Secundus of Tigisis () was an early church leader and

primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

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 ...

. He was a leading organiser of the early

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 ...

movement in

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 ...

Biography

Personal life

Little is known about Secundus' personal life. He lived in

during the Diocletianic Persecution and was

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of Tigisis. Later in life, Secundus was convicted by a Roman court of being a traditor and a thief, but it is possible that this verdict was motivated by Secundus' support of the

Schism. He is mentioned in the

Notitia Provinciarum et Civitatum Africae The ''Notitia provinciarum et civitatum Africae'' ("Notice of the Provinces and Cities of Africa") is a Byzantine Empire, Byzantine-era document listing the bishops and Episcopal see, sees in the Roman provinces of Roman North Africa, North Africa, ...

Council of Cirta (305)

The Council of Cirta was held in the spring of AD305 to elect a new

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

for the town. The Bishops present included Secundus of Tigisis, Donatus of Mascula, Marinus of Aquae Tibilitanae, Donutus of Calama, Purpurius of Limata, Victor of Garbis, Felix of Rotarium, Nabor of Centurio, Silvanus, and Secundus the younger. All of those present were accused of crimes, including thievery, book burning, and burning incense as an offering to pagan gods. Secundus was elected

of the council, but not without controversy. Secundus was known to be opposed to the consecration of

traditors Traditor, plural: ''traditores'' (Latin), is a term meaning "the one(s) who had handed over" and defined by Merriam-Webster as "one of the Christians giving up to the officers of the law the Scriptures, the sacred vessels, or the names of their b ...

, or bishops who had turned over the Scriptures to the Romans during the Diocletianic Persecution. At the beginning of the meeting, Secundus asked those assembled whether they had been traditors. Nearly all at once confessed that they were guilty. One bishop, Purpurius of Limata, accused Secundus of capitulating during the persecution. Secundus denied this, and Purpurius refused to take back his accusation. Secundus accused Purpurius of murder, which Purpurius admitted but countered with the accusation that Secundus had been a traditor. After a lengthy debate, the Council set aside the issue of traditors and appointed Silvanus, a confessed traditor, as Bishop of Cirta. Following the meeting, Mensurius, the Bishop of Carthage, wrote to Secundus to explain his actions during the persecution, claiming that he had only handed over heretical works. Mensurius explained that he had taken the canonical texts from the church to his own house, and had replaced them with heretical writings. When the authorities came to the Church, Mensurius claimed that he gave them the heretical texts rather than the real ones. Even though the officials asked for more, the

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a Roman consul, consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military ...

of the province had refused to search the Bishop's private home. Secundus responded without directly blaming Mensurius, but he pointedly praised the

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

s in his own province who had been tortured and put to death for refusing to surrender the Scriptures, and mentioned that he himself replied to the officials who asked him for the Scriptures: "I am a Christian and a bishop, not a traditor."

Donatist Controversy

The Bishop of Carthage, Mensurius, died in 311.

Caecilian Caecilians (; ) are a group of limbless, vermiform (worm-shaped) or serpentine (snake-shaped) amphibians with small or sometimes nonexistent eyes. They mostly live hidden in soil or in streambeds, and this cryptic lifestyle renders caecilians ...

, a deacon under Mensurius and a traditor, was appointed as his successor and consecrated by Felix of Aptungi. Secundus was opposed to the election of a traditor as bishop, and presided over the rival Council of 70 that elected Majorinus instead. In 315, Majorinus died and was succeeded by Donatus Magnus, who would serve as Bishop of Carthage for 40 years. Those who supported Donatus rather than Caecilian as Bishop of Carthage soon became known as the Donatists. The Donatists held that both Caecilian and his predecessor, Mensurius, had been traditors and thus the sacraments they administered were invalid. The Donatists appealed to Emperor Constantine, who asked Pope Miltiades to oversee a hearing with three neutral bishops. The Pope held a hearing, but summoned 16 additional Bishops who all opposed the Donatists. Both Cecilian and Donatus appeared with a delegation of 11 each. The decision of the tribunal favored Cecilian, causing Donatus to appeal to the Emperor a second time. Constantine convened the

Synod of Arles Arles (ancient Arelate) in the south of Roman Gaul (modern France) hosted several councils or synods referred to as ''Concilium Arelatense'' in the history of the early Christian church. Council of Arles in 314 The first council of Arles"Arles, S ...

, which also condemned Donatism. Donatus and Secundus refused to recant, and Donatism continued to be popular among

Berbers Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arab migrations to the Maghreb, Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connec ...

in North Africa until the arrival of Islam.

Assessment

Secundus has been described as having intemperate zeal. He certainly believed in Rigorism, or the idea that in times of crisis there is no moral path except that supported by the Church. His intransigence in this belief, as well as the intransigence of Donatus, is often cited as a prime cause of the schism, since neither man would have accepted a more moderate candidate for bishop if he was proposed by Mensurius.''The Contours of Donatism: Theological and Ideological Diversity in Fourth Century North Africa'' (ProQuest, 2008
p56.
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References

{{reflist, 30em 4th-century bishops in Roman North Africa Numidia (Roman provinces) 4th-century births Carthaginians Year of death missing Year of birth unknown Ancient Christians involved in controversies 4th-century writers in Latin Letter writers in Latin Donatists