Latin Patriarch of Antioch

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Coin of the Latin Patriarch of Antioch Aymery of Limoges (1139-1193), with bust of Aimery on the obverse.

The Latin Patriarch of Antioch was an office established in the aftermath of the First Crusade by Bohemund, founder of the Principality of Antioch. The Patriarch of Antioch was one of the major ecclesiastical authorities in the Crusader states and was established to serve the Catholic members of the diocese and represent all Christians living in its territory. Throughout the Crusader period both Greeks and Latins served under its hierarchy which included numerous suffragan bishops, abbots, cathedrals, monasteries, and churches under its eccesiastical rule.

The seat of the Patriarch of Antioch was one of the oldest and most prestigious in Christendom. Since 1054, the See of Antioch had fallen under the influence of the Byzantine Empire. As part of his grand strategy, the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos sought to utilize the military elan and prowess of the Frankish and European princes in recovering the Eastern Roman Empire including Antioch and its See. However, in aftermath of the Siege of Antioch in 1098, Bohemund had no intention of submitting Antioch to Byzantine rule and set himself up as Prince of Antioch. In the arguments over ecclesiastical authority, the Greek Patriarch, John the Oxite, was expelled and fled to Constantinople.

The Byzantine Empire was greatly offended by this and worked towards re-establishing either a joint patriarchate or a single Greek patriarchate; the terms of the Treaty of Devol in 1108 nominally restored a Greek patriarch, although this was never enforced. Under Manuel I Komnenos there was briefly a joint patriarchate when Antioch fell under Byzantine control, but for the most part there was only a Latin patriarch. The Byzantine Empire curiously recognized this de facto control of the Antiochene See and the Latin Patriarch soon played a key role in solidifying ties between the Crusader states and the Byzantine Empire. This represented one of the sole instances of coordinated action by Byzantine and the Franks throughout the crusader period, and led to a number of joint political, diplomatic, military, and marriage alliances.

The Latin Patriarch remained in Antioch, up until the principality was recaptured by the Mamluks in 1268. Nonetheless, both a Latin and Greek Patriarch continued to be appointed by the Pope and the Byzantine Emperor respectively during the following centuries. Indeed, the Latin titular office maintained itself, seated at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, and continued to play a role in helping to protect the various isolated Christian communities in the Near East and eventually secure their unity with Rome before the office was finally abolished in 1964.

[edit] List of Latin Patriarchs of Antioch

• Peter I of Narbonne (1098-1100)
• Bernard of Valence (1100-1135)
• Ralph I of Domfront (1135-1139)
• Aimery of Limoges (1139-1193)
• Ralph II (1193-1196)
• Peter II of Angouleme (1196-1208)
• Peter III of Locedio (1209-1217)
  • vacant (1217-1226)
• Albert Rezzato (1226-1245)
• Opizo Fieschi (1247-1292), in exile after 1268
  • unknown
• Luigi Caetani (1622-1626)
• Giovanni Battista Pamphili (1626-1629), later Pope Innocent X of Rome
• Cesare Monti (1629-?)
  • unknown
• Charles Thomas Maillard de Tournon (1701-1710)
• Giberto Bartolomeo Borromeo (1711-1735)
• Joaquín Fernández Portocarrero (1735-1760?)
  • unknown
• Antonio Despuig y Dameto (1799-1813)
• vacant (1813-1822)
• Lorenzo Girolamo Mattei (1822-1833)
  • unknown
• Albert Barbolani di Montauto (1856-1857)
• Iosephus Melchiades Ferlisi (1858-1860, became titular Latin Patriarch of Constantinople
  • vacant (1860-1862)
• Carolus Belgrado (1862-1866)
• Paulus Brunoni (1868-1877)
  • vacant (1877-1879)
• Petrus De Villanova (1879-1881)
• Placidus Ralli (1882-1884)
  • vacant (1884-1886)
• Vencentius Tizzani (1886-1892)
  • vacant (1892-1895)
• Francesco di Paola Cassetta (1895-1899)
• Carlo Nocella (1899-1901), died 1903, became titular Latin Patriarch of Constantinople.
• Lorenzo Passarini (1901-1915)
• Ladislao Michele Zaleski (1916-1925)
• Roberto Vicentini (1925-1953)
  • vacant (1953-1964)

This patriarchate was officially abolished in 1964.

[edit] See also

• List of Popes
• Patriarch of Antioch
• Latin Patriarch of Constantinople
• Latin Patriarch of Alexandria
• Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem

[edit] External links

• List of Latin Patriarchs of Antioch by Giga-Catholic Information