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Synnada

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Synnada
1st/2nd century AD Roman statue of Dionysus from Synnada
1st/2nd century AD Roman statue of Dionysus from Synnada
38°32′N 30°33′E / 38.533°N 30.550°E

Synnada (Greek: Σύνναδα) was an ancient town of Phrygia Salutaris in Asia Minor. Its site is now occupied by the modern Turkish town of Şuhut, in Afyonkarahisar Province.[1]

Situation

Synnada was situated in the south-eastern part of eastern Phrygia, or Parorea, thus named because it extended to the foot of the mountains of Pisidia, at the extremity of a plain about 60 stadia in length, and covered with opium plantations.

History

Synnada is said to have been founded by Acamas who went to Phrygia after the Trojan War and took some Macedonian colonists.

Classical Age

It enters written history when the Roman consul Gnaeus Manlius Vulso passed through that city on his expeditions against the Galatians (189 BCE).[2] It was assigned to the kingdom of the Attalids and when that kingdom passed to Rome in 133 BC, it became part of the province of Asia, except on two occasions during the last century of the Roman Republic when it was temporarily attached to Cilicia. In Strabo's time it was still a small town,[3] but when Pliny wrote it was an important place, being the conventus juridicus for the whole of the surrounding country.[4] Cicero mentions that he passed through Synnada on his way from Ephesus to Cilicia.[5] The city was celebrated throughout the Roman Empire on account of the trade in a beautiful kind of marble, which came from nearby quarries and was commonly called Synnadic marble, though it came properly from a place in the neighborhood, Docimia, whence it was more correctly called Docimites lapis. This marble was of a light color, interspersed with purple spots and veins.[6] On its coins, which disappear after the reign of Gallienus, its inhabitants call themselves Dorians and Ionians. Under Diocletian at the time of the creation of Phrygia Pacatiana, Synnada, at the intersection of two great roads, became the metropolis (capital). Under Ottoman rule it became the city of Schifout Kassaba in the vilayet of Bursa.

Ecclesiastical history

Christianity was introduced at an early date into Synnada. The Martyrologium Hieronymianum mentions the martyrs Trophimus and Dorymedon.[7] A reliquary of Tromphimus in the form of a sarcophagus with his bones was discovered here and transported to the Bursa museum; it may date to the 3rd century.[8] Eusebius of Caesarea speaks of its pious bishop Atticus who entrusted to the layman Theodore the duty of instructing the Christians.[9]

About 230-235 a council on the rebaptizing of heretics was held there.[10] St. Agapitus, mentioned in the Roman Martyrology on 24 March as Bishop of Synnada, belonged to Synaus.

For a list of other bishops see Le Quien, Oriens christianus, I, 827. Mention must be made of:

  • Procopius (321); Cyriacus, friend of St. John Chrysostom
  • Theodosius and his competitor Agapetus, at first a Macedonian heretic
  • Severus (431) Attended Council of Ephesus
  • Marinianus (448-51)
  • Theogenes (536)
  • Severus (553)
  • St. Pausicacus, during the reign of Emperor Maurice, honoured by the Greek Church on 13 May
  • Cosmas, 680
  • John, adversary of the iconoclasts in the time of Patriarch St. Germanus
  • St. Michael, honoured by the Latin and Greek churches 23 May, died 23 May, 826, in exile for his zeal in defending the worship of images
  • Peter under Patriarch Photius
  • John under Photius
  • Pantaleon under Leo the Wise
  • Leo under Basil II
  • Nicetas in 1082
  • Georgios at the Council of St. Sophia, about 1450, if one can believe the apocryphal Acts of this council, which perhaps never occurred.

The last Bishop of Synnada spoken of in the documents, without mentioning his name, probably lived under John Cantacuzenus (see "Cantacuz. Hist.", III, 73) and probably never lived at Synnada on account of the Turkish conquest.

Saint Constantine, a converted Jew of Synnada, lived in the 10th century; he became a monk, and is honoured by the Greek Church 26 December.

In 1370, the see was assumed by the metropolitanate of Kotyaion, in 1385 by the metropolitanate of Philadelphia, and in 1394 by Philadelphia again.[11]

The metropolitan see of Synnada continues to be included in the list of titular sees recognized by the Roman Catholic Church. In 1963, it was assigned to Marcel-François Lefebvre, who later became a traditionalist Catholic founding the Society of St. Pius X to preserve the Latin Mass. Since the Second Vatican Council no new appointments have been made to this eastern titular see.[12]

