting 73 or 76) up to the dissolution of the diocese in 1788.

It is not known when the bishops of Pedena decided to spend the summer months at Gallignana, nor even when they stopped doing so.

Up to the 15th century the bishopric was made up of sixteen parishes (Pedena, Gallignana, Lindaro, Novacco, Cerreto, Chersicla, Moncalvo, Carbune, Berdo, Cepich, S. Giovanni dell'Arsa, Grimalda, Borutto, Sovignacco Vetta, Draguccio), then twelve (without Borutto, Sovignacco, Vetta and Draguccio) and seven chaplainries (Sarezzo, Previs, Scopliaco, Tupliacco, Grobnico, Gradigne, Racizze), then six (without Racizze).

Over its long history the bishopric was in a permanent state of depression, but in spite of this and the small extent of its territory, the living was always much sought-after on account of the importance of the position of bishop in the church hierarchy and because it was regarded as a stepping-stone to more important offices. The survival of the see was due partly to the desire to convert the indigenous pagans and the peoples subsequently sent to repopulate the area and partly to political interests (nobles who did not intend to deprive themselves of the moral support of an influential representative of the church in their dealings with an ignorant and semi-barbarous populace; Counts of Gorizia and Princes of the House of Austria aiming at their own prestige and spiritual authority).

The last bishop of the diocese was Aldrago dei Piccardi (1766-1778), who was then transferred to Segna (1778-1779). In 1784 Joseph II (Imperial decree, 25 March 1784), with the consent of the Holy See, suppressed the dioceses of Gorizia, Pedena and Trieste (Pious VI, Bull In universa gregis Dominici cura, 8 March 1788) and incorporated them in the newly-established diocese of Gradisca ( 1788-1791; Pious VI, Bull Super specula, 19 August 1788).

In order to make the borders of the diocese coincide with the political boundaries in 1794 the diocese of Pedena surrendered twelve parishes and six chaplainries (except Grimalda) to the diocese of Trieste.

Church of Emona

Study of the origins of the diocese of Aemonia (Cittanova) is complicated by uncertainty as to the period of its foundation, confusion when consulting sources between Cittanova and Lubiana (the Roman city of Emona), and the frequent inclusion in various documents of the names of bishops of Citta Nova dell'Estuario (Eraclea) and the corresponding omission of several genuine incumbents.

Nevertheless, and in spite of a lack of evidence, the possibility of the diocese dating back to the 3rd century should not be dismissed a priori.

There is no unequivocal historical proof of the existence of St. Maximus, reputedly the first Bishop of Emonia, martyred under Traianus Decius in 381 (his remains were placed in a stone coffin by Bishop Adamo in 1146; the events surrounding his martyrdom probably involve someone else with the same name; the Bishop Maximus emoniensis who was present at the Council of Aquileia in 381 might have been either the bishop of Emona - Lubiana - or of Emonia - Cittanova).

The doubts concerning the early religious history of Cittanova all revolve around the lack of sufficient literary and epigraphic evidence. Even so, the fact that it was the seat of a bishop is revealed by the existence of a baptistry of the mid-15th century. The series of bishops of Cittanova officially begins with Florio (524) and continues uninterruptedly until the dissolution of the diocese, in 1828, with Germano (546), Patrizio (579), Giovanni I (600), etc.

At the time of the schism of Istria in the 6th century the diocese was under the bishop of Grado.

The adjunct "emonese", given to the bishop of Cittanova, appears for the first time only in 1132 in a rescript of Pope Innocent II, requested by the Patriarch Pellegrino.

From 1180 the diocese was dependent on the Patriarchate of Aquileia.

For almost the entire 16th century Cittanova remained without a resident bishop.

In order to make the borders of the diocese of Trieste coincide with the political boundaries in 1784 Umago and Materada passed from the diocese of Trieste to that of Cittanova.

In 1819 the diocese of Cittanova passed under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Venice but in 1828 it was suppressed on account of its extreme poverty, incorporated in the diocese of Capodistria and joined to the diocese of Trieste (Leo XII, Bull Locum beati Petri, 20 June 1828).

