Syracuse
SYRACUSE
Now Siracasa, a large and celebrated city on the eastern coast of Sicily, furnished with a capacious and excellent harbor. The city, founded 734 B. C., was opulent and powerful, and was divided into four or five quarters or districts, which were of themselves separate cities. The whole circumference is stated by Strabo to have been one hundred and eighty stadia, or about twenty-two English miles. Syracuse is celebrated as having been the birthplace and residence of Archimedes, whose ingenious mechanical contrivances during its siege by the Romans, 200 B. C., long delayed its capture. Paul passed three days here, on his way from Melita to Rome, in the spring of A. D. 63, Mal 28:12 . Population anciently 200,000; now 11,000.
Fuente: American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
Syracuse
(, now Siragosa)
Syracuse was situated on the east coast of Sicily, about midway between the modern Catania and Cape Passaro, and was the wealthiest and most powerful of the Greek cities in the island. So great riches, says Strabo (VI. ii. 4), have accrued to the Syracusans that their name is embodied in the proverb applied to those who have too great wealth, viz. that they have not yet attained to a tithe of the wealth of the Syracusans. In the 4th cent. b.c. Syracuse defied Athens, when the latter was at the height of her power, and came off victorious. And Syracuse coveted a higher fame than that of warlike prowess. At the Court of her kings were to be found such men of letters as Pindar and aeschylus, while the splendid site which Nature had given her was adorned with some of the finest buildings in the world. There was that in Syracuse which led her admirers to exaggerate. Cicero (in Verr. II. iv. 52) calls her the greatest of Greek cities and the most beautiful of all cities. But in the year of Ciceros death (43 b.c.) Syracuse, and indeed the whole of Sicily, suffered terribly at the hands of Sextus Pompeius; and, though Strabo (loc. cit.) praises Augustus for sending thither a colony and to a great extent restoring the city to its former importance, the geographers other words scarcely bear out this flattering statement.
In the Greater or the Lesser Port of this city, under the citadel of Ortygia and close to the fountain of Arethusa, the Alexandrian corn-ship in which St. Paul was sailing from Melita to Puteoli had to tarry three days for a favourable wind. How the Apostle spent those days can only be conjectured. Conybeare and Howson not only suggest that Julius was probably courteous enough to let him go ashore, but have no difficulty in giving credit to the local tradition which makes St. Paul the first founder of the Sicilian Church (The Life and Epistles of St. Paul, 1877, ii. 429 f.). W. M. Ramsay, on the other hand, holds that, as the ship was simply waiting a suitable wind, no prisoner was likely to be allowed leave of absence (Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) iv. 645b). Between these theories of a fruitful activity and an enforced idleness there may be room for a via media. If St. Paul was permitted to go into the city, with a charge to note the wind and return the moment it veered to the right direction, he would probably find that there were many Jews and proselytes in that great centre of commerce, though no ancient writer seems to allude to a Jewish colony. And that he would redeem the time is certain. But as to the actual introduction of Christianity into Sicily, whether then or at a later date, history is silent, though the extensive catacombs in the Achradina quarter tell their own tale.
Literature.-W. Smith, Dict. of Greek and Roman Geography , 1868, article Syracusae; J. Fhrer and V. Schultze, Die altchristlichen Grabsttten Siziliens, 1907; C. Baedeker, Southern Italy and Sicily15, 1908, pp. 406-420.
James Strahan.
Fuente: Dictionary of the Apostolic Church
Syracuse
Archdiocese of Syracuse (Syracusana) in Sicily. The city is situated upon a peninsula extending into the Ionian Sea, near the mouth of the River Anapus, on the banks of which the papyrus plant is still cultivated. The territory produces all varieties of grains, vegetables, and fruits. Of the two harbours of the city, the principal one is the largest in Sicily and one of the largest of the Mediterranean; two islets, San Marciano and Castelluccio, render it secure without obstructing the entrance. At present the exports exceed the imports. The cathedral is built on the ruins of an ancient temple of Minerva, which was a hexastylo-peripteros with thirty-six columns of which only twenty-two remain. In front of the cathedral are statues of St. Peter and St. Paul by Marabitti; in the interior are several pictures (Madonna of the Pillar; Birth of the Virgin) by Agostino Scilla, who also painted the frescoes of the vault of the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament and the silver statue of St. Lucy. The baptismal font is fashioned from a large Greek crater, resting upon seven small lions of bronze, found in the catacombs of San Giovanni. Among the furniture is a storiated amber chalice. Other churches are: Santa Lucia, with a “Martyrdom” of the saint by Buinaccia; San Benedetto, containing a picture of the saint by Minniti; San Martino; San Spirito; San Domenico; Il Gesù (the church of the Jesuits), with paintings of the Venetian School and a statue of St. Ignatius by Marabitti; the Church of Santa Lucia dei Riformati without the city, possessing a painting by Caravaggio. Among the civic buildings are the fort of Giorgios Maniakes and Palazzo Montaldo, in the Gothic and Moorish styles. The museum is rich in both Greek and Latin inscriptions (among which are many Christian inscriptions from the catacombs) and fragments of statues, including a Venus leaving the bath. The public library has an important collection of medals. Ancient ruins at Syracuse are much less numerous than one would expect. There are still to be seen: the amphitheatre (epoch of Augustus); the