Diocese of Roskilde (Catholic)

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Ansgar as "Apostle of the North" and the bishops Absalon and Peder Jensen Lodehat ; 19th century depictions in the ambulatory of Roskilde Cathedral

The diocese of Roskilde (Roschildia) was a diocese of the Western Catholic Church that existed from the end of the 10th to the beginning of the 16th century . The Lutheran diocese of Zealand was established in its place in 1537, the immediate legal successor of which is the diocese of Copenhagen . In 1922 a new (Lutheran) diocese of Roskilde was formed.

history

The Diocese of Roskilde was founded in 991 as a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen . The first historically tangible bishop was the Englishman Gerbrand , whom King Canute the Great (King of England in personal union) had consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1022. Archbishop Unwan of Bremen, however, managed to secure the connection to his archbishopric. The diocesan area included the Baltic islands of Zealand and Møn - each with the smaller islands in front of them - initially also Scania , which then belonged to Denmark , but for which the dioceses Dalby and Lund were established in 1060 . Since the elevation of Lund to the archbishopric in 1104, the diocese of Roskilde has belonged to the church province of Lund. In 1169, Rügen , conquered by Denmark, was incorporated into the diocese.

Around 1160, Bishop Absalon received the small harbor settlement Havn as a royal fief , which he expanded and from which the city of Copenhagen emerged. He built a castle here in 1167 (on the site where Christiansborg Palace is today). In the years that followed, the bishops often resided in this castle or in the Københavns Slot , which was rebuilt after its destruction at the end of the 14th century , and later in bispegaarden (at the site of today's main university building). The cathedral, however , was Roskilde Cathedral, which was built from around 1170 to around 1280 (in the same place as two previous churches) .

In the 13th century, the bishops were often involved in armed conflicts with the Danish kings. In the late Middle Ages they always served as chancellors of the empire. About a quarter of the land in Zealand belonged to the diocese; it exceeded even the Archdiocese of Lund in wealth.

After the victory of the Reformation -minded King Christian III. in the civil war, the last bishop Joachim Rønnow was deposed and taken prisoner in 1536. Instead of the Catholic diocese, the Lutheran diocese of Zealand was established (without the long-standing Pomeranian Rügen). The superintendents (later bishops) of Zealand, who also had the function of primus inter pares among the Danish bishops, resided in Copenhagen (in the former university building), but still had Roskilde Cathedral as their main church.

The Roman Catholic Church continued the diocese of Roskilde as the titular diocese of Roskilde until 1964 . In 1868 an Apostolic Prefecture was established, from which the Roman Catholic Diocese of Copenhagen emerged in 1953 .

Bishops

For the bishops (including those after 1536) see the list of bishops of Roskilde .

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