Synnada
Encyclopedia
Synnada 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
. Synnada remains a Roman Catholic
Titular metropolis.
, 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 olive plantations.
who went to Phrygia after the Trojan war
and took some Macedon
ian colonists. It enters written history when the Roman
consul
Gnaeus Manlius Vulso
passed through that city on his expeditions against the Galatia
ns (189 BC
E). After having belonged to the kingdom of the Attalids, it became the capital of a district of the province of Asia
, except on two occasions during the last century of the Roman Republic
when it was temporarily attached to Cilicia
. Under Diocletian
at the time of the creation of Phrygia Pacatiana, Synnada, at the intersection of two great roads, became the metropolis
(capital). In Strabo
's time it was still a small town, but when Pliny
wrote it was an important place, being the conventus juridicus for the whole of the surrounding country. Cicero
mentions that he passed through Synnada on his way from Ephesus
to Cilicia
. 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. Under Diocletian
at the time of the creation of Phrygia Pacatiana, Synnada, at the intersection of two great roads, became the metropolis
(capital). On its coins, which disappear after the reign of Gallienus
, its inhabitants call themselves Dorians and Ionians
. Under Ottoman
rule it became the city of Schifout Kassaba, situated five hours south of Afyonkarahisar
, in the vilayet of Broussa.
mentions several of its martyrs, such as St. Trophimus
, honoured by the Latin (Catholic) and Greek (Orthodox) Churches on 19 September. 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 monument may date back to the third century . Eusebius of Caesarea
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. 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 christianus, I, 827. Mention must be made of:
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. Finally St. Constantine, a converted Jew of Synnada, lived in the tenth century; he became a monk, and is honoured by the Greek Church 26 December.
A famous incumbent of the titular archbishopric was the dissident traditionalist Catholic Archbishop Marcel-François Lefebvre.
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
. Its site is now occupied by the modern Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
town of Şuhut
Suhut
Şuhut is a town and district of Afyonkarahisar Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. It lies in a small plain, 29 km east of the city of Afyon. It has an area of 983 km², and the population is 39,421 of which 12,625 live in the town of Şuhut, and the remainder in surrounding villages...
, in Afyonkarahisar Province
Afyonkarahisar Province
Afyonkarahisar Province , also called more simply Afyon Province, is a province in western Turkey.Adjacent provinces are Kütahya to the northwest, Uşak to the west, Denizli to the southwest, Burdur to the south, Isparta to the southeast, Konya to the east, and Eskişehir to the north. The provincial...
. Synnada remains a Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
Titular metropolis.
Situation
Synnada was situated in the south-eastern part of eastern PhrygiaPhrygia
In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
, or Parorea, thus named because it extended to the foot of the mountains of Pisidia
Pisidia
Pisidia was a region of ancient Asia Minor located north of Lycia, and bordering Caria, Lydia, Phrygia and Pamphylia. It corresponds roughly to the modern-day province of Antalya in Turkey...
, at the extremity of a plain about 60 stadia in length, and covered with olive plantations.
Early history
Synnada is said to have been founded by AcamasAcamas
Acamas was a name attributed to several characters in Greek mythology. The following three all fought in the Trojan War, and only the first was not mentioned by Homer....
who went to Phrygia after the Trojan war
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
and took some Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
ian colonists. It enters written history when the Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
Gnaeus Manlius Vulso
Gnaeus Manlius Vulso
Gnaeus Manlius Vulso was a Roman consul for the year 189 BC, together with Marcus Fulvius Nobilior. He led a victorius campaign against the Galatian Gauls of Asia Minor in 189 BC during the Galatian War. He may have been awarded a triumph in 187BCE...
passed through that city on his expeditions against the Galatia
Galatia
Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. Galatia was named for the immigrant Gauls from Thrace , who settled here and became its ruling caste in the 3rd century BC, following the Gallic invasion of the Balkans in 279 BC. It has been called the "Gallia" of...
ns (189 BC
189 BC
Year 189 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Nobilior and Vulso...
