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The first known bishop was Petrus, to whom St. Gregory the Great refers in 596. His two alleged successors, Sabinus (599) and Petrus (601), are the invention of Ferdinando Ughelli, who mistakenly believed that Sabinus was Bishop of Otranto, whereas he was in fact Bishop of Gallipoli.[3]
The bishop of Hydruntum (Otranto) already appears as a subject of the Patriarch of Constantinople in the Notitia Dignitatum in the time of the Emperor Leo VI (886–912).[4] Bishop Marcus (about 870) is believed to be the author of the Greek liturgical office for Holy Saturday.[5]
Bishop Petrus of Hydruntum (968) was raised to the dignity of Metropolitan by Polyeuctus, Patriarch of Constantinople (956-70), with the obligation to establish the Byzantine Rite throughout the new ecclesiastical province, and the authority to consecrate bishops in the churches of Acerenza, Tursi, Gravina, Matera, and Tricarico, all previously dependent on the Church of Rome.[6] The Latin Church was introduced again after the Norman conquest, but the Byzantine Rite remained in use in several towns of the archdiocese and of its suffragans, until the sixteenth century.
In 1818, a new concordat with the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies committed the pope to the suppression of more than fifty small dioceses in the kingdom. In the ecclesiastical province of Otranto, the diocese of Castro, formerly a suffragan of Otranto, was suppressed by Pope Pius VII in the bull "De Utiliori" of 27 June 1818, and its territory incorporated into the diocese of Otranto. The diocese of Alessano[7] was likewise suppressed, and its territory incorporated into the diocese of Ugento.[8] In the same concordat, the King acquired the right to nominate candidates for vacant bishoprics. That situation persisted down until the final overthrow of the Bourbon monarchy in 1860.[9]
As the Metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province, Otranto had as suffragans (subordinates) Gallipoli, Ugento, and Lecce. On 28 September 1960, however, Pope John XXIII, with the bull "Cum a nobis", separated the diocese of Lecce from the ecclesiastical province of Otranto and made it immediately subject to the Holy See.[10]
Cathedral and Chapter
The cathedral, dedicated to the taking up (assumption) of the body of the Virgin Mary into heaven, was consecrated in August 1088, by Archbishop Roffredo of Benevento, the Papal Legate,[11] assisted by Archbishop Urso of Bari, Archbishop Alberto of Taranto, Archbishop Godino of Brindisi, with the attendance of Duke Roger of Apulia.[12]
The cathedral of Otranto was administered by a Chapter, composed of twenty-four Canons. Among them were the dignities of the Archdeacon, the Cantor, the Dean, the Capellanus major, the Treasurer, the Primicerius, and the Penitentiary.[13]
Synods
A provincial synod was a meeting of a metropolitan archbishop with his suffragan bishops, and any other persons whom he wished to invite, such as representatives of cathedral Chapters, abbots of important monasteries, and canon lawyers. Canons were framed or reauthorized, and decrees of the Roman Curia were promulgated. Matters of ecclesiastical discipline were dealt with. A provincial synod was held in Otranto in September 1567 by Archbishop Pietro de Capua.[14]
A diocesan synod was an irregularly held, but important, meeting of the bishop of a diocese and his clergy. Its purpose was (1) to proclaim generally the various decrees already issued by the bishop; (2) to discuss and ratify measures on which the bishop chose to consult with his clergy; (3) to publish statutes and decrees of the diocesan synod, of the provincial synod, and of the Holy See.[15]
On 18–20 October 1641, Bishop Gaetano Cossa (1635-1657) held a diocesan synod.[16] Bishop Ambrogio Piccolomini (1675–1682) held a diocesan synod in 1679.[17]
Bishop Andrea Mansi (1818–1832) held ten diocesan synods.[18]
Loss of metropolitanate
Following the Second Vatican Council, and in accordance with the norms laid out in the Council's decree, Christus Dominus chapter 40,[19] the Episcopal Conference of Apulia petitioned the Holy See (Pope) that Lecce be made a metropolitan and that a new ecclesiastical province be created. After wide consultations among all affected parties, Pope John Paul II issued a decree on 20 October 1980, elevating Lecce to the status of metropolitan see. He also created the new ecclesiastical province of Lecce, whose constituent bishoprics (suffragans) were to be: Brindisi (no longer a metropolitanate, though the archbishop allowed to retain the title of archbishop), Otranto (no longer a metropolitanate, though the archbishop allowed to retain the title of archbishop), Gallipoli, Nardò, Ostuno, and Uxentina-S. Mariae Leucadensis (Ugento).[20]
The archdiocese, in 2019, has seven seminarians enrolled in the major seminary and seven students in the minor seminary.[21]
^Since Ughelli (p. 55) had evidence of Bishop Petrus in 601, he had to create a second Petrus because of his imaginary Sabinus (or Sabinianus) in 599. Lanzoni, p. 317
^Bullarii Romani continuatio Tomus 15, p. 7 column 1, "Articulus XXVIII".
