The diocese of Leptis Magna was an ancient bishopric in Africa with its episcopal see in

Leptis Magna Leptis or Lepcis Magna, also known by #Names, other names in classical antiquity, antiquity, was a prominent city of the Carthaginian Empire and Roman Libya at the mouth of the Wadi Lebda in the Mediterranean. Established as a Punic people, Puni ...

, modern

Al-Khums Al-Khums or Khoms () is a city, port and the de jure capital of the Murqub District on the Mediterranean coast of Libya with an estimated population of around 202,000. The population at the 1984 census was 38,174. Between 1983 and 1995 it was the ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. After the

Muslim conquest of the Maghreb The conquest of the Maghreb by the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates commenced in 647 and concluded in 709, when the Byzantine Empire lost its last remaining strongholds to Caliph Al-Walid I. The North African campaigns were part of the century ...

it was abandoned but reinstated as a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in 1925.

History

Ancient bishopric

Leptis Magna had a bishop from the second century onwards. The first known person known to have served as bishop if a certain Victor who became pope in 189. Bishop Archaeus composed a work on the dating of Easter around the year 200 and bishop Dioga participated at the Synod of 256 in Carthage. The Synod of 484 in Carthage was attended by bishop Callipides of Leptis Magna. After the Byzantine reconquest of Africa from the Vandals, a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

dedicated to the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' ( Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are or (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are "Mother of God" or "God-beare ...

was built in the town and the Nicene creed reintroduced.

Titular See

The diocese was re-established as a titular see by the Catholic Church in the 20th century, first under the name ''Leptis Maior'' and since 1933 as ''Leptis Magna''.

List of ancient bishops

* Victor (later

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

from 189 – 199) * Archaeus (fl. 200 AD) * Dioga (fl. 256) * Callipides (fl. 4XX)

List of titular bishops

* Ludovico Antomelli, O.F.M. (23 Feb 1913 Appointed – 10 Mar 1919 Appointed,

Bishop of Bagnoregio The Diocese of Bagnoregio is a former Catholic territory, located in the modern Province of Viterbo in the Italian region of Lazio, located about northwest of Rome.Bishop of Osimo e Cingoli The Diocese of Osimo e Cingoli was a Roman Catholic diocese in Italy. It was founded in 1725 from a merger of the Diocese of Osimo and the Diocese of Cingoli. In 1986 it merged with the Diocese of Macerata-Tolentino, the Diocese of Recanati an ...

) * Jean Delay (10 Aug 1928 Appointed – 14 Aug 1937 Appointed,

Bishop of Marseille The Archdiocese of Marseille (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Massiliensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Marseille'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France.Hermann Josef Schäufele Hermann or Herrmann may refer to: * Hermann (name), list of people with this name * Arminius, chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe in the 1st century, known as Hermann in the German language * Éditions Hermann, French publisher * Hermann, Mis ...

(11 Apr 1955 Appointed – 14 Jun 1958 Confirmed, Archbishop of Freiburg im Breisgau) * Wilhelm Pluta (4 Jul 1958 Appointed – 28 Jun 1972 Appointed, Bishop of Gorzów) * John Buckley (16 Mar 1984 Appointed – 19 Dec 1997 Appointed,

Bishop of Cork and Ross The Bishop of Cork and Ross is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Cork and the County Cork town of Rosscarbery in the Republic of Ireland. The combined title was first used by the Church of Ireland from 1638 to 1660 and ...

) *

Thomas Yeh Sheng-nan Thomas Yeh Sheng-nan (; born 26 June 1941) is a Taiwanese people, Taiwanese prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and diplomat of the Holy See. Biography Thomas Yeh Sheng-nan was born on 26 June 1941, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and was ordained prie ...

(10 Nov 1998 Appointed – )

References

{{Reflist Catholic titular sees in Africa Catholic Church in Libya