Greek theatre, excavated from the rock; sepulchres also excavated in the rock; the colossal altar of Hiero II, seven hundred and sixty feet long, upon which, after the expulstion of Thrasybulus, four hundred and fifty oxen were sacrificed; the “Latomie”, i. e. caves in the rock where condemned prisoners of war and others were incarcerated, of which the most famous is the “Ear of Dionysius”. The fountain of Arethusa, which issues forth in the ward of Ortygia (the present Syracuse), in antiquity was sweet but since an earthquake of the twelfth century has become salt. The Catacombs of San Giovanni, of Santa Maria del Gesù, and the catacombs Cassai, similar to those at Rome, are well known; besides these there have been discovered in the environs of Syracuse various tombs (Lentini, Valle del Molinello, Priolo, San Alfano, Palazzolo, etc.) which have rather the character of ancient tombs of the Sicelioti (aboriginal inhabitants). The present Syracuse occupies only a part of the ancient city. The latter was composed of five great quarters: (1) Ortygia, originally an island but afterwards artificially joined with the mainland, the most ancient part of the city, containing the acropolis dismantled by Timoleon, and the palace of King Hiero, where in later days the Roman governors resided; (2) Achradine, the most sumptuous quarter, where most business was conducted, situated on the small port or the Trogilos (now the Gulf of Manghisi). It was fortified and contained the temple of Jupiter Olympicus, the prytaneion, the theatre, and the catacomb of San Giovanni; (3) Tyche, the most populous part, deriving its name from the temple of Fortune and containing the palaces of Diocles and Dionysius, the lighthouse, and the Galeagra Tower; (4) Neapolis or Temenites, containing various temples, the theatre, the amphitheatre, and the Latomie; (5) Epipolai, which arose on the heights dominating the remainder of the city, and contained the fort Euryalos. All the city was surrounded by strong walls and beyond Hippolai was the castle of Labdalon. The circumference of the city was 180 stadia (20 miles). The name Syracuse is derived from the swamps of the valley of the Anapus. The ancient aqueduct is still in use.
When in 734 the Corinthian Archias approached the isle of Ortygria, it was inhabited by natives whom he expelled. The colony flourished amid continual petty wars with the natives, whose greatest leader, Ducetius (450 B. C.) voluntarily surrendered to the Syracusans, who sent him to Corinth. The government was in the hands of the landowners (geomoroi), against whom in 484 the slaves revolted. The landowners were expelled, but were conducted back into the city by Gelon, tyrant of Gela, who in this manner became lord also of Syracuse. It being easier, as he said, to govern one hundred rich than a single poor man, the poor were sold. Otherwise Gelon was an excellent ruler. He conquered the Carthaginians at Himera, aspired to dominion over the whole island, and was an object of wonder to all the aristocrats of Syracuse. It was he who aggrandized the city by bringing in the inhabitants of Camarina, of Megura, of Eubœa, and part of those of Gela. In 478 he was succeeded by his brother Hiero, who held a splendid court, favoured poets, orators, and philosophers. He contrived to avoid a war with Girgenti, aided the Cumaneans to conquer the Etruscans by sea (474), and established his dominion as far as Mt. Etna. He should have been succeeded by his son, but his brother Thrasybulus assumed the government, which he carried on with such cruelty and perfidy that he was expelled after a year. Syracuse was again free, and the government then became a democracy. Following the example of Athenian ostracism they introduced the practice of “petalism”, according to which each man wrote on an olive leaf the name of the most powerful citizen; whoever obtained the greatest number of leaves was banished for five years. At first the democracy was favourable to the greatness of the city, which obtained a sort of hegemony over the Greek cities of Sicily, and also of Magna Græcia. The arts and literature flourished. The ambitious designs of the Syracusans at the expense of the Leontines (427) and of Egesta (416) caused the intervention of the Athenians, instigated especially by Alcibiades. In 415 a splendid fleet sailed for Sicily and anchored in the great harbour. The city would perhaps have fallen if the Spartans, lead by Gylippos, had not come to the rescue. Finally, in September, 413, the Athenian army and fleet were totally destroyed. The prisoners were either slain or thrown into the Latomie. Syracuse received from Diocles a new constitution and new laws which were most severe. But soon the interference of Syracuse in the quarrels of Egesta and Selinus provoked the intervention of Carthage. The victories of the Carthaginians at Himera (409) gave the opportunity to Hermocrates, then an exile, to attempt to overturn the Government, an attempt which cost him his life (407). Dionysius, proceeding more craftily, first had himself elected among the judges. By flattering the common people and discrediting his colleagues he obtained for himself the sole command of the army and succoured Gela against Hannibal the Elder (405). On his return the people gave him unlimited powers. He surrounded himself with a bodyguard, fortified and enlarged the city, combatted with varying fortunes the Carthaginians, who were conquered at Motye in 397, and obliged to retreat from Syracuse, which they had besieged by land and by sea (396). Every reverse of the tyrant was followed by revolts, which were, however, always crushed with extreme severity. Having made peace with the Carthaginians in 392, he attempted the subjection of Magna Græcia as well, until the activities of the Carthaginians called him back to Syracuse (383-68). Dionysius perfected the science and technic of war, favoured poets and philosophers, and was a wise ruler, but he was suspicious and cruel.
