CORDOBA

 

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CORDOBA

Cordoba (Córdoba, Cordova) is a Christian diocese in Spain, formerly suffragan of Toledo, since 1851 of Seville. The Gospel, it is believed, was preached there in the Apostolic period, it being very probable that Apostles Saint James the Greater and Saint Paul, while preaching in various cities of Spain may have sent thither some of their disciples; Cordova (Colonia Patricia) was then the chief city of Baetica, and the centre of Andalusian life. 

Sacred Heart of Jesus, Cordoba

The name of the apostolic founder the of the See of Cordova is unknown, as the oldest extant documents do not antedate the third century. The conditions of the Christian religion in this early period were quite similar to those which obtained elsewhere in the Roman Empire: persecution, suspicion, denunciation, enforced profession of idolatry, etc. Many illustrious martyrs, Faustus, Januarius, and others, suffered at Cordova. 

The earliest known bishop (though not the founder of the See) is Severus, about 279; he was followed by Gratus and Berosus. In 294 the famous Hosius became Bishop of Cordova and immortalised it by his resistance to Arianism. Fifteen bishops governed the see from the death of Hosius in 357 to 693, from which period to 839 no bishops are known. All church and ecclesiastical records, doubtless, perished in the course of the Islam domination (of Al-Andalus) that began in 711.

During this time, the faithful could, it is true, worship freely, and retained their churches and property on condition of paying a tribute for every parish, cathedral, and monastery; frequently, however, such tribute was increased at the will of the muslim regime, and often the living had to pay for the dead. 

In 786 the Arab caliph, Abder Rahman I, began the construction of the great mosque of Cordova, now the cathedral, and compelled Christians to take part in the preparation of the site and foundations.  Under Abder Rahman II a fierce persecution of Christians ensued, during which many followers of Christ were accused of abusing the memory of Mohammed, of entering mosques, and of conspiracy against the Islamic Government. Saracen fanaticism ran high. 

Among the martyrs of this period are Perfectus, Flora, Maria, numerous nuns of the monastery of Tabana in the Sierras, also Aurelius, Sabiniana, Abundius, Amator, and others; the names of more than thirty are known. The most famous of these martyrs is Saint Eulogius, priest and abbot, who was in 858 chosen Archbishop of Toledo. For his encouragement of the confessors by his writings, "Memoriale sanctorum", "Apologeticus sanctorum martyrum", "Documentum martyrii", "Epistolae", he was eventually put to death in 859. 

Two depictions of the killing of Archbishop Eulogius, who was martyred in 859 for encouraging Christian confessors

In 962 Abder Rahman III was succeeded by his son Al-Hakim. Among the men afterwards famous who studied at Cordova were the scholarly monk Gerbert, destined to sit on the Chair of Peter as Sylvester II (999-1003), the Jewish rabbis Moses and Maimonides, and the famous Spanish-Arabian commentator on Aristotle, Averroes. On account of the wretched administration of the successors of Abder Rahman III, little is known of the episcopal succession in Cordova from the time of Bishop Joannes (988) to the reconquest of the city by the Christians under Ferdinand III (1236). The long period (524 years) of humiliation of the Church of Cordova now came to an end, and a new epoch of prosperity and Christian religious service began which was inaugurated by the piety and generosity of the saintly Ferdinand (Haines, Christianity and Islam in Spain, London, 1889, 756-1031).

Reference has already been made to the conversion of the mosque into a cathedral; several parishes were also established, and spacious convents were built for various religious orders, Dominicans, Franciscans, Mercedarians. A cathedral chapter was established, some of the earlier Christian churches were restored, and some mosques were converted into churches. The diocese, that in the earlier Hispano-Roman period had been very large, began to expand again.

Cordoba Cathedral

Since the end of the fifteenth century, the Catholic worship alone has been exercised in the diocese, if individuals belonging to a few sects are excepted. The residence of the bishop faces the former mosque, and in it are located ed all the administrative offices of the diocese. The following religious orders and congregations have houses in the city: Jesuits, Carmelites, Capuchins, Dominicans, Trinitarians, Salesians, and Diocesan Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Mary. In four or five other places in the diocese there are also religious houses, among them convents of Franciscans and Augustinians.

Attached to the various parishes are many lay confraternities devoted to works of charity, or to the support of public worship. Of the early synods held at Cordova, two are important, those of 839 and 852. 

Information from Manuel Garcia Osuna, Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913

⬅️ Saints Amator, Peter, and Louis, Martyrs of Cordoba

⬅️ St Columba, Virgin and Martyr of Cordoba

⬅️ St Leocritia, Virgin and Martyr of Cordoba

➡️ Saint Perfecto, Martyr of Cordoba

➡️ Saint Roderick, Priest and Martyr of Cordoba

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