The Archdiocese of Crotone-Santa Severina () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Calabria in southern Italy. Its modern boundaries were established in 1986 when it was combined with the Diocese of Santa Severina. It is now a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Catanzaro-Squillace. In 2013 there was one priest for every 1,841 Catholics.

The original Diocese of Cortone (also Cotrone, now Crotone) had existed from the 6th century. It was a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Reggio.

History According to local legend the Gospel was preached there by Peter the Apostle, or by Dionysius the Areopagite, a follower of Paul of Tarsus, and it is claimed that Dionysius was the first bishop.Ughelli IX, pp. 383-384. Cappelletti, p. 188. This is mythmaking, practiced by most dioceses in Italy, in an effort to connect their founding to the Apostles or Disciples of Jesus Christ. Lanzoni, pp. 10, 342.

Cotrone (ancient Croton) was besieged by Totila, King of the Goths, in the 540s, without success. At a later date Croton became a part of the Byzantine Empire. About 870 it was taken and sacked by the Saracens, who put to death the bishop and many people who had taken refuge in the cathedral. Later on it was conquered by Normans, and thenceforth shared the fate of the Kingdom of Naples.

The first known bishop of Cotrone, according to local tradition, was Flavianus, during whose episcopate occurred the siege of the city by Totila, according to Fernando Ughelli. There is no documentary evidence of his existence.

Cathedral and Chapter The cathedral of Crotone was dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, and to Dionysius the Areopagite.

The cathedral was administered and staffed by a corporation called the Chapter, which was composed of four dignities (Archdeacon, Dean, Cantor and Archpriest) and sixteen canons.Cappelletti, p. 188. Ughelli, p. 383, speaks of six dignities: the Archdeacon, the Deacon, the Archpriest (who acts as Penitentiarius), the Treasurer, and the Primicerius. In 1690, and again in 1793, there were six dignities and eighteen canons.Ritzler-Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 174, note 1; VI, p. 185.

The diocesan seminary was established by Bishop Girolamo Carafa (1664–1683).Taccano-Gallucci, p. 391.

Diocesan synods A diocesan synod was an irregularly held, but important, meeting of the bishop of a diocese and his clergy. Its purpose was: John Paul II, Constitutio Apostolica de Synodis Dioecesanis Agendis (March 19, 1997): Acta Apostolicae Sedis 89 (1997), pp. 706-727.

to proclaim generally the various decrees already issued by the bishop; to discuss and ratify measures on which the bishop chose to consult with his clergy; to publish statutes and decrees of the diocesan synod, of the provincial synod, and of the Holy See.

Bishop Marco de Rama (1690–1709) presided over a diocesan synod in Crotone on 9 July 1693.Falcone, p. 134, no. 200.

A diocesan synod was held by Bishop Gaetano Costa (1723–1753) in the cathedral of Crotone on 5–7 June 1729.Falcone, p. 129, no. 195. Bishop Giuseppe Capocchiani (1774–1788) held a diocesan synod in the cathedral of Cortone on 18 December 1785.Falcone, pp. 128-129, no. 194. On 20 December 1795, Bishop Ludovico Ludovici (1792–1797) held a diocesan synod, whose decrees were published in Naples in 1796.Falcone, p. 130, no. 197.

Bishop Leonardo Todisco Grande (1834–1849) began a general visitation of the institutions of his diocese in 1842, Falcone, p. 134, nos. 202-204. and then presided over a diocesan synod which was held at Crotone on 1–3 June 1845; its constitutions and decrees were published.

Reorganization of 1818 Following the extinction of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, the Congress of Vienna authorized the restoration of the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples. Since the French occupation had seen the abolition of many Church institutions in the kingdom, as well as the confiscation of most Church property and resources, it was imperative that Pope Pius VII and King Ferdinand IV reach agreement on restoration and restitution. Ferdinand, however, was not prepared to accept the pre-Napoleonic situation, in which Naples was a feudal subject of the papacy. Lengthy, detailed, and acrimonious negotiations ensued.

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 Reggio, to which the diocese of Cotrone belonged, Pope Pius VII, in the bull of 27 June 1818, chose to suppress the diocese of Isola completely, and assigned its people and territory to the diocese of Cotrone. In the same concordat, the King was confirmed in the right to nominate candidates for vacant bishoprics, subject to the approval of the pope. That situation persisted down until the final overthrow of the Bourbon monarchy in 1860.Bullarii Romani continuatio Tomus 15, p. 7 column 1, "Articulus XXVIII".

