AR Medal 1705 - Petrus Codde Archbishop of Sebastia / Armenia

ANRO-1226

Silver medal dated 1705 on the return from Rome of the titular Archbishop of Sebastia/Armenia Peter Kodde (1648 - 1710) to Utrecht, forced by the Dutch States-General.

Obv.: Bust of the returned bishop and the legend
PETRUS CODDAEUS ARCHIEPISC[OPUS] SEBASTENUS
Translation: Petrus Codde, Archbishop of Sebastia.

Rev.: Dutch lion and a lamb resting with its legs on a book inscribed
RESP[ONSIONES] = JUSTIFICATIONS
Referring to the justifications he provided to the pope whose Court can be seen in the background; above a cloud from which descend lightning bolts without harming the lamb;
and the legend
INSONTEM FRUSTRA FERIRE PARAT; in the exergue MDCCV = 1705.
Translation: It prepares to strike in vain an innocent person

Image British Museum #1296580001
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrus_Codde
http://www.gcatholic.org/hierarchy/data/bishops-CO.htm#18566
Medallic History of the Low Countries, Gerard Van Loon, Vol. IV: 1691-1716, pp 267-268

Petrus Codde was a Dutch Roman Catholic bishop and theologian who served as the Archbishop of Utrecht from 1688 to 1702. He is not directly related to Armenia, but he held the titular see of Sebastia in Armenia as a part of his role as a bishop.

In the Catholic Church, a titular see is a diocese that no longer exists as a functioning diocese in its original location, but is still recognized by the Church as a historical diocese. These sees are often given to bishops as a title, but they do not have any jurisdiction over the area where the diocese was originally located.

Sebastia was a diocese in Armenia that was established in the early Christian period, and it was later occupied by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. The see of Sebastia was moved to various locations over time, and in the 17th century, it was transferred to the Catholic Church as a titular see. Petrus Codde was appointed as the titular Archbishop of Sebastia in 1688 as part of his role as a bishop in the Catholic Church.