He was succeeded in 368 by his son Dionysius II, a vicious young man, upon whom his uncle Dion and Plato in vain attempted to exercise a beneficent influence. Dion deposed him in 356, but imprudently rendered himself unpopular and was slain (354) by the Athenian Callipus. The latter was in turn expelled by Hipparinus, another son of Dionysius I (353-51). Nysæus followed in succession (350-47), but in 346 Dionysius II, who had remained in exile at Locri, expelled Nysæus, and resumed the government with greater tyrrany than ever. The nobility conspired against him, and summoned Hicatas, tyrant of Leontini, who succeeded in conquering and imprisoning Dionysius. Others, however, had applied for aid to Corinth, which in 345 sent Timoleon, who conquered Hicatas and the Carthaginians (340), and re-established the constitution of Diocles. In 317 Agathocles, an able general, by the slaughter of six hundred of the richest Syracusans obtained the appointment to the command of the troops and the government. A good ruler, he warred with the Carthaginians, who in 311, for the third time, entered the port of Syracuse. By an act of supreme audacity, Agathocles shifted the scene of the war into Africa and thus liberated his country. His star afterwards declined and he was killed by his nephew Archagathus (289). The city fell into a state of anarchy, ended in 288 by Hicatas, who was in turn deposed by Tinion (280). In 271 it was found necessary to summon the aid of Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, who raised the siege of the city, but soon retired. The ravages of the Mamertines gave occasion to Hiero II to oppose them successfully, and thus to acquire the government of Syracuse (269). This war brought him into opposition with the Romans, with whom he finally concluded peace by becoming their tributary, and even aided them after their disaster at Cannæ. His nephew and successor, Hieronymus (216), changed this policy, forming an alliance with Hannibal, which policy was continued after his murder by the popular government. For this reason the city was besieged and blockaded in 214 by Claudius Marcellus, and finally taken and sacked in 212. The statues and other objects of art of value were transported to Rome. Syracuse became the seat of the Roman government in Sicily, and remained such until the Byzantine epoch. During the Roman period the Latin language replaced the Greek, which was restored under the Byzantines. From 663 to 668 the Emperor Constantine II resided here until he was slain by his general Mezenius, who in his turn was killed by the soldiery of Italy. News of these events brought over the Saracens from Africa, who sacked the city. A century later (878) the city was taken and pillaged for forty days by the Arabs. Its decline, which began during the Roman period, progressed more and more, particularly after Palermo became the capital. In the attempted reconquest by the Byzantines, George Maniakis, after having taken Messina, captured Syracuse (1038). In 1086 it was taken by Count Ruggiero, and from this time it followed the fate of Sicily. In 1104 it was besieged and captured by the Emperor Henry VI; on the other hand, in 1298, it successfully resisted the Aragonese fleet, and in like manner the blockade by the French admiral, Vivonne (1677). In 1504 it became the residence of the Spanish viceroys, but after a century this honour was given to Palermo, whither the noble families were also transferred. In 1542 and again in 1693 it was damaged by earthquakes. In 1798 and 1805 the port of Syracuse was of great importance for the operations of the English fleet against the French.
Among the illustrious Syracusans of antiquity were: the poets Theocritus, Callimachus, and Moschus; Epicharmus, the writer of comedies; the philosopher Philolaos; the orators Ctesias, Dion, and Lysias; the historian Flavius Vopiscus, and St. Methodius, monk and Patriarch of Constantinople (d. 847). Syracuse claims to be the second Church founded by St. Peter, after that of Antioch. It also claims that St. Paul preached there. As the first bishop it venerates St. Marcianus, the date of whose life is not an easy matter to establish, since too little authenticy can be assigned to the list of the seventeen bishops who were predecessors of Cherstus, to whom the Emperor Constantine wrote a letter. In the times of St. Cyprian (the middle of the third century), Christianity certainly flourished at Syracuse, and the catacombs clearly show that this was the case in the second century. Besides its martyred bishops, Syracuse boasts of not a few other martyrs, such as Sts. Benignus and Eugarius (204), St. Bassianus (270); and the martyrdom of the deacon Eupilus and the virgin Lucy under Diocletian are beyond doubt true. The names of the known bishops of the following century are few in number: Germanus (346); Eulalius (465); Agatho (553), during whose rule Pope Vigilius died at Syracuse; Maximianus and Joannes (586), who received letters from St. Gregory the Martyr; while another bishop was denounced by Pope Honorius for the protection which he accorded to women of the streets; St. Zozimus (640), who founded the monastery of Santa Lucia fuori-le-mura; St. Elias (d. 660). Of Marcianos II it is related that he was consecrated not at Rome, but at Syracuse, since the Emperor Leo the Isaurian (726) had removed Southern Italy from the jurisdiction of Rome, and had then elevated Syracuse to the dignity of a metropolitan see, over the thirteen other dioceses of Sicily. Stephen II (768) carried to Constantinople the relics of St. Lucy for safety against the Saracen incursions. Gregorios Asbestas (about 845) was deposed by St. Ignatius, Patriarch of Constantinople, and then became the principal abettor of the schismatic Photius. In 878 St. Sophronius, together with the monk Theodosius, was thrown into prison at Palermo where he died in a dungeon. Until the Norman Conquest the names of further bishops are not known. The series reopens in 1093 with Bishop Rober, who received the pallium from Urban II; in 1169 the Englishman Richard Palmer was also invested by papal authority. In 1188 the see became suffragan of Monreale. Among the bishops of this period are: Rinaldo de Lusio, killed in 1154; Pietro de Moncada (1313) and Ruggero Bellomo (1419), who restored the cathedral; Jacopo Venerio (1460), afterwards cardinal; Pietro de Urries (1516), ambassador of Charles V to the Lateran Council; Gerolamo Bononi (1541), a distinguished reformer at the Council of Trent; Jacopo Orozco (1562), who introduced the Roman ritual in place of the Gallican, and who founded the seminary. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, celebrated synods were frequently held at Syracuse. Bishop Annibale Termini (1695) rebuilt the church, thirty-five monasteries, and the seminary, which had been destroyed by an earthquake. In 1816 the Diocese of Caltagirone was detached from Syracuse. Piazza Armerina and Noto were made its suffragan sees, but the latter was detached in the same year.
