Archeological remains of the Roman period in DocleaThe city of Doclea in the late Roman province ofPraevalitana
The town was situated ca. 3 km north from present-dayPodgorica,Montenegro's capital. TheIllyrianDocleatae, which were later Romanized, inhabiting the area derived their name from the city.[3] Doclea was the largest settlement of the Docleatae, and became a municipality during the reign of EmperorClaudius, thus between year 41 and 54 AD.[4] A large town with between 8,000 and 10,000 inhabitants, Doclea had been built to conform to the terrain. The surrounding area had a relatively high population density within a radius of 10 km due to the city's geographical position, a favorable climate, positive economic conditions and defensive site that were of great importance at that time.
Pliny the Elder mentions the cheese of Doclea as a famous Illyrian product.[5]
After the administrative division of theRoman Empire in 297, Doclea became the capital of the newRoman province ofPraevalitana, whichRoman emperorDiocletian established in the imperial administrative reform of 293, splitting this southern part from the province of Dalmatia. The castle of Doclea was built as a typicalRoman castrum with the purpose of controlling the road coming from Dalmatia and going toScodra.[6]
In the 4th and the 5th centuries, it was taken by the barbarian tribes and went into decline. At the beginning of the 5th century, it was attacked by the GermanicVisigoths. A severe earthquake destroyed it in 518. TheSouth Slavs migrated into the land and proceeded to rebuild the settlement in the 7th century. The historical ruins of the town can be seen today.
Location of the ancient city of DocleaOld Christian "Basilica A" in Doclea, discovered in late 19th century by the English team led byJohn Arthur Ruskin Munro
Around 877, the synod of Dumno (Delmitanus), elevatated it;, apparently justified as former capital of a Late Roman provinceDalmatia Superior, toMetropolitan rank in chief of a Bulgarianecclesiastical province at the expense of Scutari, but shifting Bulgarian borders made it lose the Metropolitan status again the next century[8]
It was suppressed in 927, when the city was destroyed and its last bishop John took refuge inRagusa, of which he was soon named Archbishop.
Allegedly from 1034 (no later than the 1062 letter fromPope Alexander II (1061–1073) to their Archbishop Peter) till circa 1100, its now hollow title was nominally united in personal union with the neighbouring, then stillArchdiocese of Bar (Antivari), also in modern Montenegro, possibly mainly to justify its (later lost) Metropolitan status.
Few of its bishops are historically documented, and some sources may confound the see withDiocletiana.
Auxiliary bishops of theMetropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral (Serbian Orthodox Church) are given the title "Bishop of Dioclea" (Serbian:епископ диоклијски). Recent holders of the title were bishops Jovan Purić (2004-2011),[11] Kirilo Bojović (2016-2018),[12] and Metodije Ostojić (since 2018).[13]
In 1910, the archdiocese was nominally restored as Latintitular archbishopric of the Metropolitan (highest) rank as Dioclea, renamed from 1925 (exclusively from 1933) as Doclea.
It has had the following archiepiscopal incumbents :
Carlo Bertuzzi (Italian) (1910.05.10 – death 1914.01.04), emeritate as former Bishop ofRieti (Italy) (1889.02.11 – 1895.03.18) and Bishop ofFoligno (Italy) (1895.03.18 – retired 1910.05.10)
Henri Doulcet (French),Passionists (C.P.) (1914.03.17 – death 1916.07.27) on emeritates, formerly Bishop ofNikopol (Bulgaria) (1895.01.07 – retired 1913.03.31) and Titular Bishop ofIonopolis (1913.06.03 – resigned 1914.03.17)
^A Stipcevic (1977).The Illyrians. History and Culture. Noyes Press. p. 31.ISBN0-8155-5052-9.
^Neritan Ceka:The Illyrians to the Albanians. Tirana: Migjeni. 2005. p. 210.
^Neritan Ceka:The Illyrians to the Albanians. Tirana: Migjeni. 2005. p. 217: "Among other famous Illyrian products, Pliny mentions the cheese of Doclea, the iris from the forests of the Drinus valley, which was best used for perfumes and medicine, the gentiana (Gentiana lute), a medicinal herb whose qualities were discovered by Gentius, and the bitumen of Apollonia, which was used to protect vines from parasites and also for veterinary purposes.".
^Neritan Ceka:The Illyrians to the Albanians. Tirana: Migjeni. 2005. p. 291.
^Hieroclis Synecdemus et notitiae graecae episcopatuum, editorGustav Parthey, Berlin 1866, p. 125, nº 610 (Diocleias). This Notitia distinguishes Doclea explicitly from Antivari (nº 617)
Koprivica T. Sacral Topography of Late Antique and Early Christian Doclea (Montenegro): the First Modern Preliminary Investigation. //Актуальные проблемы теории и истории искусства: сб. науч. статей. Вып. 2 . Под ред. А.В.Захаровой— Санкт-Петербург: НП-Принт — 2012. — с.314-320ISBN978-5-91542-185-0
Michel Lequien,Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus, Paris 1740, vol. II, coll. 277-282 & Index, p. III
Daniele Farlati-Jacopo Coleti,Illyricum Sacrum, vol. VII, Venice 1817, pp. 1–7
