Roman Catholic Diocese of Oria

History

It would appear that Oria (Greek: Ὑρία - Hyria, Οὐρία - Uria) in early times had bishops of its own, because there is a record on a slab in the cathedral, dating from the eighth or ninth century, in which there is mention of a Bishop Theodosius, who was not one of the bishops of Brindisi. A bishop of Euryatensis is named in a Novella of Emperor Leo the Isaurian in 813, which might be a Greek spelling of Oriatensis. When Brindisi was destroyed by the Saracens in the ninth century, its bishops established their see at Oria and called themselves Archishops of Oria and Brindisi.

In 918, Oria, along with Reggio, Siponto and Taranto, was attacked and devastated by Moors. In 924 there was another attack by Saracens and Moors. In 925 Muslims captured Taranto and Oria. In 926 the Hungarians devastated a town called Auria, which has been identified as Oria. In 977 the Saracens (Agareni) burned and destroyed the town. In 979 Bishop Andrea Albanese began to reconstruct the town, despite the rapacity of the Greek Porphyrius the Protospatha. Porphyrius killed the bishop.

Struggle with Brindisi

In 1055 the Normans first appeared in Calabria, initiating a lengthy struggle between Byzantine forces who were occupying the territory and the Norman invaders. The Chronicum Northmannicum states that a battle took place at Oria, and that Humphredus (Onophrius), the brother of Count William Iron-Arm, conquered the Greeks; he died the next year. His brother Count Robert Guiscard captured Hydruntum and Castra Minervae, and in 1056 he seized Taranto, but was repulsed; he took it permanently in May 1060. That summer, Count Malagerius came to Oria and expelled the Greeks from it. In 1062, Robert Guiscard took Brindisi again, and later came to Oria and took it again. In 1082 Oria was besieged by Geoffrey of Conversano, but in April his uncle Robert Guiscard raised the siege.

On 3 October 1089, while he was staying at Trani, Pope Urban II wrote to Godinus, Bishop of Oria. He informed the bishop that the situation in the area had been fully investigated, and reminded him that the episcopal seat which was now situated at Oria had from antiquity been located in Brindisi, but that, when Brindisi had been devastated, the seat had been transferred to the municipality of Oria. But now that the city of Brindisi had been restored, the Pope wanted the episcopal seat returned to Brindisi, since Count Goffredus had promised the Pope that the properties of the Church of Brindisi would be restored and even augmented, and that the Church of Brindisi would live under its own government in accordance with Canon Law, always saving the authority of the Roman Pontiff. Even after their return to their former capital, however, the Bishops of Brindisi were addressed on occasion as "Archbishop of Oria". The title of archbishop was claimed from the days when Brindisi had belonged to the Greek church, but the Roman pontiffs declined, at least until the time of Paschal II, to recognize the title. This arrangement persisted until 1591.

Godinus of Brindisi, however, did not fully carry out the restoration of his diocesan seat, as Pope Urban had wanted. This brought a sharp rebuke from Urban II ten years later in the form of a letter to Bishop Godinus, warning him that he should keep to his episcopal seat in Brindisi and not engage in consecrating chrism, ordaining priests, and holding synods at Oria. He did advise him that the clergy and people of Oria should show proper respect for their Mother Church, and should not seek chrism from any other church. Their church was not a cathedral, and Oria was a town which belonged to the diocese of Brindisi, as Pope Calixtus II stated.

Frederick II (1194–1250) built a castle on the hill of Oria, perhaps beginning in 1233, when he also fortified Naples, Trani, Bari, Brindisi, Albanese, Pagano and Papatodero. He also gave the Archbishop of Brindisi the piece of property on the eastern side of the hilltop where the castle was being built as the site for a new church, which was much later to become the Cathedral of Oria.

In 1219, as he was returning from his unsuccessful trip to Syria to convert the Sultan of Egypt, Saint Francis of Assisi visited Oria and began the establishment of a Franciscan convent there.

In 1559 the Marquisate of Orio was bestowed by King Philip II of Spain and Naples on Frederigo Borromeo of Milan, and when he died without issue in 1562, his successor was Cardinal Carlo Borromeo, the Administrator of the diocese of Milan. The Cardinal held the Marquisate for seven years before selling it to the Imperiali family, for 40,000 ounces of gold. The gold was distributed by the Cardinal to the poor in a single day.

New diocese

The town was erected into an episcopal see on 8 May 1591 by Pope Gregory XIV, after the death of the Spaniard Bernardino de Figueroa of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brindisi-Ostuni in November 1586, and an interregnum of four and a half years. The diocese of Oria was assigned as a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Taranto. The first bishop of Oria was Vincenzo del Tufo.

In 1675 the town of Oria had a population estimated at 3,500 persons. In 1746 the population had grown to an estimated 7000 persons.

The Cathedral of the Bodily Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven had a Chapter composed of four dignities (the Archdeacon of Oria, the Cantor, the Subcantor, and the Treasurer) and sixteen Canons. In 1746 there were eighteen Canons. The present baroque Cathedral dates from 1756, having been constructed after a violent earthquake destroyed the thirteenth century church which had become the Cathedral in 1591.

On 23 January 2010, Pope Benedict XVI named Father Vincenzo Pisanello a priest of the archdiocese of Otranto and Episcopal Vicar for Administration and Pastor of the Parish of Saints Peter and Paul Church in Galatina, Italy (Lecce), as Bishop of Oria. He was born in Galatina on 3 May 1959 and ordained to the priesthood on 23 June 1984.

Bishops of the Diocese of Oria

Erected: 8 May 1591

Reference Works

Studies

Acknowledgment

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "^{article name needed}". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton.