The Latin Archbishopric of Thebes is the see of Thebes in the period in which its incumbents belonged to the Latin or Western Church. This period began in 1204 with the installation in the see of a Catholic archbishop following the Fourth Crusade, while the Orthodox metropolitan bishop fled the city.
The Latin archbishop of Thebes was the senior-most of the Catholic clergy in the Duchy of Athens, which despite its name had its capital at Thebes. The archbishopric survived as a Latin residential see until 1456, when the duchy fell to the Ottoman Empire.
The see was later revived as a titular see, and has been vacant since 1965.
Like other Latin sees in the Latin states of Greece, the names and dates of election of the incumbents during the first century of its existence are unknown, as they were rarely communicated to the papal court. Along with many of his counterparts from other Latin sees of Greece, the anonymous archbishop of Thebes participated in the Fourth Council of the Lateran in 1215. In 1217–18 the archbishop was engaged in a dispute with the Latin Patriarch of Constantinople, Gervasius, who claimed direct jurisdiction over the monasteries in the duchy of Athens and intervened in the administration of the Thebean archdiocese.
Residential archbishops Name Tenure Notes Nicholas ? – 31 July 1308 Subsequently Latin Patriarch of Constantinople Isnard Tacconi 12 July 1308 – 4 August 1311 Subsequently Latin Patriarch of Antioch Stephen 13 August 1311 – ? Isnard Tacconi 29 May 1326 – ? Second tenure, held in tandem with the Patriarchate of Antioch Philip 26 August 1342 – 17 June 1351 Previously Bishop of Salona. Subsequently Bishop of Conza Sirello Pietro di Ancona 20 May 1351 – ? Paul 15 May 1357 – 17 April 1366 Subsequently Latin Patriarch of Constantinople Simon Atumano 17 April 1366 ca. 1380 Notable humanist and scholar Thomas of Negroponte 9 July 1387 – ? Supporter of the Avignon anti-popes Stephen Garcia 1 June 1387 – ? Benedict 18 May 1390 – ? Bernard 11 May 1405 – ? Antony Nicholas of Treviso 4 April 1410 – 11 August 1410 Subsequently Bishop of Nona James 16 March 1411 – ? John of Pontremoli 23 February 1418 – ? Stephen 23 December 1429 – ?
Titular archbishops Name Tenure Notes Giuseppe Acquaviva 5 September 1621 – 1634 Lelio Falconieri 14 December 1634 – 14 December 1648 Secretary of the Congregation for Bishops Gianantonio Davia 21 June 1690 – 10 March 1698 Nuncio in Germany and PolandOrazio Filippo Spada 15 September 1698 – 15 December 1704 Nicola Gaetano Spinola 4 October 1706 – 12 April 1735 Cardinal in the Roman Curia Felix Solazzo Castriotta 21 June 1745 – 9 March 1755 Vitaliano Borromeo 16 February 1756 – 7 June 1793 Cardinal in the Roman CuriaSerafino Brancone12 February 1759 – 15 August 1774 Benedictine, bishop emeritus of Gallipoli in ItalyJoaquín de Eleta18 December 1769 – 27 December 1786 FranciscanLorenzo Litta23 September 1793 – 28 September 1801 Nuncio in Poland and RussiaGiuseppe Morozzo Della Rocca29 March 1802 – 8 March 1816 Nuncio and Secretary of the Congregation for BishopsUgo Pietro Spinola 2 October 1826 – 2 July 1832 Nuncio in AustriaTommaso Pasquale Gizzi 18 February 1839 – 22 January 1844 NuncioGaetano Bedini15 March 1852 – 18 March 1861 Nuncio and Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of PeoplesMieczyslaw Halka Ledóchowski30 September 1861 – 8 January 1866 Nuncio in BelgiumLuigi Biscioni (Bisconi) Amadori 23. September 1875 – ? Bishop emeritus of SansepolcroPietro Rota 4 November 1884 – 1890 Bishop emeritus of MantuaAntonio Sabatucci 1 October 1890 – 14 March 1892 Ladislaus Zaleski5 March 1892 – 4 December 1916 Apostolic delegate of IndiaGiovanni Battista Nasalli Rocca di Corneliano6 December 1916 – 21 November 1921 Secretary of the Roman CuriaAngelo Rotta 19 October 1922 – 1 February 1965 Nuncio
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