Acerenza was certainly an episcopal see in the course of the fifth century, for in 499 we meet with the name of its first known bishop, Justus, in the Acts of the Roman Synod of that year. The town was known in antiquity as the "high nest of Acherontia". Acerenza was in early imperial times a populous and important town, and a bulwark of the territory of
Lucania and
Apulia. In the Gothic and Lombard period it fell into decay, but was restored by
Grimoald II,
Duke of Beneventum (687-689). An Archbishop of Acerenza (
Giraldus) appears in 1063 in an act of donation of
Robert Guiscard to the
monastery of the Santissima Trinità in
Venosa. Guiscard himself, who died on 17 July 1985, was buried there. For a few years after 968 Acerenza adopted the
Greek Rite in consequence of an order of the Byzantine Emperor
Nicephorus Phocas (963-969), whereby it was made one of five suffragans of the
archdiocese of Otranto, and compelled to acknowledge the jurisdiction of the
Patriarch of Constantinople. In May 1041, Bishop Stephan (1029–1041) died in battle, fighting for the Greeks against the Normans. At the synod held by
Pope Nicholas II at Melfi in August 1059, the archbishop of Acerenza and Archbishop Arnulf of Cosenza were delegated to find appropriate bishops for the vacancies at Montepeloso and Tricarico. It is conjectured that the title of archbishop and was awarded to Acerenza by Pope Nicholas, since
Pope Alexander II (1061–1073) in 1068 merely confirmed the existence of the title of archbishop Arnaldus. Archbishop Arnaldus attended the consecration of the abbey church of Montecassino on 1 October 1071. In the struggle between the archdiocese of Salerno and its suffragan dioceses, Conza and Acerenza,
Pope Urban II ruled on 20 July 1098 that both were subject to Salerno.
Metropolitan On 16 June 1102,
Pope Paschal II confirmed for the archbishop of Acerenza all his diocese's privileges and possessions, including his metropolitan status and the suffragan (subordinate) dioceses of Venosa, Gravina, Tricarico, Tursi, and Potenza, whose bishops he had the right of confirming and consecrating. On 1 April 1151,
Pope Eugenius III confirmed the privilege of Pope Paschal II, as did
Pope Alexander III on September 1179. There is evidence that the diocese of Matera had been joined to the Archdiocese of Acerenza by 1199, and that the archbishops enjoyed the episcopal income of Matera.
Pope Urban VI (1378–1389), Bartolommeo Prignano, was once Archbishop of Acerenza, though his work was in Avignon, where he was an Auditor in the papal chancellery.
Cathedrals The cathedral in Acerenza, begun around 1080 by Archbishop Arnaldus (1066–1101), is dedicated to Saint Canius (or Canio or Cano), whose alleged remains were found at Atella by Bishop Leo, c. 799, and brought to Acerenza. The cathedral of Matera is dedicated to Saint Eucherius. Acerenza is known for a
bust which has long been supposed to be that of
Saint Canius, patron of the city, to whom the cathedral is dedicated, but which is believed to be a portrait-bust of
Julian the Apostate, though others express doubt, some even maintain that it is a bust of the
Emperor Frederick II, after the manner of the sculptors of the Antonine age. The cathedral Chapter of Matera was composed, in 1703, of three dignities and twenty-four canons. Acerenza had two dignities and ten canons. In the mid-19th century, the cathedral had a Chapter composed of six dignities (the Archdeacon, the Cantor, the Treasurer, the Archpriest, and the Theologus and the Penitentiary), and twenty canons. The archbishops preferred to live in the much larger town of Matera, except in the summer months. The population of Acerenza, in 1703 was c. 2,000, that of Matera 15,000. The archbishop's Vicar-general resided at Acerenza, and handled the legal business of the archdiocese, as well as cases on appeal from the suffragan dioceses.
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Following the extinction of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy and the removal of King Joachim Marat, the
Congress of Vienna authorized the restoration of the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples. Since the French occupation had seen the abolition of many Church institutions in the kingdom, as well as the confiscation of most Church property and resources, it was imperative that
Pope Pius VII and
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (King Ferdinand IV) reach agreement on restoration and restitution. A concordat was finally signed on 16 February 1818, and ratified by Pius VII on 25 February 1818. Ferdinand issued the concordat as a law on 21 March 1818. The re-erection of the dioceses of the kingdom and the ecclesiastical provinces took more than three years. The right of the king to nominate the candidate for a vacant bishopric was recognized, as in the Concordat of 1741, subject to papal confirmation (preconisation). This was confirmed by the papal Indult "Sinceritas Fidei" of 7 March 1818. In the enabling papal legislation, the bull "De Utiliori" of 27 July 1818, Pius VII assigned as suffragans of the archdiocese of Acerenza the dioceses of Anglona and Tursi (united), Potenza, Tricarico, and Venosa. The diocesee of Matera, previously united to Acerenza, was added to Acerenza
in perpetuo. On 5 August 1910, the archbishops of Acerenza & Materano were granted the additional title of abbot of S. Angelo di Montescaglioso. On 2 July 1954, the archdioceses of Acherenza and Matera were separated, each receiving its own archbishop. The title of Abbot of S. Angelo di Montecaglioso was assigned to the archbishops of Matera.
Metropolinate removed Following the
Second Vatican Council, and in accordance with the norms laid out in the council's decree,
Christus Dominus chapter 40,
Pope Paul VI undertook the reorganization of the ecclesiastical provinces and dioceses of Lucania. On 21 August 1976, he issued the bull "Quo aptius" to create the new ecclesiastical province of Potenza, which involved the removal of metropolitan status of both Acerenza and Matera. Both became suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Potenza, along with their former suffragan dioceses, though the archbishops retained their titles. ==List of bishops/archbishops==