Laodicea

Laodicea
Laodicea
A titular see, of Asia Minor, metropolis of Phrygia Pacatiana, said to have been originally called Diospolis and Rhoas; Antiochus II colonized it between 261 and 246 B.C., and gave it the name of his wife, Laodice

Catholic Encyclopedia. . 2006.

Laodicea
    Laodicea
     Catholic_Encyclopedia Laodicea
    A titular see, of Asia Minor, metropolis of Phrygia Pacatiana, said to have been originally called Diospolis and Rhoas; Antiochus II colonized it between 261 and 246 B.C., and gave it the name of his wife, Laodice. The city stood on a spur of Mount Salbacus, one mile from the left bank of the Lycus, between the Asopus and Mount Cadmus; its territory lay between the Lycus and the Caprus. In 220 B.C. Achaeus was its king; then it formed part of the Kingdom of Pergamus, and suffered severely during the war with Mithridates, but recovered its prosperity under Roman rule. About the end of the first century B.C. it was one of the principal cities of Asia Minor, both as to industries and commerce, being famous for its woollen fabrics and its sandals. It had received from Rome the title of free city, and it became the centre of a conventus juridicus, which comprised twenty-four cities besides itself. Its wealthy citizens embellished it with beautiful monuments. One of the chief of them, Polemon, became King of Armenian Pontus—called after him "Polemoniacus"—and of the coast round Trebizond. The city had a school of medicine and gave birth to the two sceptic philosophers, Antiochus and Theiodas. Its coins and inscriptions show evidence of the worship of Zeus, Æsculapius, Apollo, and the emperors. It is frequently mentioned by the Byzantine historians, particularly in the epoch of the Comneni, and was fortified by the Emperor Manuel. The Mongol and Turkish invasions brought on its decay, and then its complete ruin. Its magnificent remains are to be seen near the village of Denizli, formerly and more exactly called Denizli Ladik (Ladik = Laodicea), in the vilayet of Broussa; they consist principally of a stadium, three theatres, an aqueduct, sarcophagi, etc.
    At the beginning of the Christian era, Laodicea was inhabited, besides its indigenous population of Hellenized Syrians, by Greeks, Romans, and an important Jewish colony. There is extant a letter from the authorities of the city to a Roman magistrate in which the former undertake to refrain from molesting the Jews in their religious observances and customs. These Jews sent regularly to Jerusalem a tribute of twenty pounds of gold. Christianity penetrated into the city from the earliest times: St. Paul mentions the Church of Laodicea as closely united with that of Colossus. It had probably been founded by the Colossian Epaphras, who shared the care of it with Nymphas, in whose house the faithful used to assemble. Paul asks the Colossians to communicate to the Church of Laodicea the letter which he sends to them, and to read publicly that which should come to them from Laodicea, that is, no doubt, a letter which he had written, or was to write, to the Laodiceans (Col., ii, 1 sq.). An apocryphal epistle purporting to be from Paul to the Laodiceans is extant in Latin and Arabic (see APOCRYPHA, I, 614). Some of the Greek MSS. end the First Epistle to Timothy with these words: "Written at Laodicea, metropolis of Phrygia Pacatiana". The Church of Laodicea is one of the seven (see Ramsay, The Seven Churches of Asia Minor, London, 1908) to the bishops of which are addressed the letters at the beginning of the Apocalypse (Apoc., iii, 14-21). The first bishops attributed to the See of Laodicea are very uncertain: St. Archippus (Col., iv, 17); St. Nymphas (Col., iv, 15; already indicated as bishop of Laodicea by the Apostolic Constitutions, vii, 46); Diotrephes (III John, 9). Next comes St. Sagaris, martyr (c. 166). Sisinnius is mentioned in the Acts of the martyr St. Artemon, a priest of his Church. Nunechius assisted at the Council of Nicaea (325). Eugenius, known by an inscription, was probably his successor. The Arian ( see Arianism ) Cecropius was transferred by Constantius to the See of Nicomedia. When Phrygia was divided into two parts, Laodicea became the metropolis of Phrygia Pacatiana: it figures under this title in all the "Notitiae episcopatuum". Some twenty incumbents are known besides those already enumerated; the last occupied the see in 1450.
    There are extant, in Greek, sixty canons of a Council of Laodicea. That this assembly was actually held, we have the testimony of Theodoret ("In Coloss.", ii, 18, P.L., LXXXII, 619). There has been much discussion as to the date: some have even thought that the council must have preceded that of Nicaea (325), or at least that of Constantinople (381) It seems safer to consider it as subsequent to the latter. The canons are, undoubtedly, only a resume of an older text, and indeed appear to be derived from two distinct collections. They are of great importance in the history of discipline and liturgy; Protestants (Protestantism) have often, but quite without reason, invoke one of them in opposition to the veneration of Angels.
    LEQUIEN, Oriens christianus, I, 791 798; SMITH, Dict. Greek and Roman geogr. s.v.; RAMSAY, Cities and bishoprics of Phrygia, 32-83, 344, 542 sq.; ANDERSON in Journal of Hellenic studies, 1897, P. 404; WEBER in Jahrbuch des k. deutschen archaeolog. Instituts, XIII, 1 sq.; BEURLIER in VIGOUROUX, Dict. de la Bible, s. v. Laodicee (good bibliography), Laodiceens, epitre aux; BOUDINHON, Note sur le concile de Laodicee in Comptes rendus du congres scientif. international des catholiques, 1888, II, 420427; HEFELE, Histoire des conciles, tr. LECLERCQ, I, 989 1028.
    S. PÉTRIDÈS
    Transcribed by Joseph E. O'Connor

