The Diocese of Tempio-Ampurias () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Sardinia, Italy. It had borne the name of diocese of Ampurias until 1506, when it was combined with the diocese of Tempio. A single bishop was bishop of the two separate dioceses at the same time."Diocese of Tempio-Ampurias" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved January 14, 2017 Until 1986 it was known as Diocese of Ampurias e Tempio. On 30 September 1986, the two dioceses were united into one, and the name was changed to diocese of Tempio-Ampurias. The seat of the bishop is in Tempio. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Sassari

History The diocese of Ampurias was probably erected by the end of the 11th century,Cf. Mattei, p. 180, col. 2 and made a suffragan of the archdiocese of Torres (Sassari).Kehr, p. 436. Bishop Cometa of Ampurias attended the Second Lateran Council of Pope Alexander III in March 1179.J.D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima , Vol. 22 (Venice: A. Zatta 1778), p. 215. Cappelletti, p. 158.

The diocese of Cività, now Tempio, was allegedly founded in 304 by St. Simplicius.Lanzoni, pp. 678-679. Simplicius is referred to as a priest in the sources, however, not a bishop, and is not associated with Ampurias. It was actually founded in the 12th century, and was a suffragan of the archbishop of Pisa.Cappelletti, p. 163. By the middle of the 13th century, however, it was directly dependent upon the Papacy.Kehr, p. 422: "Quamvis subsequentes pontifices usque at Honorium III illi [Pisae] concessioni semper annuebant, tamen Civitatensis episcopatus una cum Galtellinensi non solum in elenchis sedium ad Romanam ecclesiae nullo medio pertinentium inde a saec. XII cr. med. legitur." Cappelletti, p. 163.

In 1205, Bishop Petrus de Martis granted the Camaldolese monks the churches of S. Maria de Orrea Pichina and Saint Juste, exempting them from attending Chapter meetings or attending the chrism Mass of the bishops of Ampurias.Regesto di Camaldoli III (Roma: Loescher 1914), p. 27, no. 1434.

Inside the territory of the diocese of Ampurias, though not subject to the jurisdiction of the bishop of Ampurias, was the Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria di Tergo (or Cerigo). Its abbot exercised authority over all the other Benedictine monaasteries and hospitals in Sardinia, and had been designated, before 1295, Legatarius in Sardinia ven. patris domni Pontis abbatis montis cassinensis. In 1443, with no monks left in it, the monastery was handed over to the bishops of Ampurias.Martini III, pp. 414-415.

Pope Boniface VIII invested the kings of Aragon with the title of "Rex Sardiniae et Corsicae" in 1297, though they did not establish their power until 1323. King Peter IV of Aragon finally drove the Genoese out of the island in 1354.Fara, p. 65.

The seat of the diocese of Ampurias was transferred to the parish church at Castel-Genoves (Castelgenovese, later called Castellaragonese) by Pope Alexander VI. The church of San Antonio Abbate in Castelgenoese became the cathedral. It was served by a cathedral Chapter, consisting of one dignity (the Archpriest) and eight, later ten, canons.Mattei, p. 180, col. 2. Ritzler & Sefrin V, p. 82, note 1.

Administrative unification

Pope Alexander VI had carried out a reorganization of the ecclesiastical provinces of Sassari and Cagliari in a bull of 12 April 1502. Ampurias continued to be a suffragan of Sassari.This is stated in Pope Julius II's bull, "Aequum Reputamus" of 8 December 1503, Codex diplomaticus Sardiniae , Vol. 2 [Historiae Patriae Monumenta, Tomus XII] (Turin: e Regio Typographeo 1868), p. 168, col. 2. Its seat, however, was transferred to Castelgenovese, since the town of Ampurias had been gradually deserted.Codex diplomaticus Sardiniae, p. 168, col. 1: "...nec non Ampurien. Ecclesiae praefatae ad Castel Genoven. locorum Sulcitanen., Turritanen., et Ampurien. dioecesen. Ecclesias transferrentur...," and p. 170 col. 2: "AMPURIENSIS, quae alias certo modo ad Parrochialem Ecclesiam CASTEL-GENOVES cum unione ejusdem Parrochialis Ecclesiae per fel. record. Alexandrum Papam Sextum praedecessorem nostrum translata extitit...."