Church of Justinopolis

According to local tradition Capris (Capodistria) was converted in the year 56 by Elius, a disciple of Hermagoras and follower of St Mark the Evangelist. It seems that Capodistria already had a church in the mid-4th century, after the Edict of Milan promulgated by Constantine (313 A.D.) or more probably in 509, after the Archbishop of Aquileia Marcellino took refuge from the invading barbarians in Capris, where his successor, Stefano, decided to remain until 525.

According to some authors the see was established before 524, with a Bishop Giovanni of Giustinopolis, but other candidates are Nazario in 524, who saw his church raised to the status of cathedral by Pope Stephen, Massimiliano in 557, Agatone in 567, Giovanni, or more likely Senatore, in 756. In addition, several authors claim that a see of Capodistria was absorbed in the 11 th century by the church of Trieste nimia inopia and restored by Pope Alexander III in 1177, with Bishop Aldegario (1184-1216), on the death of the Bishop of Trieste Bernardo (1184).

Although there gas been a great deal of revision and hagiography concerning the origins of the bishopric of Giustinopolis, extensive gaps still persist.

In order to make the borders of the diocese of Trieste coincide with the political boundaries in 1784 Muggia, Ospo and Lonche passed from the diocese of Trieste to that of Capodistria.

In 1819 the diocese of Cittanova passed under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Venice.

On the death of Bishop Bonifacio daPonte (10 January 1810), the see of Capodistria remained vacant for eighteen years and then in 1828 it was linked to that of Trieste (Leo XII, Bull Locum beati Petri, 20 June 1828).

As a result of the peace treaty of 1947 and the establishment of the Free Territory of Trieste, it was decided in 1948 to appoint an apostolic administrator (Franc Mocnik) for the Slovene part of the diocese of Trieste-Capodistria governed or administered by Yugoslavia, as well as for that part of the diocese of Gorizia which was ceded to Yugoslavia (consistorial congregation, Decree, 28 February1948).

In 1977 Pope Paul VI ( apostolic settlement Prioribus saeculi, 17 October 1977) restored the diocese of Capodistria and appointed Janez Jenko as bishop.

Church of Parenzo

Tradition has it that there exists an apostolic connection (at least indirect) with the church of Parenzo. According to some authors Parenzo is the only see in Istria where it is possible to confirm with archaeological data the existence of episcopal status before the Edict of Toleration (313 A.D.). The present basilica, completed in around 550, is in fact the third church on the site. The first, domus ecclesiae, was built in the late 3rd century. It was here that Mauro, the first known Bishop of Parenzo, was martyred during the fierce persecution of the Emperor Valerian (253-260). An inscription of the late 4th century recording the transfer of his body from a cemetery outside the walls to the basilica bears witness to the burial of the saint ubi episcopus et confessor est factus - in other words, where he was consecrated as bishop and practised his faith.

However, from Mauro to Eufrasio (524-556) the succession of bishops is uncertain:and is frequently interrupted. Some authors put forward Faustino in 425, Theodorus gregis decus, and Giuliano at the end of the 4th century. But from Eufrasio the series is uninterrupted up to our own times (Elia in 556, Giovanni I in 579, Catelino or Ratelino in 586, etc).

In the 6th century the church of Parenzo was under the jurisdiction of Aquileia.

In 983 the Bishops of Parenzo proclaimed themselves Counts of Orsera. Quantities of offerings were then added to the regalia f of the monarchs of the past centuries.

During the loth century the Bishops of Parenzo, partly thanks to the self-interested involvement of various Frankish and Germanic kings and emperors (Hugo of Provence in 929, Otto II in 983, Rodoaldo the Patriarch of Aquilaeia), became lords of the fiefs of Nigrignano, Valle, Rovigno, Torre, Cervaria, Montona, Torre del Quieto, Sanvincenti, Antignana, Treviso, Moncastello, Castel Parentino, Orsera, Fontane, Caschierga, Rosario, Visignano, Pisino, Pisinvecchio, Gimino and others.

