Abazgian diocese (Abazg diocese, Greek επαρχία της Αβασγίας ) - diocese of the Patriarchate of Constantinople . It existed in the late Roman and Early Byzantine times on the territory of modern Abkhazia (at that time - Hellenized Abazgiya ) and part of the modern city of Sochi .
Headed by the archbishop. The department was in ancient Sevastopolis (modern Sukhumi ); A major support center was Pitiunt ( Pitsunda ). It included a number of small bishops: Anacopian and others.
Information about the diocese is fragmentary; Pitiunti archbishops have been mentioned since the First Ecumenical Council ( 325 ), and Sevastopolis - Chalcedon ( 451 ). In 407, John Chrysostom died on the way to Pitunt. In the VIII century, the Abazgian diocese came under Georgian influence (as did Abazgia itself, which became the Abkhaz kingdom ) and was transformed into an Abkhaz Catholicosate .
In the first half of the 9th century, the Abazgian diocese was part of the Nikop diocese .
Literature
- Abazgian diocese // Orthodox Encyclopedia . - M .: Church Scientific Center "Orthodox Encyclopedia" , 2000. - T. I. - P. 25-27. - 752 s. - 40,000 copies. - ISBN 5-89572-006-4 .