After only five weeks in office, on 8 December 1503, Pope Julius II issued the bull "Aequum Reputamus," substantially reorganizing the structure of the churches in Sardinia.Codex diplomaticus Sardiniae , Vol. 2 [Historiae Patriae Monumenta, Tomus XII] (Turin: e Regio Typographeo 1868), pp. 168-170. The preparatory work had obviously been carried out under Pope Alexander VI."...post deliberationem, quam de praeficiendo eidem Ecclesiae personam utilem et etiam fructuosam cum Fratribus suis, de quorum numero tunc eramus...." Two problems had been emphasized: the shortage of money in episcopal income,"...nec non Ampurien., et Sulcitanen. Ecclesiarum Regni Sardiniae, seu illarum mensarum Episcopalium fructus, redditus et proventus adeo tenues et exiles erant, quod illarum Praelati ex eis statum suum juxta pontificalis exigentiam dignitatis tenere non poterant." and the decline of population. Ampurias figured in both categories."Ecclesiae praeefatae in locis desertis consistebant ... et Ampuriensi de S. Mariae de Cerigo, et S. Michaelis de Plano S. Benedicti et Vallisumbrosae Ordinum Ampurien."

The diocese of Cività, some fifty miles distant, was united to its neighbor the diocese of Ampurias aeque personaliter, by Pope Julius II on 5 June 1506, in the bull "Romanus Pontifex." One and the same bishop presided over each of the two dioceses. It was provided that the union would take place when one or the other of the bishops died or vacated his office. The survivor would have his seat at Castelgenovese."... ex tunc ambae Ampuriensis, et Civitatensis Ecclesiae per unum Episcopum, seu Pastorem, qui Ampuriensis, seu Castel-Genoves, et Civitatensis nuncupetur, salubriter gubernetur." Bishop Pietro Stornello of Cività had died on 13 July 1505.Gams, p. 833, col. 1.

Despite the instructions in the papal bull "Romanus Pontifex", the bishop of Ampurias e Cività was still residing in Ampurias sixty years later. A letter sent to the bishop by a papal secretary, dated 29 January 1565, indicated that the pope, Pius IV, had received his request to transfer the diocesan seat to Castro Aragonese; but the pope also had information that the place was currently unsuitable as a place for a cathedral or a bishop's residence. The pope ordered that, until he had heard the reeasons why the bishop wanted to transfer to such a place, nothing should be done without first consulting the Holy See.Cappelletti, p. 156.

The cathedrals of both dioceses were in a dilapidated condition, and lacking in ecclesiastical ornaments necessary for divine worship.Codex diplomaticus Sardiniae , Vol. 2 [Historiae Patriae Monumenta, Tomus XII] (Turin: e Regio Typographeo 1868), pp. 170-171: "in aedificiis deformatae, et ornamentis ecclesiasticis ad divinum cultum necessariis sunt destitutae, ut non Cathedrales sed simplices Ecclesiae potius judicatae sint."

Later the see was transferred to the church of Saint Simplicius in Civita (formerly called Olbia, and Terranova Pausania), now called Terranuova. Pope Gregory XVI suppressed the cathedral of Cività ed Ampurias in Terranova by the Bull "Quamvis aqua," signed on 26 August 1839, and raised the Collegiate Church of St. Peter, in Tempio, to cathedral status. Tempio and Ampurias were united, so that one bishop should govern both, aeque personaliter. The official title became "the bishop of Ampurias and of Tempio."Gaetano Moroni, Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica , Vol. 2 (Venezia: Emiliana 1840), p. 24, col. 2.

Synods A diocesan synod was an irregularly held, but important, meeting of the bishop of a diocese and his clergy. Its purpose was (1) to proclaim generally the various decrees already issued by the bishop; (2) to discuss and ratify measures on which the bishop chose to consult with his clergy; (3) to publish statutes and decrees of the diocesan synod, of the provincial synod, and of the Holy See. John Paul II, Constitutio Apostolica de Synodis Dioecesanis Agendis (19 March 1997): Acta Apostolicae Sedis 89 (1997), pp. 706-727.

