The Archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto () is Metropolitan Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the administrative Bari province, Puglia (Apulia) region, southeastern Italy (the 'Heel'), created in 1986, when the historical diocese of Bitonto was subsumed in the Archdiocese of Bari."Archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. retrieved March 24, 2016"Metropolitan Archdiocese of Bari–Bitonto" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved March 24, 2016

History Early history The first known bishop of Bari was said to have been Gervasius,Ughelli, VII, p. 593. or Gerontius,Gams, p. 856. who, in 347, was present at the Council of Sardica. Gerontius, however, was actually from the city of Beroea in Macedonia,J.-D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima, Tomus III (Florence 1759), p. 46. Lanzoni, p. 300. There was a Gaudentius from Niassus (Dalmatia). and there is no record of Gervasius, or of Bari, at the Council of Sardica.

In 530 bishop Peter is said to have held the title of Metropolitan under Epiphanius, bishop of Constantinople & Ecumenical Patriarch, though there is no reliable record of this. In the 6th century the bishops of Apulia were directly subject to the Roman pontiff. It was not until after the Byzantine Patriarchs regained their control of Calabria and Apulia after the decree of Leo I that Bari became an archbishopric, and that situation changed when the Normans invaded Calabria and Apulia in the 11th century and returned the Churches of Calabria and Apulia to the Roman obedience.Lanzoni, pp. 301–302. Cantel traces the story about "Metropolitan Peter" to the work of Antonio Beatillo in his History of Bari, though he expresses doubts as to its authenticity. So too: On doubts as to Beatillo's reliability see Giannone, I, p. 528.

Middle Ages In 780 bishop Leontius was present at the Second Council of Nicaea.Cappelletti, XXI, p. 10. Gams, p. 856.

In the ninth century the Saracens laid waste Apulia, destroyed the city of Canosa (Canusium) and captured Bari.According to Giannone, quoting Beatillo, Canosa had become a Metropolitan in 818. Giannone, p. 528. In 841, however, the Byzantine army reconquered Bari, and in 844 Bishop Angelarius, Bishop of Canosa, brought to Bari the relics of Rufinus, Memorus, and Sabinus of Canosa, which he had rescued from the ruins of Canosa. Pope Sergius II conferred on Angelarius the title of Bishop of the two dioceses of Bari and Canosa, a title which the archbishops of Bari retained up to 1986. In 988 the Saracens descended upon Bari, depopulated the countryside and took men and women to Sicily as captives. In 991 Count Atto fought against the Saracens at Taranto, where he and many men of Bari fell. In 1002 Bari was besieged from 2 May until October, when they were rescued by Pietro Orseolo (II), the Doge of Venice.Lupus Protospatarius: Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores, Tomus V (Hannover 1844), p. 56.

In 933 Pope John XI granted the bishops of Bari the use of the pallium. It seems that the bishops were dependent on the Eastern Ecumenical Patriarch until the 10th century. Archbishop Giovanni II (952) was able to withdraw from this influence, refusing to accept the prescriptions of the patriarch concerning liturgical points. All connection with the Eastern Churches was finally severed during the eleventh century, as Bari became a direct ecclesiastical dependency of Rome. So before the 10th c was over, the top ranking Orthodox episcopal dignitary throughout Byzantine Italy, became the archbishop of Melfi, in spite of Bari remaining the center of Byzantine authority in the area, as the seat of the katepano of Italia until the capture of the city by the Normans in 1071.

Ironically the archbishop of Bari that irreversibly distanced his see from Byzantium, was Byzantius (1025), who obtained from the pope the privilege of consecrating his suffragans. He also began the construction of the new cathedral, which was continued by his successors, Nicolo (1035), Andreas (1062), and Elias (1089) of the Benedictine Order.