The archdiocese has 31 parishes, 400 secular and 70 regular clergy, with 300,000 souls; six monasteries for men and eight convents for women; it publishes a Catholic weekly and “Il Foglio Ecclesiastico”.
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CAPPELLETTI, Le Chiesa d’Italia, XXI (Venice, 1857); PRIVITERA, Siracusa antica e moderna (Naples, 1879); CAVALLARI AND HOLM, Topografia archeologica di Siracusa (Rome, 1884); LUPUS, Syrakus im Altertum; FÜHRER, Forschungen zur Sicilia sotteranea (Münich, 1897); STRAZZULLA, Dei recenti scavi eseguiti nei cimiteri di Sicilia (Palermo, 1896); Museum epigraphicum seu inscriptionum quæ in Syracusanis catacombis repertæ sunt corpusculum (Palermo, 1897); ORSI in Notizie degli Scavi. Antichita (Rome).
U. BENIGNI. Transcribed by WGKofron In memory of Fr. John Hilkert, Akron, OhioFidelis servus et prudens, quem constituit Dominus super familiam suam
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIVCopyright © 1912 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, July 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Syracuse (1)
(Syracusensis)
The Diocese of Syracuse, in the State of New York, comprises the counties of Broome, Chenango, Cortland, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, and Oswego, and contains an area of 5626 square miles, a little more than one-ninth of the entire state. Out of a population of 609,041, about 161,000, or a little more than one-fourth, are Catholics.
Missions Among the Indians
The Oneidas and the Onondagas occupied lands near the shores of the lakes which bear their names. The first chosen president of the Iroquois was the venerable Ato-tao-ho, a famous Onondaga chief. The Onondagas were the central nation of the League, and not far from the present episcopal city, on Indian Hill, between the ravines formed by the west and middle branches of Limestone Creek in the town of Pompey, about two miles south of Manlius, was the village of Onondaga, the seat of government for the League of the Five Nations. It is probable that some of the Franciscan Fathers of the Recollect reform, whom Champlain obtained from France in 1614 to minister to the French settlers and convert the natives, visited this territory and offered up the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on the shores of Lakes Onondaga or Oneida, and perhaps what is now Oswego as early as 1615. Father Le Moyne, S.J., however, must be considered the real founder of the Church in the Diocese of Syracuse. Fathers Joseph Chaumonot and Claude Dablon were selected to begin the work of evangelization. They said Mass on the chosen site Sunday, 14 November 1654. A little bark chapel was soon constructed with the assistance of the Indians. St. John the Baptist had been adopted as the patron of the mission, and it was doubtless under his patronage that this first chapel on the soil of New York was dedicated. Another chapel was built for the French settlers, St. Mary’s of Ganantaa (Lake Onondaga). But these first missions among the Onondagas and the Oneidas had but an ephemeral existence. The Iroquois were constantly incited against the French missionaries by both the Dutch and English in Albany. James II ascended the throne of England in 1685 and openly professed the Catholic Faith. While Duke of York (1682) he had appointed Colonel Thomas Dongan Governor of the Colony of New York. Dongan, an Irishman and a Catholic, presided over the first representative assembly of New York which gave us the charter of liberties. Loyal to his Faith and country alike he sought to preserve and perpetuate the Catholic missions among the Iroquois without strengthening French influence in the colony. For this purpose he brought over with him three English Jesuits: Thomas Harvey, Charles Gage, and Henry Harrison. He established a Latin school in New York and placed it in charge of these Jesuits. He planned also to establish a settlement of Irish Catholics in the interior of the colony, very likely somewhere within the limits of the present diocese. But when Dongan fell all prospect of liberty for Catholic worship in the colony of New York disappeared, and the hope was expressed at the time of his downfall “that Papists would not henceforth come so freely to settle in the colony”. Governor Bellemont of New York secured the passage of a law by the colonial legislature punishing with perpetual imprisonment any priest remaining in the province or coming after 1 November 1700, and any priest who escaped from his dungeon was liable to the penalty of death if he should be retaken. To harbour a Catholic was to incur a fine of £250 and to stand in the pillory for three days. Under these circumstances the Jesuit missions were necessarily closed among the Five Nations. The mission of Ogdensburg, established a little later for the Onondagas, and the Oneidas by Abbé François Picquet, a Sulpician, was finally abandoned in 1760, and the last chapter was closed in the story of the Jesuit missions among the Iroquois.