Temporary union of three dioceses under one bishop Changing patterns of settlement and distribution of wealth following World War II had an impact on dioceses which were mostly rural in character. In 1970, the entire diocese of Santa Severina had a Catholic population estimated at 62,000, and was served by 44 priests (1:2000). The diocese of Cariati had some 72,000 Catholics, and 37 priests (1:1945). The diocese of Crotone had an estimated 61,000 Catholics and 37 priests (1:1648).Annuario pontificio 1971 (Citta del Vaticano 1971). In the 17th and 18th centuries, the city of Cotrone had a population estimated at 5,000: Ritzler-Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 174, note 1; VI, p. 185. Bishop Orazio Semeraro of Cariata had been transferred to Brindisi in April 1967; Bishop Raimondi of Crotone had died in June 1971. Archbishop Michele Federici of Santa Severina was transferred to Veroli-Frosinone on 23 December 1973, which cleared the way to a reorganization of diocesan resources in Calabria. On 21 December 1973, Pope Paul VI appointed Giuseppe Agostino, who had been the Vicar General of the diocese of Reggio Calabria, Archbishop of Santa Severina and at the same time Bishop of Crotone and Bishop of Cariati, aeque pariter.Acta Apostolicae Sedis Vol. 66 (Citta del Vaticano 1974), p. 50. Cariati was united to the archdiocese of Rossano in 1979, and Santa Severina was united to the archdiocese of Crotone in 1986.

Union of Santa Severina with Crotone On 18 February 1984, the Vatican and the Italian State signed a new and revised concordat. Based on the revisions, a set of was issued on 15 November 1984, which was accompanied in the next year, on 3 June 1985, by enabling legislation. According to the agreement, the practice of having one bishop govern two separate dioceses at the same time, , was abolished. Instead, the Vatican continued consultations which had begun under Pope John XXIII for the merging of small dioceses, especially those with personnel and financial problems, into one combined diocese. On 30 September 1986, Pope John Paul II ordered that the dioceses of Crotone and Santa Severina be merged into one diocese with one bishop, with the Latin title . The diocese was to be subject to the metropolitan of Reggio-Bova. The seat of the diocese was to be in Crotone, and the cathedral of Crotone was to serve as the cathedral of the merged diocese. The cathedral in Santa Severina was to become a co-cathedral, and the cathedral Chapter was to be a . There was to be only one diocesan tribunal, in Crotone, and likewise one seminary, one College of Consultors, and one Priests' Council. The territory of the new diocese was to include the territory of the former dioceses of Crotone and Santa Severina.Acta Apostolicae Sedis 79 (Città del Vaticano 1987), pp. 693-696.

Change of metropolitan Following the Second Vatican Council, and in accordance with the norms laid out in the Council's decree, chapter 40,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. major changes were made in the ecclesiastical administrative structure of southern Italy. The provinces of Calabria were addressed by Pope John Paul II in the bull of 30 January 2001. The dioceses of Cosentina-Bisignano and Catanzaro-Squillace were raised to metropolitan status. Catanzaro-Squillace was assigned the dioceses of Nicastro and Crotone-Santa Severina, which had been suffragan dioceses of the metropolitanate of Reggio-Bova, as its suffragans.Acta Apostolicae Sedis Vol. 93 (Città del Vaticano 2001), pp. 337-338.

Bishops of Crotone

to 1400

[Flavianus]Flavianus is assigned to the time of Pope Vigilius (537–555) by Ughelli, p. 384. But the documents of the time of Pope Vigilius, as Lanzoni (p. 342) points out, show that Iordanes was the Bishop of Croton at the time. ... Jordanes (attested 551)Jordanes attended the Council of Constantinople on 14 August 551 as a representative of Pope Vigilius. Lanzoni, p. 342, no. 1. Kehr, p. 85. ... (592)Pope Gregory I (590–604) appointed Bishop Joannes of Squillace as Apostolic Visitor of Crotone after the death of their bishop. Lanzoni, p. 342. Kehr IX, p. 86, no. 1. ... Theodosios (642)Theodosius attended the Roman synod of 642 of Pope Martin I. Ughelli, p. 384. J. D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima, Tomus X (Florence: A. Zatta 1762), pp. 867, 1166. Kehr, p. 85. Petrus (680)Petrus attended the Roman synod of Pope Agatho in 680, and subscribed the synodal letter sent by the Pope to the Council of Constantinople. Mansi, Tomus XI, pp. 302, 773. Kehr, p. 85. Theotimus (790)Theotimus attended the Council of Nicaea in 790. Mansi, XII, p. 993. Kehr, p. 85. Nicephorus (870)Nicephorus attended the Council of Constantinople of 870. Kehr, p. 85. ... Anastasius (attested 1121)Anastasius appears in a diploma of King Roger of Sicily in 1121. Kehr, p. 85. ... Philippus (1159–1179)Philippus, a Greek bishop, took part in the Third Lateran Council of Pope Alexander III in March 1179. Kamp, p. 956. ... Joannes (attested 1217, 1219; resigned 1220)In 1217, Joannes obtained from Pope Honorius III the privilege of celebrating divine services both in Latin and in Greek. On 1 September 1220, Pope Honorius accepted the resignation, after many requests, of Joannes, so that he could carry out his desire to live a more restricted life (as a monk). Ughelli IX, pp. 384-385. P. Pressutti, Regesta Honorii III Vol. 1 (Rome 1888), p. 442, no. 2667. Eubel I, p. 213. Kamp, p. 957. ... Romualdus (c. 1235–1240)Kamp, p. 958. ... [Maurus (1254)]Maurus was elected, but his election was disapproved by Pope Innocent IV. Kamp, p. 958.