By contrast to Bishop Byzantius' Catholicism affections, Andreas, the archbishop from 1062 to at least 1066, kept an eye to the roots of his Faith, for example journeying to Constantinople, and at some point even converting to Judaism. Archbishop Andreas then fled to Muslim-dominated Egypt, where he eventually died in 1078.Norman Golb (1987) Jewish Proselytism — A Phenomenon in the Religious History of Early Medieval Europe, pp. 10–11 Remarkably, the next archbishop Urso (1080–1089)Thomas Forrest Kelly (1996) The Exultet in Southern Italy, p. 215 google books preview was captured by the Muslim forces and converted to Islam.Steven Epstein (2007) Purity Lost: Transgressing Boundaries in the Eastern Mediterranean, 1000–1400, p. 145 google books preview

In 1087 some sailors from Bari, on their return from the East, brought with them the relics of Saint Nicholas, bishop of Myra. Roger Borsa, the Norman duke of Apulia, built a church, the Basilica of San Nicola to house his remains. This church became the object of pilgrimage. In 1113, the Baresi rejected the rule of Constance, the wife of Bohemond I of Antioch and made the archbishop Riso their leader instead. In return Constance seized the cathedral of Canosa and only by intervention of Pope Paschal II the bishop was allowed back into his own cathedral. Upon reconciliation and bettering relations between Constance and Riso the bishop was killed.

Modern Period In the reorganization of the dioceses of the Kingdom of Naples, in accordance with the articles of the Concordat of 1818 between Pope Pius VII and King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, the diocese of Bitetto was suppressed and made a part of the Diocese of Bari. The suffragan sees under Bari historically were: the diocese of Conversano, diocese of Ruvo, and diocese of Bitonto.Catholic Encyclopedia article

In the Apostolic Constitution Qui Beatissimo of 20 October 1980, Pope John Paul II suppressed the ecclesiastical province of Trani, and created the ecclesiastical province of Bari, with the Archbishop of Bari as its Metropolitan.Apostolic Constitution Qui Beatissimo: Acta Apostolicae Sedis Vol. 72 (Vatican City 1980), pp. 1232–1233. The province of Bari thus included: Bari, Conversano, Ruvo, Bitunto, Trani and Baroli (Barletta), Bisceglie and Andria, Gravina, Melphi, Giovinazzo and Terlizzi, Monopoli, and the prelatures of Altamura and Aquaviva. On 30 September 1986 the independent diocese of Bitunto was suppressed and united with the diocese of Bari, and its bishop, Andrea Mariano Magrassi (1982-1986), who had been Archbishop of Bari-Canosa since 1977, was named Archbishop of the united diocese of Bari-Bitonto.David M. Cheney, Catholic-Hierarchy.org, Bitonto, retrieved: 2017-04-17.

Bishops and Archbishops of the diocese

Bishops of Bari Erected: by 5th Century Latin Name: Barensis Concordius (attested 465)Concordius attended the Roman Synod of 465 under Pope Hilarius. Ughelli, p. 593. J.-D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima, Tomus VII, p. 959. Gams, p. 856. Lanzoni, p. 301. ...

Archbishops Metropolitan Archbishops of Bari (-Canosa) Elevated: 6th Century to Metropolitan See Latin Name: Barensis (-Canusina)