The Church Among the Whites
Less than a quarter of a century after the final destruction of the missions among the Iroquois the first white settler came to Oriskany. Gradually, a few Catholics followed, John Cunningham of Utica being the first Catholic of whom history makes mention. Rev. Paul McQuade who was ordained in Montreal in 1808 was the first missionary. He was pastor of St. Mary’s church, Albany, from 1813 to 1815, and made frequent visitations to Utica. There is no record of where the first Mass was celebrated in Utica, but there is no doubt that it was in the home of John C. Devereux, one of the pioneer Catholics then (1813) a member of the board of trustees of St. Mary’s church, Albany. Rev. Michael O’Gorman, a native of Ireland, pastor of St. Mary’s church, Albany, from 1817 to 1819, was the founder of the first parish in the Diocese of Syracuse, though not the first pastor. He celebrated the first public Mass in Utica, in the Court House, 10 January 1819. He organized the Catholics, and it was decided to erect a church for Central and Western New York, at Utica. A corporation was duly formed under the name of the “Trustees of the first Catholic Church in the Western District of New York”. The first trustees were: John O’Connor of Auburn; John C. Devereux and Nicholas Devereux of Utica; Morris Hogan of New Hartford; Oliver Western of Johnstown; Thomas McCarthy of Syracuse; John McGuire of Rochester; and Charles Carroll of Genesee River. The resident congregation did not exceed thirty. Rev. John Farnan, a native of Ireland, appointed pastor, began at once the erection of St. John’s church, Utica, and the little chapel was dedicated by Bishop Connoly, 19 August, 1821. While pastor of Utica, Father Farnan visited Rochester, in 1820, and celebrated the first public Mass in that city. He was the first resident priest to attend the Catholics of Brooklyn. Among the Catholic laymen of that early period, might be mentioned James Lynch and Thomas McCarthy of Lynchville, now Rome, N.Y. Dominick Lynch was one of the first trustees of St. Peter’s church, New York, and in 1790 when the Catholics of the United States presented an address of congratulation to George Washington, on his election to the presidency, he was one of the four laymen who signed it.
The Diocese of Syracuse
The Diocese of Syracuse was projected by the Holy See, 12 September, 1886, and Rt. Rev. Patrick Anthony Ludden, D.D., then vicar-general of the Diocese of Albany, and rector of St. Peter’s church, Troy, was nominated for the comtemplated see. Father Ludden declined the honour. Thereupon, considerable correspondence passed between Archbishop Corrigan of New York and the Cardinal Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of the Propaganda in Rome. Finally, the Diocese of Syracuse was erected by Leo XIII, 20 November, 1886, and Father Ludden, in spite of his emphatic refusal, was appointed bishop of the new see, 14 December, 1886. He was born 4 February, 1836, near Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland, and was ordained priest, 21 May, 1864, in the Grand Seminary, Montreal, by Bishop Bourget. He was rector of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Albany, under Bishop McCloskey, and vicar general under Bishops Conroy and McNeirny, and for seven years he had been rector of St. Peter’s church, Troy. He was consecrated at Syracuse, 1 May, 1887, by Archbishop Corrigan of New York, assisted by Bishop McQuade of Rochester, and Bishop McNeirny of Albany. When the diocese was established, there were but 64 secular, and 10 religious priests; 46 parish, and 20 mission churches; 15 chapels; 16 parochial schools; 2 academies; 5 orphan asylums; and 2 hospitals. Rt. Rev. Mgr. John Grimes, D.D., was appointed coadjutor Bishop of Syracuse, with the title of Bishop of Imeria, 9 February, 1909. He was born in Ireland, 18 December, 1852, made his ecclesiastical studies in the Grand Seminary, Montreal, and was ordained to the priesthood in Albany, 19 February, 1882, by Bishop McNeirny, of Albany. He was consecrated bishop 16 May, 1909, in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Syracuse, by Archbishop Farley of New York. St. John the Evangelist church in Syracuse was the pro-cathedral until 1903. At that time, Bishop Ludden purchased with his own money, property adjoining St. Mary’s church, which had been planned and constructed by Rev. James A. O’Hara, D.D., for many years one of the most prominent figures in Central New York. He died 26 Dec, 1889. Bishop Ludden, at his own expense, erected on the property a new cathedral and consecrated it 25 September, 1910.
Among the pioneer priests of the diocese may be mentioned: Right Rev. David W. Bacon and the Right Rev. Francis P. McFarland; Fathers William Beecham, Thomas Daly, Michael Hackett, Michael Heas, Bartholomew F. McLoghlin, Leopold Moczygemba, O.M.C., Walter J. Quarter. The prominent laymen include Francis Baumer, Ulric Burke, M.D., John Carton, John C. Devereux, Nicholas Devereux, Capt. David Dodge, Francis Kernan, James Lynch, John McCarthy, Thomas McCarthy, Peter McGuire, Michael McQuade, Francis Murphy, Owen O’Neil, Edward White.
