Changra

Changra, or Kanghari (anc. Gangra; called also till the time of Caracalla, Germanicopolis, after the emperor Claudius), the chief town of a sanjak of the same name in the Kastamuni vilayet, Asia Minor, situated in a rich, well-watered valley; altitude 2500 ft. The ground is impregnated with salt, and the town is unhealthy. Pop. (1894) 15,632, of whom 1086 are Christians (Cuinet). Gangra, the capital of the Paphlagonian kingdom of Deiotarus Philadelphus, son of Castor, was taken into the Roman province of Galatia on his death in 6-5 B.C. The earlier town, the name of which signified “she-goat,” was built on the hill behind the modern city, on which are the ruins of a late fortress; while the Roman city occupied the site of the modern. In Christian times Gangra was the metropolitan see of Paphlagonia. In the 4th century the town was the scene of an important ecclesiastical synod.

Synod of Gangra.—Conjectures as to the date of this synod vary from 341 to 376. All that can be affirmed with certainty is that it was held about the middle of the 4th century. The synodal letter states that twenty-one bishops assembled to take action concerning Eustathius (of Sebaste?) and his followers, who contemned marriage, disparaged the offices of the church, held conventicles of their own, wore a peculiar dress, denounced riches, and affected especial sanctity. The synod condemned the Eustathian practices, declaring however, with remarkable moderation, that it was not virginity that was condemned, but the dishonouring of marriage; not poverty, but the disparagement of honest and benevolent wealth; not asceticism, but spiritual pride; not individual piety, but dishonouring the house of God. The twenty canons of Gangra were declared ecumenical by the council of Chalcedon, 451.

See Mansi ii. pp. 1095-1122; Hardouin i. pp. 530-540; Hefele 2nd ed., i. pp. 777 sqq. (English trans. ii. pp. 325 sqq.).

* * *