^Acta Apostolicae Sedis 53 (Città del Vaticano 1961), pp. 345-346.
^The statement that Pope Urban II consecrated the new cathedral is incorrect. By 23 August 1088, he was back at Anagni, having completed his journey to Sicily, where he had gone on 10 April to confer with Count Roger of Sicily. Philippus Jaffé and S. Lowenfeld, Regesta pontificum Romanorum Volume I (Leipzig: Veit 1885), pp. 658-659.
^Acta dioecesanae Hydrwntinae synodi, svb Caietano Cosso, archiepiscopo, anno a nativitate Domini MDCXLI. Lecce: Petrus Michaeli 1642.
^Ambrosio Michele Piccolomini, Synodus Hydruntina. Venetiis, apud Heredes Brigonci, 1679.
^Dioecesana Synodus... F. Andrea Mansi... anni Domini MDCCCXXIV, Neapoli 1824.
^Christus Dominus 40. Therefore, in order to accomplish these aims this sacred synod decrees as follows: 1) The boundaries of ecclesiastical provinces are to be submitted to an early review and the rights and privileges of metropolitans are to be defined by new and suitable norms. 2) As a general rule all dioceses and other territorial divisions that are by law equivalent to dioceses should be attached to an ecclesiastical province. Therefore dioceses which are now directly subject to the Apostolic See and which are not united to any other are either to be brought together to form a new ecclesiastical province, if that be possible, or else attached to that province which is nearer or more convenient. They are to be made subject to the metropolitan jurisdiction of the bishop, in keeping with the norms of the common law. 3) Wherever advantageous, ecclesiastical provinces should be grouped into ecclesiastical regions for the structure of which juridical provision is to be made.
^Acta Apostolicae Sedis 72 (Città del Vaticano 1980), pp. 1076-1077.
^Arcidiocesi Otranto, "Cenni storici"; retrieved 22 June 2019. (in Italian)
^In a letter of Pope Gregory I of 595, Bishop Petrus is entrusted with the dioceses of Brindisi, Lecce, and Gallipoli, all of which were vacant. Ughelli, p. 55. Lanzoni, p. 317.
^Bishop Andreas was present at the Lateran council of Pope Martin I in 649. J.-D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima, Tomus X (Florence: A. Zatta 1764), p. 867. Kehr, p. 408.
^Bishop Joannes signed the synodal letter of the Roman synod of 680, sent by Pope Agatho to the Third Council of Constantinople, which was read in the third plenary session. J.-D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima, Tomus XI (Florence: A. Zatta 1764), p. 773. Ughelli, p. 55, mistakenly believed that Bishop Joannes was present in Constantinople. He is corrected by Kehr, p. 408.
^Bishop Marcus, who was dependent upon the Patriarch of Constantinople, is believed to be the author of the Greek liturgical office for Holy Saturday. Ughelli, p. 55 (who wrongly gives a date of 778, in an addition by N. Coletì, derived from Lucentius). Cappelletti, p. 300.