Their are many causes for the remarkable growth of the Catholic Church in Central New York. It was chiefly the Irish immigrants who dug the Erie Canal, which was begun 4 July, 1817, almost the exact date of the organization of the first church in the diocese. The salt springs of Syracuse discovered by Father Le Moyne, in the missionary period, added much to the wealth of these parts and attracted many. When through tariff reduction this investment became no longer profitable, extensive cotton and woolen mills, foundries and factories of all kinds, were established. Another cause which contributed to the growth as well as to the cosmopolitan character of the people, was the coming of various nationalities at different periods. The Germans began to come in small numbers, soon after the erection of the first church (1820). According to the official records, Rev. John Lewis Wariath was placed in charge of these immigrants as early as 1837. The Italian immigration began with the construction of the West Shore Railroad in the early eighties. The Poles began to locate in the diocese about a quarter of a century ago. They have now large and flourishing parishes, churches, and schools in various parts of the diocese. The Lithuanians are, as yet, comparatively few in number. They have fine property, a temporary church, a resident priest in Utica, and give evidence of rapid progress. The Syrians began to come about a decade ago. They are found chiefly in Syracuse and Utica. In the latter city, they have a handsome church, and a resident priest. They worship according to the Syro-Maronite Rite. The Slovaks began coming to the diocese only within the last few years. They are of the Latin and the Greek Rite, and are found principally in Syracuse and in Binghamton. In the latter city they have a resident priest and a flourishing parish.
Religious Communities
Another important factor in the upbuilding of the diocese, was the work of the different religious communities devoted to education and charity. The Franciscan Fathers of the Order of Minor Conventuals came in 1859. The mother-house of the Order of the Minor Conventuals in the United States is located in Syracuse. The Christian Brothers have been labouring in the diocese for more than half a century. They have a large and flourishing academy in Syracuse. Assumption Academy is the academic department for boys of the Utica Catholic Academy. The Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul (Emmitsburg) for more than three-quarters of a century have laboured in Utica, and for most of that time in Syracuse, caring for the orphans and building up their schools. The Sisters of St. Joseph, from St. Louis, Mo., have an academy for young ladies in Binghamton and have charge of many parochial schools. The Sisters of the Holy Name have an academy for young ladies at Rome. The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis have charge of hospitals in Syracuse and Utica.
Statistics for 1911 are: priests, regular 16, secular 115; parish churches, 75; mission churches, 34; chapels, 35; parochial schools, 25; parochial high schools, 4; academies, 4; orphan asylums, 5; maternity hospital, 1; infant asylums, 2; hospitals, 3. In the various religious orders there are: brothers, 33; sisters, 330; lay teachers, 8. The pupils in Catholic schools number 10,000. The Catholic population includes, English-speaking, 95,000; Italians, 25,000; Germans, 15,000; Poles, 120,000; Lithuanians, 1000; Slavs (Latin and Greek), 2000; Bohemians, 100; French, 2000; Syrians, 1000.
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Martin, Life of Father Jogues (New York, 1896) ; Dongan, Reports in Documents relating to the Colonial History of New York City, III (Albany, 1853) ; ed. Thwaites, Jesuit Relations (Cleveland, 1896-1901) : O’Callaghan, Documentary History of the State of New York, (Albany, 1849-51) ; Shea, History of the Catholic Church in the United States (New York, 1886-92) ; Memorial History of the City of Syracuse (Syracuse, 1891) ; Bannon, Pioneer Irish of Onondaga (Syracuse, 1911) ; Cookinham, History of Oneida County (Utica, 1912) ; Bugg, Memoirs of Utica (Utica, 1884) ; Campbell, Pioneer Priests of North America (New York, 1908) ; Hewitt, History of the Diocese of Syracuse (Syracuse, 1909) ; Lynch, A Page of Church History in New York (Utica, 1903) ; U.S. Cath. Hist. Society, Historical Records and Studies (New York, April, 1909-Feb., 1911) ; Farley, History of St. Patrick’s Cathedral (New York, 1908) ; Zwierlein, Religion in New Netherland (Rochester, 1910) ; Bayley, A Brief Sketch of the Early History of the Catholic Church in the Island of New York (New York, 1870) ; Griffis, The Story of New Netherland (New York, 1909) ; Diefendorff, The Historic Mohawk (New York, 1910).
J.S.M. LYNCH Transcribed by Michael William Thomas Howe In loving memory of my great-great-grandparents, Thomas A. Howe and Anne Tracy, married in St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Syracuse (25 April 1852)
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIVCopyright © 1912 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, July 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Syracuse
(; Lat. Syracusce), a celebrated city on the eastern coast of Sicily, whither Paul arrived in an Alexandrian ship from Melita, on his voyage to Rome (Act 28:12). It had a fine prospect from every entrance both by sea and land. Its port, which had the sea on both sides of it, was almost all of it environed with beautiful buildings, and all that part of it which was without the city was on both sides banked up and sustained with very fair walls of marble. The city itself, while in its splendor, was the largest and richest that the Greeks possessed in any part of the world. For (according to Strabo) it was twenty-two miles in circumference, and both Plutarch and Livy inform us that the spoil of it was equal to that of Carthage. It was the oldest of the Greek colonies, being founded by Corinthians, and in a manner consisted of our cities united into one; or, as others express it, it was called quadruplex, as being divided into four parts, Acradina, Tyche, Neapolis, and the island of Ortygia. The first of these contained the famous Temple of Jupiter, the second the Temple of Fortune, the third a large amphitheatre, and a wonderful statue of Apollo in the midst of a spacious square, and the fourth the two temples of Diana and Minerva, and the renowned fountain of Arethusa. For about two hundred and fifty years the city made little noise in the world; but in the next two hundred and eighty it became conspicuous in war, in sea trade, and in wealth, under its kings Gelon, Dionysius, elder and younger, Dion, Agathocles, and Hiero.
