Metropolis of Kitros, Katerini and Platamon explained

The Metropolis of Kitros, Katerini, and Platamon (Greek, Modern (1453-);: Ιερά Μητρόπολις Κίτρους, Κατερίνης και Πλαταμώνος) is an Eastern Orthodox metropolis of the Church of Constantinople, but is de facto is administered (by agreement) for practical reasons as part of the Church of Greece.

The bishopric is centered on the ancient town of Pydna,^[1] on the coast of Thessaly^{[2] [3]} although named for the nearby settlements of Kitros and Katerini.

History

The see is ancient and has a tradition of both Orthodox and Roman Catholic^[4] bishops.

The Kitros bishopric is mentioned in the Notitia Episcopatuum of Leo VI the Wise . Its bishop Germanus participated in the Council of Constantinople (879-880). after the Fourth Crusade Kitros became a Catholic diocese, as witnessed by a letter of Pope Innocent III in 1208, to an unnamed bishop of the see.^[3] It returned to Orthodox control soon after, when the region was conquered by the Despotate of Epirus.

Today the episcopal residence and two early Christian basilicas dating from the 4th and 6th centuries remain in nearby Pydna.^[5] Today there is a resident Orthodox bishop, while the see is also maintained by the Roman Catholic Church as a vacant titular see.^[6]

Known bishops

• Germanus participated in the Council of Constantinople (879-880)
• Panaretos, Bishop of Kitros, 996.^{[7] [8]}
• Unnamed Catholic Bishop^[3]
• Unnamed Orthodox bishop in 1235^[9]
• Anonymous Orthodox bishop of Kitros^[10]
• John of Kitros^[11]
• Unnamed Bishop forced to flee slaughter of the inhabitants of Kitros in 1612.^[12]
• Nikolaos, 1840–1882
• Theocletos.^[13]
• Parthenios Vardakas, 1904–1933.^[14]
• Konstantinos Koidakis, 1934–1954
• Barnabas (Nikolaos) Tzortzatos, 1954–1985 (in Greek)
• Agathonikos (Fatouros) of Kitros, 1985–2013^[15] (in Greek)
• Georgios Chrysostomou, 2014–^[16] (in Greek)

Cathedral

The Cathedral is in nearby Katerini.^[17]

Monasteries

• Monastery of St. Dionysios in Olympos (For Men)
• Monastery of St. Efrem in Kontariotissa (For Women)
• Monastery of St. Athanasios (For Women)
• Monastery of the Virgin (Panagia) in Makrirachi (For Women)

Bibliography

• Book: Kiminas, Demetrius. The Ecumenical Patriarchate: A History of Its Metropolitanates with Annotated Hierarch Catalogs. 2009. Wildside Press LLC. 9781434458766.

Notes and References

1. Raymond Janin, v. Citrus, in Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques, vol. XII, Paris 1953, coll. 998-999
2. Konrad Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, vol. 1, p. 188; vol. 2, pp. XX e 129; vol. 3, p. 167; vol. 4, p. 151; vol. 5, p. 158.
3. Web site: Oriens christianus: in quatuor patriarchatus digestus : quo exhibentur ecclesiae, patriarchae caeterique praesules totius orientis. Google Books. 1740. ex Typographia Regia, 1740. 2. coll. 79-82. Michel Le Quien.
4. [Pius Bonifacius Gams]
5. Web site: Pieria History - Tourist Pieria Hotel Guide. Greek Tourist Guides. https://web.archive.org/web/20170510194101/https://www.greektouristguides.gr/pieriahistory-en.html. 2017-05-10. live.
6. Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013), p. 871
7. Travelling Judges in Byzantine Macedonia (10th–11th c.) . Rosemary. Morris. Zbornik Radova Vizantoloskog Instituta. 9 December 2014. 50–1. 338. 10.2298/ZRVI1350335M. https://web.archive.org/web/20200311125517/http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0584-9888/2013/0584-98881301335M.pdf. 2020-03-11. live. free.
8. Book: Murphey, Rhoads. Imperial Lineages and Legacies in the Eastern Mediterranean (E-Book). Google Books. 7 July 2016. Taylor & Francis. 1–230. 9781317118442.
9. The Papacy and the Levant (1204–1571) - The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries. 1. Kenneth. Setton. Church History. September 1979. 3. 340–341. 10.2307/3163993. 3163993. 162729899.
10. Web site: The bishop of Kitros (eleventh/twelfth century). doaks.org.
11. Book: The History of Byzantine and Eastern Canon Law to 1500. Catholic University of America Press. Wilfried. Hartmann. Kenneth. Pennington. 27 February 2012. 22. 9780813216799.
12. Web site: Ottoman Macedonia (late 14th – late 17th century) . Phokion. Kotzageorgis. Macedonian Heritage. 132. https://web.archive.org/web/20180106231738/http://www.macedonian-heritage.gr/HistoryOfMacedonia/Downloads/History%20Of%20Macedonia_EN-06.pdf. 2018-01-06. live.
13. Athanasios A. Angelopoulos: The Episcopal Synod of the Metropolis of Thessaloniki and its signififance for today, p 9.
14. Athanasios A. Angelopoulos: The Episcopal Synod of the Metropolis of Thessaloniki and its signififance for today, p 23.
15. Web site: Holy Metropolis of Kitros, Katerini, and Platamon. Ecclesia.
16. Web site: Ιερά Μητρόπολη Κίτρους, Κατερίνης και Πλαταμώνος ‒ Δημοσιεύσεις. Metropolis of Kitros, Katerini and Platamon ‒ Official Posts on Ekklisia Online. https://web.archive.org/web/20211214175159/https://www.ekklisiaonline.gr/author/mitropolikitrous/. 2021-12-14. live. 2021-12-14. el. Ekklisia Online.
17. Web site: Holy Metropolis of Kitros, Katerini, and Platamon. imkitrous. el. 2012-01-29.