Rhaphanaea

Rhaphanaea (Raphanea, Italian "Rafanea") is a Catholic titular see. The original diocese was in Syria Secunda, a suffragan of Apamea.

Rhaphanaea is mentioned in ancient times only by Josephus [Bel. Jud., VII, 5, 1] , who says that in that vicinity there was a river which flowed six days and ceased on the seventh, probably an intermittent spring now called Fououar ed-Deir, near Rafanieh, a village of the vilayet of Alep in the valley of the Oronte. The ancient name was preserved. At the time of Ptolemy [V, 14, 12] , the Third Legion (Gallica) was stationed there.

Hierocles ["Synecdemus", 712, 8.] and Georgius Cyprius [870 (Heinrich Gelzer, "Georgii Cyprii descriptio orbis romani", 44)] mention it among the towns of Syria Secunda. The crusaders passed through it at the end of 1099; it was taken by Baldwin I and was given to the Count of Tripoli. ["Historiens des croisades", passim; Rey in "Bulletin de la Société des antiquaires de France", Paris, 1885, 266.] It was then known as Rafania.

Bishops

The only bishops of Rhaphanaea known are [Le Quien, "Oriens christianus", II, 921.] :

*Bassianus, present at the Council of Nicæa, 325;
*Gerontius at Philippopolis, 344;
*Basil at Constantinople, 381;
*Lampadius at Chalcedon, 451;
*Zoilus about 518;
*Nonnus, 536.

The see is mentioned as late as the tenth century in the "Notitia episcopatuum" of Antioch. [Vailhé, "Echos d'Orient", X, 94.]

References

*SMITH, Dict. of Gr. and Rom. geogr., s. v.;
*MÜLLER, notes on Ptolemy, ed. DIDOT, I, 973.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/d2r02.html "Catholic Hierarchy" page]