Mutia was an Ancient city and former bishopric in
Roman Africa
Roman Africa or Roman North Africa is the culture of Roman Africans that developed from 146 BC, when the Roman Republic defeated Carthage and the Punic Wars ended, with subsequent institution of Roman Empire, Roman Imperial government, through th ...
and remains a 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
Mutia was located at present Henchir-El-Gheria, Henchir-Furna, in the
Sahel
The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...
zone of modern
Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
.
It was among the towns in the
Roman province
The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...
of
Byzacena
Byzacena (or Byzacium) (, ''Byzakion'') was a Late Roman province in the central part of Roman North Africa, which is now roughly Tunisia, split off from Africa Proconsularis.
History
At the end of the 3rd century AD, the Roman emperor Dioclet ...
important enough to become a
suffragan diocese
A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandr ...
in the papal sway, yet destined to fade (under the
7th century
The 7th century is the period from 601 through 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era.
The spread of Islam and the Muslim conquests began with the unification of Arabia by the Islamic prophet Muhammad starting in 622 ...
advent of Islam?).
Its only historically documented bishop was Latinus,
[J. Mesnage, L'Afrique chrétienne, (]Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
1912), p. 71 participant at the
Council of Cabarsussi
Cabarsussi was an ancient civitas (municipality) and bishopric in the Roman province of Byzacena (Roman North Africa), that is tentatively identifiable with ruins at Drâa-Bellouan in modern Tunisia. The current bishop is Terence Robert Curtin, a ...
, called in 393 by the dissident
Maximianist sect of the
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 ...
heresy, and confirmed the synodal acts, with thanks to
Saint Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman province), Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced th ...
.
Titular see
The diocese 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 Mutia (Latin) / Muzia (Curiate Italian) / Mutien(sis) (Latin adjective).
It has had the following incumbents, so far of the fitting Episcopal (lowest) rank :
* José Guerra Campos (1964.06.15 – 1973.04.13) 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
Archdiocese of Madrid
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Madrid () is a Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Spain. It is one of Spain's fourteen metropolitan archbishoprics. Since 12 June 2023 the archbishop of Madrid has been José Cobo Cano.
Although Madrid ha ...
(
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
) (1964.06.15 – 1973.04.13), Secretary General of Episcopal Conference of Spain (1966 – 1972); later Bishop of
Cuenca
Cuenca may refer to:
People
* Cuenca (surname)
Places
Ecuador
* Cuenca Canton, in the Azuay Province
** Cuenca, Ecuador, capital of Cuenca Canton and Azuay Province
** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cuenca
Peru
* Cuenca District, Huarochirí ...
(Spain) (1973.04.13 – retired 1996.06.26), died 1997
* Rafael Bellido Caro (1973.11.29 – 1980.03.03) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Archdiocese of Sevilla
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Seville () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Seville, Spain. The Diocese of Seville was founded in the 3rd century. It was raised to the level of an archdiocese in the 4th century. The curren ...
(Spain) (1973.11.29 – 1980.03.03); later Bishop of
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera () or simply Jerez, also cited in old English-language sources as , is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Sp ...
(Spain) (1980.03.03 – retired 2000.06.29), died 2204
* Alfredo Noriega Arce,
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
(S.J.) (1980.04.26 – death 1993.06.26) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Archdiocese of Lima
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lima () is part of the Catholic Church in Peru which enjoys full communion with the Holy See. The Archdiocese was founded as the ''Diocese of Lima'' on 14 May 1541. The diocese was raised to the level of a metr ...
(
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
) (1980.04.26 – 1993.06.26)
* Jésus Rocha (1993.12.01 – 2004.10.20) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Archdiocese of Brasília (
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
) (1993.12.01 – 2004.10.20); later Bishop of
Oliveira (Brazil) (2004.10.20 – 2006.07.13)
* Edson de Castro Homem (2005.02.16 – 2015.05.06) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Archdiocese of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro
In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, prov ...
(Brazil) (2005.02.16 – 2015.05.06); later Bishop of
Iguatu
Iguatu is a city in Ceará, a Brazilian State, with a population of 103,074 (2020 est.). Edinaldo Lavor is the city's mayor.
History
A village of Quixelôs Indians existed at this site before the arrival of the Portuguese. In 1707 the Society o ...
(Brazil) (2015.05.06 – ...)
* John Moon Hee-jong (2015.07.23 – ...), Auxiliary Bishop of
Diocese of Suwon 수원 (
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
) (2015.07.23 – ...).
Today, Muzia survives as a titular bishop's residence; the current titular bishop is John Moon Hee Jong, auxiliary bishop of Suwon
See also
*
List of Catholic dioceses in Tunisia
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
Sources and external links
* J. Mesnage, ''L'Afrique chrétienne'', Paris 1912, p. 71
References
{{Reflist
Catholic titular sees in Africa
Former Roman Catholic dioceses in Africa
Suppressed Roman Catholic dioceses