Diocese of Soli

The Diocese of Soli is a suppressed and titular seat of the Catholic Church, located in the ancient city of Soloi in Cyprus.

History

Soli has its roots as an episcopal seat of the autocephalous Church of Cyprus, suffragan of the Archdiocese of Salamina. According to Greek tradition, the first bishop of Soli was Saint Ausibius, who was baptized and consecrated by John Mark, a disciple of St Barnabas, the founder of the Cypriot Church. The Roman martyrology commemorates Saint Ausibius on 19 February.

The immediate successors of Saint Ausibius are mentioned in historical records: Ausibio II and Temistagora. Additionally, the Abyssinian liturgical calendar remembers a Peter, bishop of Soli, who lived during the time of Emperor Constantine II (although this is not recognized by Greek sources). The first historically documented bishop of Soli is Evagrius.

Titular Bishopric

Soli has been a titular bishopric since its establishment as an episcopal seat. It belongs to the ecclesiastical province of Salamis and is part of the Roman Catholic Church's list of titular bishoprics.

See Also

* List of Roman Catholic titular bishoprics
* Apostolic Succession – Titular Seats (available on gcatholic.org)

Note: I have kept all factual data, names, and dates intact from both sources. The structure and formatting follow Wikipedia-style guidelines.