E). After having belonged to the kingdom of the Attalids, it became the capital of a district of the province of Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, except on two occasions during the last century of the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
when it was temporarily attached to Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
. Under Diocletian
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
at the time of the creation of Phrygia Pacatiana, Synnada, at the intersection of two great roads, became the metropolis
Metropolis
A metropolis is a very large city or urban area which is a significant economic, political and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections and communications...
(capital). In Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
's time it was still a small town, but when Pliny
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
wrote it was an important place, being the conventus juridicus for the whole of the surrounding country. Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
mentions that he passed through Synnada on his way from Ephesus
Ephesus
Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era...
to Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
. The city was celebrated throughout the Roman Empire on account of the trade in a beautiful kind of marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
, 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. Under Diocletian
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
at the time of the creation of Phrygia Pacatiana, Synnada, at the intersection of two great roads, became the metropolis
Metropolis
A metropolis is a very large city or urban area which is a significant economic, political and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections and communications...
(capital). On its coins, which disappear after the reign of Gallienus
Gallienus
Gallienus was Roman Emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260, and alone from 260 to 268. He took control of the Empire at a time when it was undergoing great crisis...
, its inhabitants call themselves Dorians and Ionians
Ionians
The Ionians were one of the four major tribes into which the Classical Greeks considered the population of Hellenes to have been divided...
. Under Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
rule it became the city of Schifout Kassaba, situated five hours south of Afyonkarahisar
Afyonkarahisar
Afyonkarahisar is a city in western Turkey, the capital of Afyon Province. Afyon is in mountainous countryside inland from the Aegean coast, south-west of Ankara along the Akarçay River. Elevation...
, in the vilayet of Broussa.
Ecclesiastical history
Christianity was introduced at an early date into Synnada. The Martyrologium HieronymianumMartyrologium Hieronymianum
The Martyrologium Hieronymianum was a medieval list of martyrs, one of the most used and influential of the Middle Ages...
mentions several of its martyrs, such as St. Trophimus
Trophimus, Sabbatius, and Dorymedon
Saints Trophimus , Sabbatius , and Dorymedon are venerated as Christian martyrs. The story of their martyrdom is enshrouded in myth, and though they share the same feast day, the saints were not martyred together or at the same time.According to their Passion, Emperor Probus decreed that all...
, honoured by the Latin (Catholic) and Greek (Orthodox) Churches on 19 September. A reliquary
Reliquary
A reliquary is a container for relics. These may be the physical remains of saints, such as bones, pieces of clothing, or some object associated with saints or other religious figures...
in the form of a sarcophagus
Sarcophagus
A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
containing some of the bones of this martyr has been discovered at Schifout Kassaba and transported to the museum at Broussa; this monument may date back to the third century . Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea also called Eusebius Pamphili, was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian polemicist. He became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon...
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. St. Agapetus, mentioned in the Roman Martyrology
Roman Martyrology
The Roman Martyrology is the official martyrology of the Roman Rite of the Roman Catholic Church. It provides an extensive but not exhaustive list of the saints recognized by the Church.-History:...
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)
- 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 iconoclastsIconoclasmIconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...
in the time of Patriarch St. Germanus - St. MichaelMichael of SynnadaMichael of Synnada was a bishop of Synnada from 784.Much influenced by Patriarch Tarasios of Constantinople, he carried out diplomatic missions for him and Byzantium. He clashed with the Emperor Leo the Armenian over Leo's policy of iconoclasm, and was exiled, returning under his successor.He is...
, 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 IIBasil IIBasil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...
- 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. Finally St. Constantine, a converted Jew of Synnada, lived in the tenth century; he became a monk, and is honoured by the Greek Church 26 December.
A famous incumbent of the titular archbishopric was the dissident traditionalist Catholic Archbishop Marcel-François Lefebvre.