^An archbishop of Otranto attended the consecration of the monastery church of Montecassino on 1 October 1071. Leo Marsicanus (Ostiensis), Chronicon Casinense, Book III, chapter 29, in: J. P. Migne (ed.), Patrologiae Latinae CLXXIII (Paris 1854), p. 751. Cappelletti, p. 300.
^Matthaeus was a chaplain of the Bishop of Ostia and Velletri, Cardinal Raynaldus dei Conti. He was appointed ('preferred') by Pope Innocent IV on 3 May 1253, after a long vacancy. He died in 1282. Eubel I, p. 279. Kamp, pp. 720-723.
^The Chapter of Otranto elected Tancred de Montefusculo, the Bishop of Nicastro, which was approved by Pope Martin IV on 23 November 1282, and turned over to the Papal Legate, Cardinal Gerardo Blanco, Bishop of Sabina, who appointed Jacobus. Martin IV sent him the pallium on 19 August 1283. François Olivier-Martin, Les registres de Martin IV Tome premier (Paris: Fontemoing 1901), p. 154 no. 369. Eubel I, p. 280 with note 3. Gams. p. 911, reports the existence of a Nicholas, c. 1298, making two Jacobus. No other author registers such a person, and Eubel, p. 280 note 4, suggests that Nicholas be deleted: "Forte Jacobus successor Nicolai est idem ae Jacobus ejusdem praedecessor et ideo ipse Nicolaus eliminandus.
^On 4 January 1351 Rinaldo was named archbishop of Patras (Greece). Eubel I, pp. 280.
^In 1363, Filippo was named archbishop of Capua. Eubel I, pp. 280.
^Giacomo d'Itri was born at Gaeta, and was a relative of the Count of Fondi, who was Lord of Gaeta. Jacobus was appointed Bishop of Otranto on 20 December 1363 by Pope Urban V. On 18 January 1376 Giacomo was named titular Latin Patriarch of Constantinople, though he retained Otranto as Administrator. He was appointed a cardinal by Pope Clement VII (Avignon Obedience) on 16 December 1378, and named Papal Legate in the Kingdom of Naples. His successor was appointed on 29 March 1393. L. de Mas Latrie, "Patriarches latins de Constantinople," Revue de l'Orient Latin 3 (Paris: Ernest Laroux 1895), p. 441 (in French). Eubel I, pp. 27 no.1; 280.
^Jacobus was present at the election of Urban VI in Rome on 8 April 1378, and at the election of Clement VII at Anagni on 20 September 1378. Etienne Baluze ( Stephanus Baluzius) (1693). Vitae Paparum Avenionensium (in Latin). Vol. Tomus primus. Paris: apud Franciscum Muguet. pp. 1232, 1249–1251.
^On 15 January 1379, Clement VII (Avignon Obedience) appointed Guilelmus, who was Patriarch of Constantinople in succession to Cardinal Jacobus de Itri, Apostolic Administrator of the diocese of Otranto. Eubel I, p. 280.
^Tirellus was appointed by Urban VI after he anathematized Bishop Jacobus de Itri. Ughelli, p. 60. Eubel I, p. 280.
^Petrus was appointed by Urban VI (Roman Obedience) to succeed Tirellus. He was transferred to the diocese of Tarentum (Taranto) on 12 April 1389. Ughelli, p. 60. Eubel I, pp. 280, 473.
^Joannes had previously been Bishop of Siponto, but was deposed by Urban VI, who suspected his loyalty. He was appointed Bishop of Otranto by Boniface IX, who did not suspect his loyalty, on 25 January 1390. Ughelli, p. 60. Eubel I, p. 280.
^Riccardus was appointed by Clement VII, not by Benedict XIII (Avignon Obedience), as Ughelli states at p. 60, on 29 March 1393. Eubel I, p. 280.