Bishop Nicolaus de Campo (1458–1479) participated in a provincial synod presided over by Archbishop Antonius of Torres (Sassari) on 26 October 1463.Fara, p. 362-363.

Bishop Guilletus Esus (1448–1455?) held a diocesan synod.Fara, p. 359.

On 8 May 1694, the Sacred Congregation of the Council in the Roman Curia issued a directive, instructing the bishop of Ampurias e Civita to hold his diocesan synods alternatively in the two dioceses, but not to require the clergy of Cività to attend synods of Ampurias.Decree of 1694: Pintus, p. 112. Bishop Michele Villa (1688–1700) held a synod of the diocese of Ampurias in the cathedral of San Antonio in Castelaragonese on 17–18 April 1695.J.D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima , Vol 36ter (Venice: A. Zatta; reprint: Arnhem-Leipzig: H. Welter 1924), p. 661. Constituciones synodales del Obispado de Ampurias y Civita ordenadas por ... Don Miguel Villa Obispo de Ampurias y Civita... (Roma: Komarek 1698). On 21 November 1695, the Sacred Congregation of the Council in the Roman Curia issued a directive, ordering that the decrees of the synod of Ampurias of 1695 be published and that they be applicable to the diocese of Cività as well.Decree of 1695: Pintus, p. 112.

A diocesan synod of Ampurias was held in Castelsardo (formerly called Castelaragonese) in the church of Saint Anthony in May 1777 by Francesco Ignazio Guiso (1772–1778), Bishop of Ampurias e Cività; the statutes were published.Prima synodus dioecesana a Francisco Ignatio Guiso ep. Ampurien. et Civitaten. in ecclesia cathedr. Castri-Sardi sub invocatione s. Antonii abb. celebrata a.1777 (Carali: Typ. regia 1778).

The see was vacant from 1854 to 1871.

Two dioceses become one In 1986, following the norms established by the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), Pope John Paul II, in the audience of 27 September 1986, approved a reorganization of the dioceses of Ampurias and Tempio. The Congregation of Bishops issued the decree "Instantibus Votis" on 30 September 1986. The practice of maintaining two separate dioceses governed by one and the same bishop was discontinued. There was to be one diocese, one bishop, and one cathedral. The new bishop was to be Pietro Meloni. The cathedral and the seat of the bishop was to be in Tempio Pausanìa,Tempio Pausania was the original seat of the bishops of Cività: Kehr, p. 422. and the cathedral at Castelsardo was to become a "co-cathedral." The diocese was to be named "Dioecesis Templensis-Ampuriensis."Acta Apostolicae Sedis Vol. 79 (Città del Vaticano 1987), pp. 636-639.

On 29 July 1993, Pope John Paul II, on the petition of Bishop Atzei, granted the parish church of Saint Simplicius in Olbia (diocese of Tempio-Ampurias) the title and privileges of a "minor basilica".Acta Apostolicae Sedis vol. 86 (Città del Vaticano 1994), p. 34.

Bishops of Ampurias To 1458

Bonus ( 1100)Bonus: Codex diplomaticus Sardiniae, , Volume 1 (Torino: e Regio Typographeo, 1861), p. 185, col. 2. Gams, p. 832. Pintus, p. 104. Massimiliano Vidili, "La cronotassi documentata degli arcivescovi di Torres dal 1065 al 1298," . In: Bollettino di Studi Sardi, Vol. 1, 2008, p. 85, note 15. Nicolaus ( 1112–1120)Maffei, p. 182. Cappelletti, p. 157. Pintus, p. 104. Vidili, p. 85. Gilitus ( 1154)Gilitus: Giovanni Lame, Notizie letterarie per l'anno MDCCLXXII, , Vol. 3 (Firenze: Albizziani 1772), pp. 647-648, at Castelnuovo (diocese of Ampurias): "Die tertio in Pentecosten intitulata vigesima Madii anno 1154 fuit consecratum hoc altare per Reverendum in Christo patrem & Dominum, Dominum Gilitum Episcopum Ampuriensem in honorem Beati Apostoli Thomae."