Appiaria was important enough in the
Roman province of
Moesia Inferior (=Secunda) to become a
suffragan diocese of the capital's Metropolitan
Archdiocese of Marcianopolis, in the sway of the
Patriarchate of Constantinople. It has two documented incumbents : • Lupicinus, mentioned in a letter of Saint
John Chrysostomos to
Pope Innocent I, circa 403 • Martialis, who signed the letter of the episcopate of
Moesia Secunda to
Byzantine Emperor Leo I the Thracian in 458 after the lynching by Coptic mobs of Patriarch
Proterius of Alexandria. The see isn't mentioned in the
Notitia Episcopatuum by pseudo-Epifanius, edited under Emperor
Heraclius I (circa 640), probably having ceased after the ruinous Bulgarian invasion.
Titular see The diocese was nominally restored (in 1920?) as
Titular bishopric of
Apiaria (Latin until 1925) / Appiaria (Italian from the start, Latin since 1925) / Appiaren(sis) (Latin adjective). It has had the following incumbents, so far of the fitting Episcopal (lowest) rank,
including an Eastern Catholic: • Bonifatius Sauer (신상원 보니파시오), Missionary
Benedictine Congregation of Saint Ottilien (O.S.B.) (1920.08.25 – death 1950.02.07), first as
Apostolic Vicar of
Wonsan (North
Korea) (1920.08.25 – 1940.01.12), later as
Abbot Ordinary of
Territorial Abbacy of Tŏkugen (North Korea) (1940.01.12 – 1950.02.07), also
Apostolic Administrator of the renamed (above)
Apostolic Vicariate of Kanko (Hamheung, North Korea) (1940.01.12 – 1950.02.07) • Joseph Lennox Federal (1951.02.05 – 1960.03.31) as
Auxiliary Bishop of
Diocese of Salt Lake City (Utah, USA) (1951.02.05 – 1958.05.01); next promoted
Coadjutor Bishop of Salt Lake City (1958.05.01 – 1960.03.31), succeeding as Bishop of Salt Lake City (1960.03.31 – retired 1980.04.22), died 2000 • Thomas Austin Murphy (1962.05.23 – death 1991.11.17) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Baltimore (Maryland, USA) (1962.05.23 – retired 1984.05.29) and as emeritate • Vasile Bizău (2007.10.27 – 2011.06.11) as
Bishop of Curia of the
Romanian Catholic Church (
Byzantine Rite (2007.10.27 – 2011.06.11); later Eparch (Bishop) of
Maramureş of the Romanians (
Romania) (2011.06.11 – ). • Ernesto Giobando,
Jesuit Order (S.J.) (2014.03.05 – 2024.22.12), Auxiliary Bishop of
Archdiocese of Buenos Aires (
Argentina); later Bishop of Mar del Plata (Argentina) (2024.12.12 – ) • Anthony Gerald Percy (2025.05.02 – ), Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney, Australia. == See also ==