^Philippus had previously been Bishop of Gravina, by appointment of Urban VI. He was transferred to the diocese of Otranto on 16 April 1395. On 18 September 1399, Pope Boniface IX granted him the faculties to absolve all supporters of the Avignon papacy who renounced the schism and returned to obedience to Boniface IX. Eubel I, pp. 268, 280 with note 10.
^Pagani was transferred from Bari to the diocese of Otranto by Pope Martin V on 1 December 1424. He died in 1451. Eubel I, p. 280; II, p. 166.
^Stephanus was appointed on 16 June 1451 by Pope Nicholas V. Bishop Stephanus was killed by the Turks who captured and held Otranto for 13 months in 1480 and 1481. Eubel II, p. 166. Ughelli, p. 61.
^Serafino was appointed by Pope Sixtus IV on 20 October 1480. Eubel II, p. 166. Ughelli, p. 61, calls him Stephanus.
^Fabrizio: Ughelli, pp. 61-62. Eubel Hierarchia catholica III, p. 212.
^Cesarini was created a cardinal on 1 July 1517 by Pope Leo X. There is no record of his ever being consecrated a bishop. Ughelli, p. 65. Eubel III, pp. 17 no. 33; 212.
^Pietro Antonio: Ughelli, p. 65. Eubel III, p. 212.
^Ritzler-Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VI, p. 238 with note 2.
^Caracciolo resigned on 23 September 1766, and was elected Prior of the Sacred Constantinian Order of S. George and of the Basilica of S. Niccolò in Bari. He died in April 1774. Catalani, p. 524 column 2. Ritzler-Sefrin, VI, p. 238 with note 3.
^Pignatelli resigned the diocese on 20 June 1784, and was appointed Archbishop of Salerno on 25 June 1784. Ritzler-Sefrin, VI, p. 238 with note 4.
^Morelli died on 22 August 1812. Ritzler-Sefrin, VI, p. 238 with note 5.
^Cataldi, p. 525 column 1. Pope Pius VII was a prisoner of Napoleon in France until 1814, and from 1815 to 1818 there were serious disagreements with the restored King Ferdinand of Naples, who declined to be a vassal of the Holy See.
^Mansi was born in Latiano (diocese of Oria) in 1746. He was twice provincial superior of his Congregation, the Ordine del Minori Riformati di S. Pietro d'Alcantara. He was named Archbishop of Otranto on 6 April 1818 by Pope Pius VII on the nomination of King Ferdinand. He held ten diocesan synods. He died on 1 March 1832. Cataldi, p. 525 column 1. Ritzler-Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VII, p. 217.
^On 23 May 1887 Cocchia was appointed Archbishop of Chieti.
^On 7 Jul 1930 Patané was appointed Archbishop of Catania.
^On 12 July 1960 Calabria was named titular Archbishop of Heliopolis in Phoenicia, and appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Benevento. Acta Apostolicae Sedis 52 (Città del Vaticano 1960), p. 831.
^On 5 February 1969 Pollio was appointed Archbishop of Salerno (-Acerno).
^On 3 July 1999 Cacucci was appointed Archbishop of Bari-Bitonto.
Ritzler, Remigius; Sefrin, Pirminus (1958). Hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi (in Latin). Vol. Tomus VI (1730-1799). Patavii: Messagero di S. Antonio. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
Cataldi, Nicola (1848. "Otranto". In: Vincenzo D'Avino, Cenni storici sulle chiese arcivescovili, vescovi, e prelazie (nullius) del Regno delle due Sicilie (Napoli: Ranucci 1848), pp. 519-526. [filled with errors]
Kamp, Norbert (1975). Kirche und Monarchie im staufischen Königreich Sizilien. I. Prosopographische Grundlegung: 2. Apulien und Kalabrien. München: Wilhelm Fink Verlag. (in German)
Kehr, Paul Fridolin (1962). Italia pontificia. Vol. IX: Samnium — Apulia — Lucania. Berlin: Weidmann. (in Latin)
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