In 1081 the Patriarch of Aquileia Enrico di Plaien was given the fiefdom of the bishopric of Parenzo by Henry IV.

Like the diocese of Pola, the diocese of Parenzo remained suffragan of the Patriarchate of Aquileia until 1751, passing to the archbishopric of Udine in 1752, to the Patriarchate of Venice in 1819, and to the archbishopric of Gorizia in 1830, together with the sees of Lubiana, Trieste-Capodistria and Veglia.

In order to make the borders of the diocese coincide with the political boundaries in 1784 the diocese of Parenzo acquired Pinguente, with nine parishes, from the diocese of Trieste.

In 1828 the diocese of Parenzo was combined with that of f Pola (Leo XII, Bull Locum beati Petri, 20 June 1828). In 1830 t Antonio Peteani ( 1827 -1830), the last Bishop of Parenzo, became the first bishop of the united diocese of Parenzo~Pola )1830-1857).

Church of Pola

Tradition has it that there exists an apostolic connection (at least indirect) with the church of Parenzo. At all events Christianity certainly reached Pola before the edict of Constantine (313 A.D.). The early Christian buildings in the city include a titulus on a square plan, dating from the late-3rd or late-4th century, which was built over an earlier building (a bathhouse or private dwelling). This was the city's domus ecclesiae, where the rites of the new religion were carried out.

The bishopric as such dates back from no later than the 6th century. No Istrian bishop took part in the councils before that time. The first bishop for whom we have a name, in the letters of Cassiodorus, was Antonio (524), but it seems he had an immediate precursor (perhaps Venerius or Veneriosus in 501-502), in turn preceded by an unknown incumbent. Antonio was followed by Isaac (546), Adrian (576), Massimo (590), etc, in an uninterrupted series to the present day.

Nothing is known of the fate of the diocese of Pola during the time of the barbarian invasions. It was dependent for a certain time on the archbishopric of Ravenna.

The Bishop of Pola was present at the synod of 579, which declared the church of Grado to have authority over those of Venice and Istria.

A bishop of Pola was present at the synod of Marano, in 590, where the bishops solemnly revoked their condemnation of the so-called Schism of the Three Chapters.

After the schism with Aquileia of 606, the Bishop of Pola supported the other bishops of Istria siding with the Metropolitan of Grado.

The church of Pola joined the other dioceses of Istria in remaining faithful to the worship of images when this was condemned in 728 by the Byzantine Emperor Leo II.

At the start of the 8th century the church of Pola was again under the Patriarch of Grado.

In 804 the Bishop of Pola took part in the Placito of the Risano and demanded the recognition of the customs and habits of the citizens, rejecting all feudal subservience.

After the invasion of Istria by Charlemagne's Franks at the end of the 8th century little is heard of the diocese of Pola. In 933 the Bishop of Pola, at the head of the Istrians, signed the Peace of Rialto between the Doge and the Marques Wintero, overlord of Hugo of Provence, King of Italy.

The diocese received in fiefdom the entire region of Pola with Dignano, Barbana, Albona and Fiume and in 1028 the Emperor Conrad II made a gift of the Salico, the castles of Castua, Apriano, and Moschiena, as well as all the villages and castles of the valley of the Arsa.

In 1028 the diocese of Pola broke definitively its dependence on Ravenna and came under the Patriarch of Aquileia.

As a result of a series of donations the bishop became a large land owner and in the 12th and 13th centuries agents and lawyers had to be appointed to manage estates which had become too vast for one person to keep under control.

In the centuries of struggle between Venice and the Patriarch the bishops of Pola did their best to avoid getting involved. Like the diocese of Pola, the diocese of Parenzo remained suffragan of the Patriarchate of Aquileia until 1751 passing to the archbishopric of Udine in 1752, to the metropolitan church of Lubiana from 1788 to 1807 (together with the dioceses of Segna and Modrussa, Trieste and Capodistria), to the 1 Patriarchate of Venice in 1819, and to the archbishopric of Gorizia in 1830, together with the sees of Lubiana, Trieste-Capodistria and Veglia.

