Thediocese of Marash was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction in easternCilicia with its seat in the city of Marash (ancient Germanicia, nowKahramanmaraş). By the sixth century, it was anautocephalousarchbishopric, but it fell into desuetude after theArab conquest in the seventh century. The archdiocese was never revived.[1]
Eudoxius of Antioch was theArian bishop of Germanicia before becoming bishop of Antioch. Five bishops are known before the Arab conquest. In addition, 22Syriac Orthodox bishops are known from the eighth to the thirteenth century.[2] The city had anArmenian bishop at the time of theFirst Crusade (1096–1099).[3] In 1100, the Armenian bishop gave assistance to PrinceBohemond I of Antioch against theDanishmendids.[4]
ALatin bishop was appointed sometime between 1104 and 1114. He was subject to theLatin patriarch of Antioch, but his primary purpose may have been more strategic than religious, since Marash was the seat ofa frontier lordship subject to thePrincipality of Antioch.[1] An unnamed Latin bishop was killed in theearthquake of 1114.[1][5] The city was conquered by theSultanate of Rum in 1149 and the last resident Latin bishop was given a safeconduct only to be murdered on the road to Antioch.[6]
In 1910, there was anArmenian Catholic diocese of Marash with about 6,000 parishioners out of a total Catholic population of 15,000 (and a total Christian population of 25,000 in a city of 52,000). TheArmenian Sisters of the Immaculate Conception had a presence in the city.[7]
The ancientGermanicia in Euphratensis is listed as atitular see of the Latin church. It has at times been conflated with the ancient see ofGermaniciana in Africa.[2]
The following is a chronological list of "Greek" bishops of Germanicia from the fourth through sixth centuries:[8]
The following is a chronological list of "Jacobite" (i.e., Syriac Orthodox) bishops of Marash from the eighth through thirteenth centuries mentioned in theChronicle ofMichael the Great:[10]