Azura was an ancient ''

civitas In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by Roman law, law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilitie ...

'' and bishopric in

Roman North Africa Africa was a Roman province on the northern coast of the continent of Africa. It was established in 146 BC, following the Roman Republic's conquest of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisi ...

. It remains only as Latin Catholic

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 ...

History

Azura was one of many cities of sufficient importance in the Roman(-

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

)

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Numidia Numidia was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunisia and Libya. The polity was originally divided between ...

to become a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

. The town was located near present-day Henchir-Loulou (itself a former Roman city and bishopric,

Rotaria ''Rotaria'' is a genus of asexual, microscopic animal known as a bdelloid rotifer. Analysis published in 2007 of morphology and DNA sequence data of species from the genus confirmed that despite their asexual mechanism of reproduction, two fund ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Bishopric

Azura did not send a representative to the Council of Nicaea nor

Chalcedon Chalcedon (; ; sometimes transliterated as ) was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, Turkey. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the city of Ist ...

. As a

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

, Azura was represented by the Catholic bishop Victor at the

Conference of Carthage (411) The Councils of Carthage were church synods held during the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries in the city of Carthage in Africa. The most important of these are described below. Synod of 251 In May 251 a synod, assembled under the presidency of Cypr ...

, where the Catholics declared the schismatic

Donatist Donatism was a schism from the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Carthage from the fourth to the sixth centuries. Donatists argued that Christian clergy must be faultless for their ministry to be effective and their prayers and sacraments to ...

bishops heretics. Its bishop Leporius was among the Catholic bishops whom the

Arian Arianism (, ) is a Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is considered he ...

king

Huneric Huneric, Hunneric or Honeric (died December 23, 484) was King of the (North African) Vandal Kingdom (477–484) and the oldest son of Gaiseric. He abandoned the imperial politics of his father and concentrated mainly on internal affairs. He was ma ...

of the

Vandal Kingdom The Vandal Kingdom () or Kingdom of the Vandals and Alans () was a confederation of Vandals and Alans, which was a barbarian kingdoms, barbarian kingdom established under Gaiseric, a Vandals, Vandalic warlord. It ruled parts of North Africa and th ...

summoned to Carthage in 484 and was then exiled, like most Catholics.

Titular see

The diocese of Azura was nominally restored in 1933 as Latin

Titular bishopric 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 archbish ...

of Azura (Latin = Curiate Italian) / Azuen(sis) (Latin adjective). It has had the following incumbents, so far of the fitting Episcopal (lowest) rank:Azura
. *

Afonso Maria Ungarelli Afonso is the Portuguese and Galician form of Alphons. Middle Ages Iberian royal families ;Portugal *Afonso I of Portugal (1109–1185) *Afonso II of Portugal (1185–1223) *Afonso III of Portugal (1210–1279) *Afonso IV of Portugal (1291� ...

Sacred Heart Missionaries The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC; ; ) are a missionary congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1854 by Jules Chevalier at Issoudun, France, in the Diocese of Bourges. The motto of the Missionaries of the Sac ...

(M.S.C.) (1948.11.13 – death 1988.05.23) first as

Apostolic Administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

Territorial Prelature of Pinheiro The Roman Catholic Diocese of Pinheiro () is a diocese located in the city of Pinheiro in the ecclesiastical province of São Luís do Maranhão in Brazil. History * 22 July 1939: Established as Territorial Prelature of Pinheiro from the Terr ...

(Brazil; now a diocese) (1940 – 1948.11.13), then as

Bishop-Prelate In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teaching doctrine, governing Catholics in his jurisdiction, sanctifying the world and representing the c ...

of Pinheiro (1948.11.13 – 1975.03.01), as Apostolic Administrator of

Territorial Prelature of Cândido Mendes A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

(now Diocese of Zé Doca, Brazil) (1963 – 1965.12.20) and finally as emeritate *

Edward Dajczak Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

(1989.12.15 – 2007.06.23) as

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of Diocese of Zielona Góra–Gorzów (Poland) (1989.12.15 – 2007.06.23); next Bishop of Koszalin–Kołobrzeg (Poland) (2007.06.23 – ...) * António José da Rocha Couto, S.M.P. (2007.07.06 – 2011.11.19) as Auxiliary Bishop of

Archdiocese of Braga The Archdiocese of Braga () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Portugal. It is known for its use of the Rite of Braga, a use of the liturgy distinct from the Roman Rite and other Latin liturgica ...

(Portugal) (2007.07.06 – 2011.11.19); previously

Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of an 'order' of religious persons (nuns, priests, friars, etc) or, in other words, of a 'religious institute' in the Catholic Church, and in some other Christian denominations. The super ...

of Portuguese Missionary Society (S.M.P.) (2002.07.29 – 2007.07.06); later Bishop of

Lamego Lamego (; ) is a city and municipality in the Viseu District, in the Norte Region, Portugal, Norte Region of the Douro Subregion, Douro in northern Portugal. Located on the shores of the Balsemão River, the municipality has a population of 26,691 ...

(Portugal) (2011.11.19 – ...) :BIOS TO ELABORATE * Titular Bishop Gaétan Proulx,

Servites The Servite Order, officially known as the Order of Servants of Mary (; abbreviation: OSM), is one of the five original mendicant orders in the Roman Catholic Church. It includes several branches of friars (priests and brothers), contemplative nun ...

(O.S.M.) (2011.12.12 – 2016.07.02) * Titular Bishop is Mexican-born Jorge Humberto Rodríguez-Novelo, of

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

References

Sources and external links

Gcatholic
{{Subject bar , portal1= Catholicism Catholic titular sees in Africa

History

Bishopric

Titular see

See also

References

Sources and external links