Site of dioecese of Bamberg (Germany).
The
Archdiocese of Bamberg (lat.
Archidioecesis Bambergensis) is a
diocese of the
Roman Catholic Church in
Bavaria and is one of 27
Roman Catholic dioceses in Germany. About a third (actually 38,1 % in 2006) of the population is catholic. With 15.6% this diocese has one of higher (relative) numbers of worshippers on Sunday in Germany. It comprises the majority of the administrative regions of
Upper Franconia and
Middle Franconia, as well as a small part of
Lower Franconia and the
Upper Palatinate. Its seat is
Bamberg. The dioceses of
Diocese of Speyer,
Diocese of Eichstätt, and
Diocese of Würzburg are subordinate to it. The Diocese was founded in 1007 out of parts of the dioceses of Eichstätt and Würzburg. In 1817, the diocese was raised to an archdiocese.
History
At
1 November 1007 a
synod was held in
Frankfurt. Eight archbishops and twenty-seven bishops were present at the synod as well as the East Frankish King
Henry II. Henry II intended to create a new diocese that would aid in the final conquest of paganism in the area around Bamberg. But the territory of the
Wends on the upper
Main, the
Wiesent, and the
Aisch had belonged to the
Diocese of Würzburg since the organization of the Middle German bishoprics by
St. Boniface, so that no new diocese could be erected without the consent of the occupant of that see.
The bishop of Würzburg raised no objection to parting with some of his territory, especially as the king promised to have Würzburg raised to an
archbishopric and to give him an equivalent in
Meiningen. The consent of
Pope John XVII was obtained for this arrangement, but the elevation of Würzburg to an archbishopric proved impracticable, and its bishop withdrew his consent.
At the synod Henry obtained permission for the foundation of the diocese of Bamberg from parts of the dioceses of
Würzburg and
Eichstätt. Bamberg was made directly subordinate to Rome. It was also decided that Eberhard, the king's chancellor, would be ordained by the
archbishop of Mainz,
Willigis, to be the head of the new border area diocese. The new diocese had expensive gifts at the synod confirmed by documents, in order to place it on a solid foundation. Henry wanted the celebrated monkish rigour and studiousness of the
Hildesheim cathedral chapter - Henry himself was educated there - linked together with the churches under his control, including his favourite diocese of Bamberg. The next seven bishops were named by the emperors, after which free
canonical election was the rule. Eberhard's immediate successor, Suidger of Morsleben, became pope in 1046 as
Clement II. He was the only pope to be interred north of the Alps in the
Bamberg Cathedral. In the thirteenth century the diocese gradually became a territorial principality, and its bishops took secular precedence next after the archbishops; Bishop Henry I was the first prince-bishop.
The fortieth bishop, George III of Limburg (1505-22), was inclined toward the
Reformation, which caused a violent social outbreak under his successor Weigand (1522-56), and the city suffered severely in the
Margraves' War (1552-54), as well as in the
Thirty Years' War, when it was placed under the jurisdiction of Bernard, the new Duke of
Franconia.
At the
Peace of Westphalia (1648), the bishops recovered their possessions; but these were overrun by the French revolutionary armies, and in 1802 annexed to
Bavaria. From 1808 to 1817 the diocese was vacant; but by the
Bavarian Concordat of the latter year it was made an archbishopric, with Würzburg,
Speyer, and
Eichstädt as suffragan sees.
Bishops of Bamberg, 1007-1803
For the later archbishops, see
Archbishop of Bamberg.
See also
