
Sebastopolis
FREE Catholic Classes
A titular see in Armenia Prima, suffragan of Sebastia. The primitive name of this city was Carana, dependent on Zela, which was included in the principality given to Ateporix by Anthony or Augustus. On the death of the Galatian tetrarch (3 or 2 B.C.) it was incorporated in Pontus Galaticus and made part of the Roman Empire. Carana formed a city peopled by the inhabitants of the surrounding country, and whose era was dated from this event. It is probably at that time or perhaps a little later, in A.D. 19, that the name of Sebastopolis appeared. The town was organized like all the provincial cities; it worshiped the emperors; with some adjacent towns it formed a conventus of which the capital was Neocæsarea; it had coins dating from Trajan. The city received its importance from its position on the great highway leading from Tavium in Galatea towards Sebastia and Armenia. It seems that Trajan, who annexed Pontus Galaticus to the reorganized Cappadocia, made Sebastopolis a centre of Roman culture in a still barbarous country. Adrian visited the city in 124; under this prince and his successors its beauty was increased by the erection of new edifices, a stadium, a portico, a gymnasium, and temples ; the principal god was Hercules, whence its surname Heracleopolis. Under Justinian (Novell. xxxi, 1) Sebastopolis was one of the villages of Armenia Secunda; later one finds it placed by the Greek "Notitiae episcopatum" in Armenia Secunda or Prima, until the thirteenth century, first among the suffragans of Sebastia. Le Quien (Oriens christ., I, 425) gives four bishops : Meletius, fourth century; Cecropius 451; Gregory, 458; Photius, 692. By the inscription Sebastopolis is identified with Soulou Serai, a village of 500 inhabitants to the south-east of Zileh, formerly Zela, vilayet of Sivas. The chief ancient relic is a bridge over the Scylax. There is also a Byzantine cemetery which furnishes numerous inscriptions.
Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.
-
- Easter / Lent
- Ascension Day
- 7 Morning Prayers
- Mysteries of the Rosary
- Litany of the Bl. Virgin Mary
- Popular Saints
- Popular Prayers
- Female Saints
- Saint Feast Days by Month
- Stations of the Cross
- St. Francis of Assisi
- St. Michael the Archangel
- The Apostles' Creed
- Unfailing Prayer to St. Anthony
- Pray the Rosary

Corpus Christi: This is My Body, Given Up for You

Federal Appeals Court Upholds Trump’s Authority to Deploy National Guard in Los Angeles

A Breakthrough in HIV Prevention Raises a Moral Question: Who Will It Reach?
Daily Catholic
Daily Readings for Saturday, June 21, 2025
St. Aloysius Gonzaga: Saint of the Day for Saturday, June 21, 2025
Prayer for a Happy Death: Prayer of the Day for Saturday, June 21, 2025
Daily Readings for Friday, June 20, 2025
St. Vincent Kaun: Saint of the Day for Friday, June 20, 2025
- Prayer to Our Lady of Perpetual Help #7: Prayer of the Day for Friday, June 20, 2025
Copyright 2025 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2025 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.
Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.