Nationa was an ancient city and 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 ...
, which only 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
Nationa, in present
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 ...
, was among the many cities 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 ...
, in the papal sway, which became
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 ...
s of
Carthage
Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...
but faded so completely, plausibly at the
7th century advent of Islam, that no exact site was even identified.
Two of its bishops are historically documented :
*'' Faustinus,
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 ...
schismatic without Catholic counterpart at the
Council of Carthage in 411, called to discuss the very heresy Donatism with its episcopate and the prevailing Catholics
* Pirasius intervened at the
Council of Carthage called in 484 by 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 ...
, after which he was exiled like most Catholic bishops.
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 Nationa (Latin) / Naziona (Curiate Italian) / Nationen(sis) (Latin adjective).
It has had the following incumbents, so far of the fitting episcopal (lowest) rank:
*
Alfred Michael Watson (1965.05.17 – 1969.03.17) 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 Erie (USA) (1965.05.17 – 1969.03.17); next succeeded as Bishop of Erie (1969.03.17 – retired 1982.07.16), died 1990.
*
Francisco F. Claver, (
S.J.) (1969.06.18 – 1982.11.15) as last
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 the then
Territorial Prelature of Malaybalay
The Diocese of Malaybalay (Lat: ''Dioecesis Malaibalaiensis'') is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Philippines.
Diocesan history
The diocese was erected on April 25, 1969, as the Territorial Prelature of Malaybalay. O ...
(1969.06.18 – 1982.11.15); next (see) promoted as first Bishop of Malaybalay (1982.11.15 – 1984.09.14),
Apostolic Vicar
Apostolic may refer to:
The Apostles
An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission:
*The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles
*Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...
of
Bontoc-Lagawe (Philippines) (1995.11.02 – retired 2004.04.15), died 2010
*
Anthony Frederick Tonnos (1983.05.13 – 1984.05.02) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton (Canada) (1983.05.13 – 1984.05.02); next succeeded as Bishop of Hamilton (Canada) (1984.05.02 – 2010.09.24)
* Matthew Francis Ustrzycki (1985.05.10 – ...), as Auxiliary Bishop of above Hamilton (Canada) (1985.05.10 – retired 2007.06.01)
GCatholic
and on emeritate.
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
{{reflist
Catholic titular sees in Africa
Former Roman Catholic dioceses in Africa
Suppressed Roman Catholic dioceses