Deogratias of Carthage was a North African Christian prelate who served as

Bishop of Carthage The Archdiocese of Carthage is a Latin Catholic titular see originally established as a diocese in Carthage, Roman Empire, in the 2nd century. Agrippinus was the first named bishop, appointed around 230 AD. The diocese, in its earlier form, ...

from 454 to 457.

Life

The name Deogratias means "thanks be to God." In Africa, it was the salutation used by the Catholics to distinguish themselves from the

Donatists 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 ...

who said: ''Deo laudes'' (St. Augustine, In Ps. cxxxi). Therefore, in Africa Deo Gratias occurs as a Catholic name, e.g. St. Deogratias. He was appointed a bishop, because there was no bishop for 14 years since the last bishop

Quodvultdeus Quodvultdeus (Latin for "what God wills", died 450 AD) was a fifth-century Church Father and Bishop of Carthage who was exiled to Naples. He was known to have been living in Carthage around 407 and became a deacon in 421 AD. He corresponded w ...

and priests had been arrested and banished by

Genseric Gaiseric ( – 25 January 477), also known as Geiseric or Genseric (; reconstructed Vandalic: ) was king of the Vandals and Alans from 428 to 477. He ruled over a kingdom and played a key role in the decline of the Western Roman Empire during ...

, the

Homoian The Acacians (), or perhaps better described as the Homoians (from gr. hómoios) or Homoeans (), were a non-Nicene branch of Christianity that dominated the church during much of the fourth-century Arian Controversy. They declared that the Son ...

king of the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...

, who captured the city 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 ...

in 439. Deogratias sold all the

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

, vessels,

works of art A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

vestment Vestments are Liturgy, liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christianity, Christian religion, especially by Eastern Christianity, Eastern Churches, Catholic Church, Catholics (of all rites), Lutherans, and Anglicans. ...

s and ornaments of the church to buy the slaves back from the vandals and filled two of the largest churches in the city, the Basilica Fausti and the Basilica Novarum, with bedding to provide accommodation and also started a mess to provide daily food to them. He died in 457 at

. After him the seat was empty for many years until Saint Eugenius of Carthage because the Vandals did not allow another bishop for 23 years. His feast is celebrated on 5 January and 22 March. He was buried secretly to avoid chaos as people had gathered in numbers at his funeral to get a

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

of the saint.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deogratias of Carthage Date of birth unknown 457 deaths 5th-century Christian saints African Christian saints 5th-century bishops of Carthage 5th-century people of Roman Africa 5th-century archbishops Saints from the Vandal Kingdom