About B.C. 210 this city was taken and sacked by Marcellus, the Roman general, and, in storming the place, Archimedes, the great mathematician, who is esteemed the first inventor of the sphere (and who, during the siege, had sorely galled the Romans with astonishing military engines of his own invention), was slain by a common soldier while intent upon his studies. After it was thus destroyed by Marcellus, Augustus rebuilt that part of it which stood upon the island, and in time it so far recovered as to have three walls, three castles, and a marble gate, and to be able to send out twelve thousand horse soldiers and four hundred. ships. In A.D. 675 the Saracens seized on it, but in 1090 it was taken from them by Roger, duke of Apulia. It yet exists under its original name (Ital. Siracasa),. and is still much frequented on account of its commodious harbor. Paul stayed here three days as he went prisoner to Rome (Act 27:12); here also Christianity was early planted, and still, at least in name, continues; but the city has lost its ancient splendor, though it is a bishop’s see.
The magnificence which Cicero describes as still remaining in his time was no doubt greatly impaired when Paul visited it. The whole of the resources of Sicily had been exhausted in the civil wars of Caesar and Pompey, and the piratical warfare which Sextus Pomleius, the youngest son of the latter, subsequently carried on against the triumvir Octavius. Augustus restored Syracuse, as also Catana and Centoripa, which last had contributed much to the successful issue of his struggle with Sextus Pompeius. Yet the island Ortygia and a very small portion of the mainland adjoining sufficed for the new colonists and the remnant of the former population. But the site of Syracuse rendered it a convenient place for the African corn ships to touch at, for the harbor was an excellent one, and the fountain Arethusa in the island furnished an unfailing supply of excellent water. The prevalent wind in this part of the Mediterranean is the W.N.W. This would carry the vessels from the corn region lying eastward of Cape Bon, round the southern point of Sicily, Cape Pachynus, to the eastern shore of the island. Creeping up under the shelter of this, they would lie either in the harbor of Messana or at Rhegium, until the wind changed to a southern point and enabled them to fetch the Campanian harbor Puteoli or Gaeta, or to proceed as far as Ostia. In crossing from Africa to Sicily, if the wind was excessive, or varied two or three points to the northward, they would naturally bear up for Malta; and this had probably been the case with the Twins, the ship in which Paul found a passage after his shipwreck on the coast of that island. Arrived in. Malta, they watched for the opportunity of a wind to take them westward, and with such a one they readily made Syracuse. To proceed farther while it continued blowing would have exposed them to the dangers of a lee-shore, and accordingly they remained three days. They then, the wind having probably shifted into a westerly quarter so as to give them smooth water, coasted the shore and made ( ) Rhegium. After one day there, the wind got round still more and blew from the south; they therefore weighed, and arrived at Puteoli in the course of the second day of the run (Act 28:12-14).
In the time of Paul’s voyage, Sicily did not supply the Romans with corn to the extent it had done in the time of king Hiero, and in a less degree as late as the time of Cicero. It is an error, however, to suppose that the soil was exhausted; for Strabo expressly says that for corn and some other productions, Sicily even surpassed Italy. But the country had become depopulated by the long series of wars, and when it passed into the hands of Rome, her great nobles turned vast tracts into pasture. In the time of Augustus the whole of the center of the island was occupied in this manner, and among its exports (except from the neighborhood of the volcanic region, where excellent wine was produced), fat stock, hides, and wool appear to have been the prominent articles. These grazing and horse- breeding farms were kept up by slave labor; and this was the reason that the whole island was in a chronic state of disturbance, owing to the slaves continually running away and forming bands of brigands. Sometimes these became so formidable as to require the aid of regular military operations to put them down; a circumstance of which Tiberius Gracchus made use as an argument in favor of his measure of an Agrarian law (Appian, B. C. 1, 9), which would have reconverted the spacious grasslands into small arable farms cultivated by Roman freemen. In the time of Paul there were only five Roman colonies in Sicily, of which Syracuse was one. The others were Catana, Tauromenium, Thermae, and Tyndaris. Messana too, although not a colony, was a town filled with a Roman population. Probably its inhabitants were merchants connected with the wine-trade of the neighborhood, of which Messana was the shipping port. Syracuse and Panormus were important as strategical points, and a Roman force was kept up at each. Sicilians, Sicanians, Morgetians, and Iberians (aboriginal inhabitants of the island, or very early settlers), still existed in the interior, in what exact political condition it is impossible to say; but most likely in that of villains. Some few towns are mentioned by Pliny as having the Latins franchise, and some as paying a fixed tribute; but, with the exception of the five colonies, the owners of the soil of the island were mainly great absentee proprietors, and almost all its produce came to Rome (Strabo, 6:2; Appian, B. C. 4:84 sq.; 5, 15-118; Cicero, Verr. 4:53; Pliny, H. rN. 3, 8). For a full account of ancient Syracuse, see Smith’s Dict. of Geog. s.v., and the, literature there cited; also Goller, De Situ et Or. qine Syracusarum (Lips. 1818); for the modern city, Badeker, Southern Italy, p. 308 sq. SEE SICILY.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Syracuse
a city on the south-east coast of Sicily, where Paul landed and remained three days when on his way to Rome (Acts 28:12). It was distinguished for its magnitude and splendour. It is now a small town of some 13,000 inhabitants.
