Talk:Roman Catholic Diocese of Fiorentino
Victor II and transfer of bishoprics
[edit]It is stated in this article: "On 22 January 1055, Pope Victor II transferred those dioceses of the ex-Byzantine capitanate to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Benevento by papal bulla.[citation needed]
The Italian wikepedia, from which the earliest version of the article was copied, states "Inizialmente la diocesi dipendeva dal patriarcato di Costantinopoli ed il rito liturgico in uso era quello greco, sostituito da quello latino quando la regione venne conquistata dai Normanni verso la metà dell'XI secolo. Il 22 gennaio 1055, papa Vittore II, da Montecassino, emana una bolla con la quale procede all'annessione delle diocesi della Capitanata alla metropolia di Benevento." It cites the article by Schiraldi (p. 176), which says "Il 22 gennaio 1055, papa Vittore II, da Montecassino, emana una bolla con la quale procede all’annessione dei vescovi di Troia, Dragonara, Civitate, Montecorvino, Turtiboli, Viccari, Fiorentino, Tocco, Montemarano, Monte di Vico alla metropolia di Benevento.26 [26 DE VITA, Thesaurus, II, dissert. V, cap. 3.]
There are problems:
- (1) Pope Victor II had not yet accepted the papacy on 22 January 1055. He did not accept until March, and was not crowned until 13 April 1055. (Kelly & Walsh, Oxford Dictionary of Popes 2nd ed. (Oxford UP 2010), p. 148-149. P. Jaffe, Regesta pontificum Romanorum 2nd ed. Vol. 1 (Leipzig 1888), p. 549.)
- (2) There is no evidence I can find to indicate that Pope Victor II ever visited Montecassino.
- (3) Schiraldi's treatment does not quote the alleged bull, providing only a reference to De Vita in an imprecise way, without page number(s). De Vita does not quote or even refer to such a bull by Victor II in the section cited.
- (4) De Vita is trying to verify the numbers given in sources as to the number of dioceses which were subject to Benevento. He conflates the names in various sources, including the bulls of Leo IX (1053) and Stephen IX (1058), deriving the name Florentino from Stephen IX.
There is good reason, therefore, to reject the unsupported statement in the English language Wikipedia, as unreferenced and contrary to established facts.