From early Christianity to 15th century The Christian community of
Pergamon was one of the earliest established in
Asia Minor during the 1st century AD. It also comprised one of the
Seven Churches of Asia mentioned at the
New Testament Book of Revelation, written by
John the Apostle. According to the Christian tradition,
Antipas was appointed bishop of Pergamon, by John. He was martyred there in 92 AD. Pergamon became the see of a bishopric under the jurisdiction of the
Metropolis of Ephesus. During the 13th century the local bishopric was promoted to a metropolis. However, it soon ceased to exist as a result of the Turkish conquest of the area in the 1310s, the subsequent decline of the local Christian population and the later destruction of Pergamon by the hordes of
Timur. By 1387, the metropolis of Pergamon was assumed by Ephesus, due to their shared decline. By the 15th century, the metropolis of Pergamon had disappeared from the records.
Revival At the beginning of the 19th century, due to the increase of the local Christian population, a number of reforms in religious administration occurred in the region and Pergamon became part of the newly established metropolitan district of Kydonies, based in
Ayvalık, but still part of the Metropolis of Ephesus. In 1908, the former metropolitan district was promoted to a diocese and in 1905 its see was transferred to Pergamon (
Bergama). In February 1922, while most of the region was part of the
Greek-controlled
Smyrna Zone, the metropolis of Pergamon and
Adramyttium was established as part of the general reforms in local religious administration. However, following the developments of the
Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 and the subsequent
population exchange between Greece and Turkey, the remaining Orthodox population was forced to leave the area. During the years 1986–2023, the titular metropolitan of Pergamon and Adramyttium appointed by the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople was the famous theologian
John Zizioulas. ==Geography==