There were Catholic bishops in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries [2] but Skopje remained Byzantine until 1282 when it was conquered by Serbia. After the arrival of the Ottomans and the defeat of the Serbs in the battle of Kosovo (1389), Skopje was conquered by Ottomans in 1392. It would be three centuries before Catholic see would be revived again: it was a titular see from 1346 to 1656.[2] In 1689, after the defeat of the Turks in the battle of Vienna, the city was raided and taken by the Austrians, and the archdiocese was finally restored and renamed the Archdiocese of Skopje (Scopia). This marked a brief interlude, as the Turks pressed them back and the see was suppressed once again under the Turks. The archbishops had to reside in the Albanian mountains.[2]
The modern history of the diocese begins 1816 with the appointment of Matej Krasniqi (Matthaes Crasnich) as the first resident archbishop of Skopje in over 500 years of Ottoman rule. Since then, there has been an unbroken string of bishops, who resided in Uskup from 1860.[2]
Ottoman rule ended in 1912, when Skopje came under the rule of Kingdom of Serbia. In order to regulate status of Catholic Church, government of Serbia concluded official Concordat with Holy See on 24 June 1914. By the Second Article of Concordat, it was decided that "Diocese of Skopje" shall be created as a regular bishopric, and placed under jurisdiction of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Belgrade that was about to be created.[3] Because of the breakout of First World War, those provisions could not be implemented, and only after 1918 new arrangements were made.
In 1924, after the devastation of the First World War, the archdiocese was downgraded to a diocese. In 1969, the diocese was merged with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Prizren, and became the Diocese of Skopje-Prizren. In 2000, they were split once again, as the portion that was formerly the diocese of Prizren became the Apostolic Administration of Prizren, and the Diocese of Skopje returned to its former name.
Ordinaries
Established in the 13th century
Marino † (1204)
Giovanni † (1298 – 17 October 1321, died)
Giovanni, O.P. † (5 February 1327 – ?, died)
Federico de Retersberck, O.F.M. † (8 July 1351 – ?, resigned)
Giovanni Kaiode, O.E.S.A. † (14 March 1352 – ?, died)
Giovanni di Siberg, O.Cist. † (23 October 1354 – 30 September 1384, died)
Dario Bucciarelli, O.F.M. † (6 June 1864 Appointed – 1878 Died)
Fulgencije Carev (spelled as: Fulgenzio Czarev), O.F.M. † (28 March 1879 Appointed – 1 June 1888 Appointed, Archbishop (Personal Title) of Hvar (-Brač and Vis))
Andrea Logorezzi † (1888 Appointed – 1891 Died)
Pashkal Trokshi (spelled as: Pasquale Trosksi) † (10 January 1893 Appointed – 22 March 1908 Resigned)
Lazër Mjeda † (14 April 1909 Appointed – 19 October 1921 Appointed, Archbishop of Shkodra)
Diocese of Skopje
Janez Frančišek Gnidovec (spelled as: Giovanni Francesco Gnidovec), C.M. † (29 October 1924 Appointed – 1939 Died)
Smiljan Franjo Čekada † (18 August 1940 Appointed – 12 June 1967 Appointed, Coadjutor Archbishop of Vrhbosna {Sarajevo})
Diocese of Skopje-Prizren
Joakim Herbut † (2 October 1969 Appointed – 24 May 2000)
^Bahlcke, Joachim (2005). Ungarischer Episkopat und österreichische Monarchie: Von einer Partnerschaft zur Konfrontation(1686–1790). Franz Steiner Verlag. pp. 104–105. ISBN3515087648. Im Fall des Graner Domherm Hiacynth Macripodari etwa, den Ferdinand III. Im Juli 1645 zum Titularbischof von Skopje emannt hatte, kam es in Rom … Im Januar 1647 und im April 1649 emeuerte der Konig die Nomination auf Bitten und Drangen des griechischen Dominikaners, … Erst danach leitete Kardinal Girolamo Colonna den Informativprozeb fur Macripodari ein, der wenig spatter vom Heiligen Stuhl als Titularbichof von Skopje bestatigt und konsekriert wurde.
^Tóth, István György. Missions and Missionaries among the Csángó Hungarians in Moldova in the 17th Century(PDF). pp. 145–147. Dominican Giacinto Macripodari, future Bishop of Csanád, was one of the most interesting Dominican missionaries in Moldavia…He arrived in Vienna in the same year and King Ferdinand III nominated him, at the intercession of the envoy of Istanbul, the bishop of the Macedonian Skopje. …Many backed the plan of Macripodari to become Bishop of Bákó, including the vojvode himself. There were many Greeks among the boyars and the merchants of the court who, although they were Orthodox, got on well with a fellow Greek, the Chian Macripodari.
^Dominicans. Provincia romana (1942). Memorie domenicane, Volumes 59–63. Convento di S Maria Novella. p. 35. GIACINTO MACRIPODARI - Vescovo di Skoplje, nominato dal re d'Ungheria, 1645, luglio 29; confermato dalla SS. 1649, ott. 11- Vescovo di Csanàd, nominato dal re 1658, febbr. 27; confermato dalla SS. dopo il 2 maggio 1668. — Archivum FF.
^Hofmann, Georg (1934). Vescovadi cattolici della Grecia. Pont. Institutum Orientalium Studiorum. p. 34. OCLC403482. Nell' Albania fu vescovo Giacinto Macripodari a SCOPIA (Uskub) 1649–1669.