to 1300

... Joannes Alsarius Petrus (931–952)Garruba, pp. 84–86. Gams, p. 856. Joannes (952–978)Garruba, pp. 87–93. Gams, p. 856. Paulus (978–993)Paul died in 993, according to the "Barenses Annales" of Lupus Protospatarius: Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores, Tomus V (Hannover 1844), p. 56. Garruba, pp. 94–95. Chrysostomos (993–1106)Garruba, pp. 96–98. Giovanni (1006 – June 1025)In Giovanni's term there was an uprising of the people of Bari against their Greek overlords. Garruba, pp. 99–100. Gams, p. 856. Byzantius (14 July 1025 – 6 January 1035)Bishop Byzantius was consecrated by Pope John XX. Ughelli, pp. 601–603. Gams, p. 856. Nicolaus (1035 – 27 April 1062)Nicolas was a member of the family of Effrem, who were Lords of Cammarata and Belmonte. Nicolaus was consecrated in Rome by Pope Benedict IX. He constructed the church of S. Nicholas and S. Basil outside the walls at Torre Musarra. He was required by the Byzantine administration to make an ad limina visit to Constantinople, from which he returned in September 1042; he had just missed the accession of Patriarch Michael Cerularius (May 1043). He was deposed by Pope Leo IX at the synod of Siponto in April 1050 on a charge of simony. Whether he was restored to the See of Bari or not, surviving evidence is silent. In 1055 Nicolaus made another trip to Constantinople (Garruba, p. 119 note 10). He died in 1061. Ughelli, pp. 603–604. Garruba, pp. 109–121. Andreas (1062 – 1078)Andreas was consecrated by Pope Alexander II. In 1062 he was granted the privilege of consecrating the twelve suffragan bishops in his Metropolitanate (Garruba, p. 124, note 1. P. Jaffe and S. Loewenfeld, Regesta pontificum Romanorum I (Leipzig Veit 1885), editio altera, p. 571, no. 4515, though the editors note that the document is not above suspicion). In 1063 a Council was held at Bari, under the presidency of Archbishop Arnolfo, the Papal Vicar of Pope Alexander. In 1064 Bishop Andreas held a synod in Bari. In 1067 the Norman Count Robert Guiscard began a siege of Bari, which lasted until 1070, after which the city was separated from the Byzantine Empire and the diocese from the oversight of the Patriarch of Constantinople (Garruba, p. 122). Garruba, pp. 122–125. Gams, p. 856. Urso (June 1078 – 14 February 1089)According to Gams, Urso was transferred from the diocese of Rapolla (1072–1078). He was elected Archbishop of Bari thanks to the patronage of Duke Robert Guiscard. On 9 May 1087 Archbishop Ursus presided over the reception of the relics of Nicholas of Myra in the new church of S. Nicholas at Bari. Ughelli, pp. 604–608. Garruba, pp. 126–133. Gams, p. 856, column 1; 915. Elias, O.S.B. (1089–1105)Elias was a monk of S. Maria de Cava. He had been Prior of S. Nicolas in Bari and then Abbot of the monastery of S. Benedetto in Bari. In October 1098 Bishop Elias was the host of Pope Urban II and a total of 185 bishops at Bari, in an attempt to end the schism between the Greek and the Roman churches. Garruba, pp. 134–151. Gams, p. 856. Risus (1105–1118)Garruba, pp. 152–159. Gams, p. 856. Gualtieri (by 1120 – 1126)Gualtieri was already Archbishop at the time of the visit of Pope Calixtus II to Bari in the winter of 1121/1122. Garruba, pp. 160–163. Matteo (1126–1129)Matteo had been Abbot of the monastery of S. Lorenzo in Aversa. Bishop Matteo was consecrated by Pope Honorius II on 20 December 1126. Garruba, pp. 164–165. ... Rainaldus (May? 1171 – 4 February 1188)Kamp, pp. 572–574. Doferius (1 May 1189 – 3 March 1207)Kamp, pp. 574–576. Berardus de Castanea (1207–1213)Berardus de Castanea was a privy councilor of King Frederick. By permission of Pope Innocent III, Berardus was consecrated in Bari by the bishops of Bitonto, Ruvo, Molfetta, Salpe, Giovinozzo, Conversano, and Pulignano. Garruba, 197-200. Kamp, pp. 576–581. Andrea de Celano (1214 – 27 Sep 1225 Died)Andrea de Celano: Garruba, pp. 201–206. Kamp, pp. 582–584. Sede Vacante (22 September 1225 – 21 December 1226)Kamp, pp. 584–585. Marino Filangieri (21 December 1226 – 6 July 1251)Kamp, pp. 585–593. Enrico Filangieri, O.P. (6 May 1252 – 10 October 1258)Enrico Filangieri was in exile from 6 May 1252 to 1254, due to the conflict with Conradus Teutonicus. A letter of 10 May 1252 from Pope Innocent IV to Errico refers to him as Electo Barensi and noting that he was chosen Archbishop by Pietro, Bishop of Albano and Papal Legate. He was not consecrated, however, until December 1255. A. Potthast, Regesta pontificum Romanorum II (Berlin: Decker 1875), p. 1202, no. 14578. Garruba, pp. 217–222. Kamp, pp. 593–595.