Archbishopric of Justiniana Prima was a Christian autonomous Archbishopric with see in the city of Justiniana Prima and jurisdiction over the Late Roman Diocese of Dacia in central parts of the Southeastern Europe.[1]
History
The archdiocese was established in 535 AD by Emperor Justinian I, in his presumed home-town of Justiniana Prima (near present-day Lebane, in Southern Serbia).
The establishment is mentioned in Justinian's own Novel XI from 535, when he promotes the metropolitan to an archbishop, independent from the Archbishop of Thessalonica. [2]
The very first archbishop of Justiniana Prima was Amincius, later marthirized in a raid by Cumans
Its last mention is in 602, amid the Slav raids on the Balkans.
Administration
Its cathedral archiepiscopal see was at Justiniana Prima. According to Novella 11, issued in 535, the first Archbishop received canonical jurisdiction over the following Byzantine provinces, mainly on the territory of the Diocese of Dacia:[3]
The Archbishopric of Ohrid was seen as a successor of the old archbishopric. Archbishop John IV, nephew of emperor Alexios I Komnenos, resurrected the title of Archbishop of Justiniana Prima in 1143 for his own use.[5]