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Syracuse
A great city in the E. of Sicily. Paul arrived there from Melita (“Malta”) on his way to Rome (Act 28:12). A convenient place for the Alexandrian grain ships to touch at, for the haven was good and the water from the fountain Arethusa excellent. The prevalent wind in this part of the Mediterranean, the W.N.W., would carry the vessel from Malta round the S. of Sicily to the eastern shore on which lay Syracuse. They waited three days there for the wind, then by a circuitous course, necessitated by the direction of the wind, reached Rhegium.
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
Syracuse
SYRACUSE, on the east coast of Sicily, was the principal city in the island. It was originally a Greek colony of ancient date, which was powerful enough to defeat the famous Athenian Sicilian expedition (b.c. 415412). Its kings were often men of distinction, even in literature, of which they were noted patrons. The city had a varied career, being sometimes a kingdom, sometimes a democracy. In b.c. 241 the Romans took the western half of Sicily from the Carthaginians, but remained in alliance with the kings of Syracuse. The last king of Syracuse coquetted with the Carthaginians; the city was besieged and captured by Marcellus in 212, and the whole island was henceforth under a prtor, who had two qustors, one situated at Lilybum in the W., the other at Syracuse. The city continued prosperous down till about the end of the 2nd cent. b.c. After that date it declined in importance, though it remained the capital of the eastern half of the island. In NT times a large number of the inhabitants were Roman citizens.
St. Pauls ship lay at anchor in the harbour for three days, when he was on his way from Malta to Rome (Act 28:12). He did not preach there. Christian memorials at Syracuse are not specially early.
A. Souter.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Syracuse
sira-kus, sir-a-kus (, Surakousai; Latin Syracusae, Ital. Siracusa): Situated on the east coast of Sicily, about midway between Catania and the southeastern extremity of the island.
The design of the present work scarcely permits more than a passing allusion to Syracuse, the most brilliant Greek colony on the shores of the Western Mediterranean, where Paul halted three days, on his way from Melita to Rome (Act 28:12). The original Corinthian colony rounded in 734 BC (Thucydides vi. 3) was confined to the islet Ortygia, which separates the Great Harbor from the sea. Later the city spread over the promontory lying northward of Ortygia and the harbor.
Syracuse assumed a pre-eminent position in the affairs of Sicily under the rule of the tyrants Gelon (485-478 BC; compare Herodotus vii. 154-55) and Hieron (478-467 BC). It nourisher greatly after the establishment of popular government in 466 BC (Diodorus xi. 68-72). The Syracusans successfully withstood the famous siege by the Athenians in 414 BC, the narrative of which is the most thrilling part of the work of Thucydides (vi, vii).
Dionysius took advantage of the fear inspired by the Carthaginians to elevate himself to despotic power in 405 BC, and he was followed, after a reign of 38 years, by his son of the same name. Although democratic government was restored by Timoleon after a period of civil dissensions in 344 BC (Plutarch, Timoleon), popular rule was not of long duration.
The most famous of the later rulers was the wise Hieron (275-216 BC), who was the steady ally of the Romans. His grandson and successor Hieronymus deserted the alliance of Rome for that of Carthage, which led to the celebrated siege of the city by the Romans under Marcellus and its fall in 212 (Livy xxiv. 21-33). Henceforth Syracuse was the capital of the Roman province of Sicily. Cicero calls it the greatest of Greek cities and the most beautiful of all cities (Cicero Verr. iv. 52).
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Syracuse
Syracuse, a celebrated city on the southeast coast of the island of Sicily. It was a strong, wealthy, and populous place. The great wealth and power of Syracuse arose from its trade, which was carried on extensively while it remained an independent state under its own kings; but about 200 B.C. it was taken by the Romans, after a siege rendered famous by the mechanical contrivances whereby Archimedes protracted the defense. Syracuse still exists as a considerable town under its original name, and some ruins of the ancient city yet remain. St. Paul spent three days at Syracuse, after leaving Melita, when being conveyed as a prisoner to Rome (Act 28:12).
Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Syracuse
[Sy’racuse]
City on the eastern coast of Sicily, at which port the ship touched that conveyed Paul to Rome. Act 28:12.
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Syracuse
A city of Sicily. Paul visits.
Act 28:12
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Syracuse
Syracuse (sr’a-kse). The celebrated city on the eastern coast of Sicily. Paul arrived there in an Alexandrian ship from Melita, on his voyage to Rome. Act 28:12. The site of Syracuse rendered it a convenient place for the African corn-ships to touch at, for the harbor was an excellent one, and the fountain Arethusa in the island furnished an unfailing supply of excellent water.
Fuente: People’s Dictionary of the Bible
Syracuse
Syr’acuse. The celebrated city, on the eastern coast of Sicily. “The city in its splendor was the largest and richest that the Greeks possessed, in any part of the world, being 22 miles in circumference.” St. Paul arrived thither, in an Alexandrian ship from Melita, on his voyage to Rome. Act 28:12. The site of Syracuse rendered it a convenient place for the African corn-ships to touch at, for the harbor was an excellent one, and the fountain Arethusa, in the island furnished an unfailing supply of excellent water.
Fuente: Smith’s Bible Dictionary
Syracuse
a famous city of Sicily, seated on the east side of the island, Act 28:12.