In 1794, so as to bring the borders of the diocese into line with political boundaries, Pola ceded Chersano and Castua to the diocese of Trieste.

Following the death of Giovanni Domenico Juras (1778-1803) in 1803 the see of Pola remained vacant for 28 years.

In 1830 the diocese of Pola was combined with that of Parenzo (Leo XII, Bull Locum beati Petri, 20 June 1828).

Church of Parenzo-Pola

In 1830 Antonio Peteani (1827-1830), the last Bishop of Parenzo, became the first bishop of the united diocese of Parenzo-Pola ( 1830-1857).

The last Bishop of Pola under Italy, Raffaele Radossi (1941-1948), left the city in 1947 and joined his fellow citizens in exile.

The see of Pola-Parenzo remained vacant from 1947 to 1960 and was entrusted first to the apostolic administrator Mihael Toros and subsequently to Dragutin Nezic (1949). He was nominated bishop on 15 June 1960 by Pope John XXIII.

In 1977 Pope John XXIII combined Pisino and the diocese of Pedena to the diocese of Parenzo-Pola (apostolic settlement Prioribus saeculi, 17 October 1977).

Church of Fiume

In the year 1000 Fiume was probably the ; centre of a plebanate extending from the Fiumara to the top of Monte Maggiore (Caldiero), and from Bersezio to Clana.

The archdeaconry of Fiume is very ancient but it is unknown exactly when it was established. Certain unreliable sources suggest the 11th or 12th century, whilst the first documentary evidence comes from the 14th-15th century. It is supposed that in 1028 the archdeaconries of Albona and Fiume passed from the diocese of Pedena to that of Pola and that in the 12th century the archdeaconry of Fiume included Fiume, Castua, Veprinaz, Laurana and Bersezio. A certain Vesellacz is mentioned as being archdeacon ofFiume in a document dated 10 March 1371 and the archdeaconry is mentioned in two documents of 1438 and 1445.

From the initial responsibility for the parishes between the Fiumara and the top of Monte Maggiore, the archdeaconry ; later extended its jurisdiction to Bogliuno, Lupogliano, Aurania (Vragna), Passo, Valdarsa, Villanova, Cosliacco, Chersano and Sumberg.

From time immemorial the archdeacon had reserved the right to exercize the functions of a bishop. But from the start of the 16th century the Bishop of Pola curtailed his power by appointing a vicar forane. From the 17th century the two roles of archdeacon and vicar became a stable partnership.

The tension between the Bishop of Pola and the clergy of Fiume was often a reflection of the difficult relationship between I Fiume (i.e. the Habsburg Empire) and the Republic of Venice.

In 1593 the lower council ofFiume "begged" Archduke Ernest, the Imperial lieutenant for lower Austria, Carniola and the Italian lands in the Empire, who was resident in Graz, to separate Fiume from the diocese of Pola cum sit subditus venetiarum.

In 1610 there was an abortive attempt by the Captain ofFiume S.Della Rovere to uncouple Fiume from the diocese of Pola and to establish an independent bishopric.

The intention of Pietro Mariani, Bishop of Segna (1646-1665) but a native ofFiume, to support an independent diocese in his home town came to nothing because he was accused in Rome by his Glagolithic clergy of wanting to introduce Latin into the services and to force priests to study Latin. He was expelled from his see thanks to the efforts of the Lutheran Count Zichy. In the 18th century the de facto division of the diocese of Pola into two (one Venetian, under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Pola, and the Austrian, administered by the archdeacon, exercizing jurisdiction in his own right with the power of sentencing in courts of the first instance) was frequently the cause of incidents and conflict.

In 1751 the metropolitan jurisdiction of the church of Fiume passed from the patriarchate of Aquileia to the archbishopric of Kalocsa (Hungary).

In an agreement of 1784 between Emperor Joseph II and the Republic of Venice to match diocesan borders with political boundaries, the jurisdiction of the archdeaconry-vicariate was confined to the city of Fiume and its territory.

