Diocese of Coimbra
diocese of the Catholic Church in Portugal
The Diocese of Coimbra (Latin: Dioecesis Conimbricensis) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Coimbra, Portugal. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Braga.
From 1472, the bishop of Coimbra held the comital title of Count of Arganil, being thus called Bishop-Count (Portuguese: Bispo-Conde).
History
The first known bishop was Lucentius, who participated in the first council of Braga (563), the metropolitan See of Coimbra, until the latter was attached to the ecclesiastical province of Mérida (650–62). Titular bishops of Coimbra continued the succession under the Islamic conquest, one of whom witnessed the consecration of the church of Santiago de Compostela in 876.
The see was re-established in 1088, after the reconquest of the city of Coimbra by the Christian forces of Sisnando Davides (1064). The first bishop of the new series was Martin. In the midst of the difficulties of restoring the Church in Portugal in the wake of the request of the country from the Arabs, Bishop Mauricio Burdino applied to Pope Paschal II and obtained a bull Apostolicae Sedis (24 March 1101), assuring him of the possession of the old territory of his diocese, including parts which were once part of the diocese as they are reconquered from the Moors and the Arabs. He also assigned the bishop, for the time being, the territories of the vacant bishoprics of Lamego and Viseu, until such time as they could have their own bishops; and the territory and parishes of the Villa Vacaricia, which had been given by Count Raymond to the Diocese of Coimbra.
From 1139 Coimbra was the capital of the kingdom of Portugal and a principal beneficiary of the generosity of its kings, until the seat of government was moved to Lisbon in 1260.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Diocese of Coimbra” is diocese of the Catholic Church in Portugal. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Diocese, Coimbra and diocese, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “diocese of the Catholic Church in Portugal” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q959993. VIAF identifies the subject as 136607598. None of the 2 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1472, 1088, 1064 and 1101.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Diocese of Coimbra”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Diocese of Coimbra primary sources, Diocese of Coimbra archive and Diocese research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Diocese of Coimbra”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Diocese of Coimbra” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.