Kyparissia, Arcadia
Kyparissia (Greek: Κυπαρίσσια, Latin Ciparissia) is a village, former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see in southwestern Arcadia, Peloponnese peninsula of continental Greece.
Kyparissia Κυπαρίσσια | |
|---|---|
  Kyparissia | |
| Coordinates: 37°26.7′N 22°04′E | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | Peloponnese |
| Regional unit | Arcadia |
| Municipality | Megalopoli |
| Municipal unit | Gortyna |
| Community | |
| • Population | 58 (2011) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
It is part of the municipal unit of Gortyna. In 2011 Kyparissia had a population of 58. It is situated near the left bank of the river Alfeios. 1 km south of Mavria, 3 km east of Kourounios, 3 km northeast of Isoma Karyon, 3 km west of Katsimpalis, 5 km southeast of Karytaina and 8 km northwest of Megalopoli. There are lignite mines east of the village.
History and remains
The town lay in Achaea (Roman province) and after split in the Late Roman province of Peloponnesus Secundus.
The ancient city Trapezus was situated near the village.
To the east of the modern village lay the ancient town of Basilis (Βασιλίς), which had largely vanished by the 2nd century AD, when the geographer Pausanias recorded that only the sanctuary of hunting goddess Artemis survived. The site is now being excavated.[2]
Ciparissia once was a (late Byzantine?) bishopric, apparently a suffragan of the Metropolis of Patras, in the sway of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, but it was suppressed without a single historically documented incumbent.
Titular see
It was nominally restored in 1933 as a Latin Titular bishopric.
It is vacant since decades, having had the following incumbents of the fitting episcopal (lowest) rank:[3]
- Arthur-Alfred Lepailleur, Holy Cross Fathers (C.S.C.) (1951.03.08 – death 1952.04.12) as emeritate, previously Bishop of Chittagong (Bangladesh) (1927.06.18 – 1951.03.08)
- Bishop-elect Joseph Oliver Bowers, Divine Word Missionaries (S.V.D.) (1952.11.27 – 1953.01.08) as Auxiliary Bishop of Accra (Ghana) (1952.11.27 – 1953.01.08); later succeeded as Bishop of Accra (1953.01.08 – 1971.01.16), later first and only Bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint John’s (Antigua and Barbuda, British Antilles) (1971.01.16 – 1981.06.21), restyled first Bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint John's–Basseterre (Antigua and Barbuda) (1981.06.21 – retired 1981.07.17), died 2012
- Paul Etoga (1955.07.03 – 1961.06.24) as Auxiliary Bishop of Yaoundé (Cameroon) (1955.07.03 – 1961.06.24); later Bishop of Mbalmayo (Cameroon) (1961.06.24 – 1987.03.07), died 1998
- Gregorio Garavito Jiménez, Montfort Missionaries (S.M.M.) (1961.12.04 – 1969.04.26) as Auxiliary Bishop of Villavicencio (Colombia) (1961.12.04 – 1969.04.26); succeeded as Bishop of Villavicencio (1969.04.26 – 1994.05.03), died 2016.
Population
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1981 | 107 |
| 1991 | 111 |
| 2001 | 95 |
| 2011 | 58 |
Notable locals
- Michalis Katsaros (1923-1998), poet
References
- "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority.
- Δήμος Γόρτυνος: Δημοτικά Διαμερίσματα (in Greek). Municipality of Gortyna. 2003. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/t0512.htm GCatholic - Ciparissia
Sources and external links
- History and Information about Kyparissia
- GCatholic - Ciparissia, with (titular) incumbent bios
- Kyparissia on the GTP Travel Pages
- Raymond Janin, lemma 'Cyparissia', in Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques, vol. XIII, Paris 1956, coll. 1147-1148