Editing Ankara (section)

=== Ecclesiastical history ===
[[File:Teodot Ankirski.jpg|thumb|160px|[[Theodotus of Ancyra (martyr)|St. Theodotus of Ancyra]]]]

Early Christian martyrs of Ancyra, about whom little is known, included Proklos and Hilarios who were natives of the otherwise unknown nearby village of Kallippi, and suffered repression under the emperor [[Trajan]] (98–117). In the 280s we hear of Philumenos, a Christian corn merchant from southern Anatolia, being captured and martyred in Ankara, and Eustathius.

As in other Roman towns, the reign of [[Diocletian]] marked the culmination of the persecution of the Christians. In 303, Ancyra was one of the towns where the co-emperors Diocletian and his deputy [[Galerius]] launched their anti-Christian persecution. In Ancyra, their first target was the 38-year-old Bishop of the town, whose name was Clement. Clement's life describes how he was taken to Rome, then sent back, and forced to undergo many interrogations and hardship before he, and his brother, and various companions were put to death. The remains of the church of [[Clement of Ancyra|St. Clement]] can be found today in a building just off Işıklar Caddesi in the Ulus district. Quite possibly this marks the site where Clement was originally buried. Four years later, a doctor of the town named Plato and his brother Antiochus also became celebrated martyrs under Galerius. [[Theodotus of Ancyra (martyr)|Theodotus of Ancyra]] is also venerated as a saint.

However, the persecution proved unsuccessful and in 314 Ancyra was the center of [[Synod of Ancyra|an important council]] of the [[Early Christianity|early church]];{{sfn|Rockwell|1911}} its 25 disciplinary canons constitute one of the most important documents in the early history of the administration of the [[Confession (religion)|Sacrament of Penance]].{{sfn|Rockwell|1911}} The synod also considered ecclesiastical policy for the reconstruction of the [[Christian Church]] after the persecutions, and in particular the treatment of ''[[Lapsi (Christianity)|lapsi]]''—[[Christians]] who had given in to forced [[paganism]] (sacrifices) to avoid [[martyrdom]] during these persecutions.{{sfn|Rockwell|1911}}

Though paganism was probably tottering in Ancyra in Clement's day, it may still have been the majority religion. Twenty years later, Christianity and [[monotheism]] had taken its place. Ancyra quickly turned into a Christian city, with a life dominated by monks and priests and theological disputes. The town council or senate gave way to the bishop as the main local figurehead. During the middle of the 4th century, Ancyra was involved in the complex theological disputes over the nature of Christ, and a form of [[Arianism]] seems to have originated there.{{sfn|Parvis|2006|pp=325–345}}

In 362–363, Emperor Julian passed through Ancyra on his way to an ill-fated campaign against the Persians, and according to Christian sources, engaged in a persecution of various holy men.<ref name=gibbon>{{cite book|last=Gibbon|first=Edward|title=[[The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]]|author-link=Edward Gibbon|page=Chapter 23}}</ref> The stone base for a statue, with an inscription describing Julian as "Lord of the whole world from the British Ocean to the barbarian nations", can still be seen, built into the eastern side of the inner circuit of the walls of Ankara Castle. The Column of Julian which was erected in honor of the emperor's visit to the city in 362 still stands today. In 375, Arian bishops met at Ancyra and deposed several bishops, among them [[Gregory of Nyssa|St. Gregory of Nyssa]].

In the late 4th century, Ancyra became something of an imperial [[resort|holiday resort]]. After [[Constantinople]] became the [[Byzantine Empire|East Roman]] capital, emperors in the 4th and 5th centuries would retire from the humid summer weather on the [[Bosphorus|Bosporus]] to the drier mountain atmosphere of Ancyra. [[Theodosius II]] (408–450) kept his court in Ancyra in the summers. Laws issued in Ancyra testify to the time they spent there.

The [[Metropolis of Ancyra]] continued to be a residential [[episcopal see|see]] of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] until the 20th century, with about 40,000 faithful, mostly Turkish-speaking, but that situation ended as a result of the 1923 [[Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations]]. The earlier [[Armenian genocide]] put an end to the residential eparchy of Ancyra of the [[Armenian Catholic Church]], which had been established in 1850.<ref name="Bull Universi Dominici gregis">[http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k51627x/f401.image Bull ''Universi Dominici gregis''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330045229/http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k51627x/f401.image |date=30 March 2015 }}, in Giovanni Domenico Mansi, ''Sacrorum Conciliorum Nova et Amplissima Collectio'', vol. XL, coll. 779–780</ref><ref name="gallica.bnf.fr">F. Tournebize, v. ''II. Ancyre, évêché arménien catholique'', in [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6561037d/f796.image ''Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150628235228/http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6561037d/f796.image |date=28 June 2015 }}, vol. II, Paris 1914, coll. 1543–1546</ref> It is also a titular metropolis of the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople]].

Both the Ancient Byzantine Metropolitan archbishopric and the 'modern' Armenian eparchy are now listed by the [[Catholic Church]] as [[titular see]]s,<ref>''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 {{ISBN|978-88-209-9070-1}}), p. 832</ref> with separate [[apostolic succession]]s.