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. — New York: Robert Appleton Company. . 1910.


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  • Laodicea — ( el. Λαοδίκεια), also transliterated as Laodiceia or Laodikeia was the name for at least seven Hellenistic cities, which were named for one of the several queens named Laodice in the Seleucid dynasty. The Greeks distinguished such cities by… …   Wikipedia

  • Laodicea — ist der Name folgender Titular(erz)bistümer: Laodicea in Syria (ital.: Laodicea di Siria), Titularerzbistum der römisch katholischen Kirche Laodicea in Syria per i Maroniti (ital.: Laodicea di Siria per i Maroniti), Titularbistum der katholischen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • LAODICEA — LAODICEA, city in phrygia on the river Lycus. There is preserved in Josephus a letter from the Laodicean authorities to a Roman official (Ant. 14:241–3). In it the Laodiceans inform the official that they had received a letter from him through a… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Laodicea — es una ciudad del antiguo Imperio Seléucida, establecida entre 261 a. C. y 245 a. C. por el rey Antíoco II Teos y nombrada en honor de su esposa Laodice. Estaba ubicada a unos 6km al norte de la actual ciudad turca de Denizli …   Wikipedia Español

  • Laodicea — Laodicēa, grch. Laodikeia, im Altertum Stadt im südwestl. Phrygien (jetzt Eski Hissar), von Antiochus II. (261 246 v. Chr.) erbaut …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Laodicea — Laodicea, Stadt in Phrygien, bekannt durch die Concilien von 363 (Verzeichniß der canonischen Schriften) und 476 (Verurtheilung des Eutyches, s. d.). – L. in Syrien. das heutige Latikiah, war durch seinen Wein berühmt …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Laodicea — es una ciudad del antiguo Imperio Seléucida, establecida entre 261 adC y 245 adC por el rey Antíoco II Teos y nombrada en honor de su esposa Laodice. Estaba ubicada a unos 6km al norte de la actual ciudad turca de Denizli (Turquía), en la… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Laodicea — [lā äd΄i sē′ə, lā′ə dəsē′ə] 1. ancient city in Phrygia, SW Asia Minor 2. ancient name for LATAKIA2 (the seaport) …   English World dictionary

  • LAODICEA — I. LAODICEA Mediae urbs cuius Paulus ad Coloss. c. 4. v. 15. et 16. meminit. Eius Ep increpat fil. Dei, Apoc. c. 2. v. 18. Terrae motu, sub Nerone, destructa, opibus incolarum postmodum iterum reparata est. Tertull. c. Marc. Epiphan. haer. 42.… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Laodicea — /lay od euh see euh, lay euh deuh /, n. ancient name of Latakia. * * * ▪ ancient cities, Asia       the ancient name of several cities of western Asia, mostly founded or rebuilt in the 3rd century BC by rulers of the Seleucid dynasty, and named… …   Universalium

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