From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia

Titular metropolis in Phrygia Salutaris. Synnada is said to have been founded by Acamas who went to Phrygia after the Trojan war and took some Macedonian colonists. The consul Manlius Vulso passed through that city on his expeditions against the Galatians. It was situated in the south-eastern part of Eastern Phrygia, or Parorea, thus named because it extended to the foot of the mountains of Pisidia. After having belonged to the kingdom of the Attali, it became the capital of a district of the province of Asia, except on two occasions during the last century of the Republic when it was temporarily attached to Cilicia. Under these two regimes Synnada was the centre of an important conventus juridicus, or judicial centre; it was to preside at this assembly that Cicero stopped at Synnada on his way from Ephesus to Cilicia and on his return. Although small, the city was celebrated throughout the empire on account of the trade in marble which came from the quarries of the neighbouring city of Dacimium. Under Diocletian at the time of the creation of Phrygia Pacatiana, Synnada, at the intersection of two great roads, became the metropolis. On its coins, which disappear after the reign of Gallienus, its inhabitants call themselves Dorians and Ionians. To-day it is the city of Schifout Kassaba, situated five hours south of Afoun Kara Hissar, vilayet of Broussa.

Christianity was introduced at an early date into Synnada. The "Martyrologium Hieronymianum" mentions several of its martyrs. For St. Trophimus, honoured by the Latin and Greek Churches on 19 Sept., see "Acta SS.", VI Sept., 9 sq. A reliquary in the form of a sarcophagus containing some of the bones of this martyr has been discovered at Schifout Kassaba and transported to the museum at Broussa; this curious monument may date back to the third century [see Mendel in "Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique", XXXIII (1909), 342 sq.]. Eusebius (Hist. Eccl., VI, 19) speaks of its pious bishop Atticus who entrusted to the layman Theodore the duty of instructing the Christians. About 230-5 a council on the rebaptizing of heretics was held there (Euseb., Hist. Eccl., VII, 7). St. Agapetus, mentioned in the Roman Martyrology on 24 March as Bishop of Synnada, belonged to Synaus. For a list of other bishops see Le Quien, "Oriens christ.", I, 827. Mention must be made of Procopius (321); Cyriacus, friend of St. John Chrysostom; Theodosius and his competitor Agapetus, at first a Macedonian heretic; Severus (431); Marinianus (448-51); Theogenes (536); Severus (553); St. Pausicacus, during the reign of Maurice, honoured by the Greek Church on 13 May; Cosmas, 680; John, adversary of the iconoclasts in the time of Patriarch St. Germanus; St. Michael, honoured by the Latin and Greek churches 23 May, died 23 May, 826, in exile for his zeal in defending the worship of images; Peter under Photius; John under Photius; Pantaleon under Leo the Wise; Leo under Basil II; Nicetas in 1082; Georgios at the Council of St. Sophia, about 1450, if one can believe the apocryphal Acts of this council, which perhaps never occurred. The last Bishop of Synnada spoken of in the documents, without mentioniong his name, probably lived under John Cantacuzenus (see "Cantacuz. Hist.", III, 73) and probably never lived at Synnada on account of the Turkish conquest. Several years after (1385) the see was committed to the Metropolitan of Philadelphia. In conclusion may be mentioned St. Constantine, a converted Jew of Synnada, who lived in the tenth century; he became a monk, and is honoured by the Greek Church 26 December.

Smith, Dict. of Greek and Roman Geog.; Texier, Asie Mineure, 430; Ramsay, Asia Minor; Idem, Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia; Perret in Revue archéologique, new Series, XXXI (January to June, 1876), 190-203; Wächter, Der Verfall des Griechentums in Kleinasien in XIV. Jahrhundert (Leipzig, 1903), 37.

References

  1. Back to citation Talbert, Richard, ed. (2000). "Map 62". Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-03169-9, with accompanying Map-by-Map Directory.
  2. Back to citation Livy xxxviii. 15, xlv. 34.
  3. Back to citation Strab. xii.
  4. Back to citation Plin. H.N., v. 29
  5. Back to citation Cic. ad Att. v. 20; comp. ad Fam. iii. 8. xv. 4
  6. Back to citation Strab. l. c.; Plin. xxxv. 1; Stat. Silv. i. 5. 36; Comp. Stephanus of Byzantium s. v.; Ptolemy v. 2. § 24; Martial, ix. 76; Symmach. ii. 246.
  7. Back to citation Acta Sanctorum, VI September, 9 sq.
  8. Back to citation Mendel, "Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique", XXXIII (1909), 342 sq.
  9. Back to citation Church History, VI, 19.
  10. Back to citation Eusebius, Church History, VII, 7.
  11. Back to citation Vryonis, Speros (1971). The Decline of Medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor and the Process of Islamisation from the Eleventh through the Fifteenth Century. Berkeley: California University Press. pp. 297, 298
  12. Back to citation Synnada in Phrygia at catholic-hierarchy.org

Bibliography

  • Louis Robert, Lettres d'un évêque de Synnada (Paris, 1962).
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