The church of Fiume continued to depend until 1787 on the diocese of Pola and it thereafter passed to the diocese of Segna and Modrussa (Insinuato governiale no. 1960, 16 October 1787). The union with the diocese of Segna took place through the person of the bishop but with a greater dependence on the Hungarian metropolitan church of Kalocsa, as before, rather than on the Croatian church of Zagreb, to which the diocese of Segna and Modrussa continued to be subject.

In 1787 on a ruling of Joseph II the archdeacon ofFiume also became archdeacon of Vinodol, reserving for the bishop approval to extend the vicariate to the whole diocese of Modrussa. This provision lapsed during the French occupation and was not revived.

From 1788 to 1807, during the rule of Joseph II, the dioceses of Segna and Modrussa (which included Fiume), Trieste and Capodistria, Parenzo and Pola became suffragans of the metropolitan church of Lubiana.

On 22 January 1821 the Emperor, with the approval of the Holy See, decided to hive off the diocese of Segna and Modrussa and to assign the see of Fiume to the Bishop of Modrussa.

From 1833 to 1852 the diocese of Segna and Modrussa (incorporating Fiume), and Zagreb were under the metropolitan church of Kalocsa (Kalocka, Hungary).

In 1851 the Emperor Franz Joseph detached Fiume from Kalocsa and attached it to the Croatian-Slavonic ecclesiastical province and in 1852 the Holy See formalized the new status of the diocese of Segna- Modrussa (with Fiume) under Zagreb (Pious IX, Bull Ubi primum placuit, 11 December 1852).

1908 the PodestA Antonio Vio and the Member of Parliament Riccardo Zanella began official procedures in Budapest and with the Holy See to have Fiume separated from the diocese of Segna.

1920 the archdeaconry of Fiume was removed from the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Segna and Modrussa and established as an apostolic administration (Celso Costantini) (Cardinal Pietro Gasparri, Rescript no.663, 14 June 1920).

In 1924 that part of the parish of Castua siuated in Yugoslav territory was entrusted to the apostolic administration of the Bishop of Segna (State Secretariat, Rescript no.25756, 12 January 1924).

In 1925, following the Rome Agreement (27 January 1924) annexing the territory ofFiume to Italy and in accordance with provincial boundaries, Pious XI (apostolic settlement Supremum pastorale munus romano pontifici divinitus collatum exposcit, 25 Apri11925) set up the new diocese ofFiume (Holy Concistorial Congregation, Decree no.297 , 27 April 1925), directly subject to the Holy See, quae amplectitur totam provinciam italicam Carnaro.

With the setting-up of the new diocese ofFiume (31 May 1925), part of the deanery of Elsane was detached from the diocese of Trieste-Capodistria and assigned to the new diocese (the parish of Elsane, the chaplainry of Bergut and the vicariate of Villa Podigraie). The deanery of Castua, which had been administered by the Bishop of Segna, was also entirely absorbed into the diocese of Fiume, with the exception of the parish of Castua itself and the chaplainry of S. Matteo.

After changes to the boundaries of the diocese of Trieste (1934), additions were made to the diocese of Fiume, including the deanery of Crusizza, except the hamlets of Erpelle, Cosina, Tupliano and parts of the parishes of Roditti and S. Elia, which passed to the parish of S. Pietro di Madrasso (diocese of Trieste). Part of the deanery of Villa del Nevoso was also detached from the diocese of Lubiana and incorporated in the diocese of Fiume.

The last Bishop of Fiume under Italy, Ugo Camozzo (1938-1948), left the city in 1948 and followed his flock into exile.

In 1951 the deanery of Villa del Nevoso was divided into a Slovene apostolic administration and a Croatian one.

In 1969 Pope Paul VI (Bull Coetu instante, 27 July 1969) suppressed the diocese of Modrussa, joined the dioceses of Segna and Fiume, raised the see of Fiume-Segna to the status of archdiocese and established it as the metropolitan church of the suffragan dioceses of Parenzo- Pola and Veglia.

Sergio Galimberti

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