The Catholic Diocese of Sufetula was an ancient bishopric in the city of Sufetula, on the site 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 ...

Sbeitla Sbeitla ( ') is a small town in west-central Tunisia. Nearby are the Roman Empire, Roman Archaeological site of Sbeitla, ruins of Sufetula, containing the best preserved Roman forum temples in the country. It was the entry point of the Muslim conqu ...

, 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 ...

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 ...

Background

Peutinger Table. Sufetula, also known as Speitla and Sbeitla, is an archaeological site in

with well-preserved ruins from the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. Roman era Sufetula was a

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 ...

(town) and border post on the limes Africana in the

Roman province of 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 ...

during the

. The town was flourishing by 79 AD and lasted until 647, when the town was sacked by

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

–

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 ...

raiders.

Ancient Bishopric

Sufetula was also the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

of an ancient Christian

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 ...

. The bishopric was founded during the

and survived through 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 ...

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 ...

and

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

, only ceasing to function with the

Muslim conquest of the Maghreb The conquest of the Maghreb by the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates commenced in 647 and concluded in 709, when the Byzantine Empire lost its last remaining strongholds to Caliph Al-Walid I. The North African campaigns were part of the century ...

Ancient churches

Ruins of Sufetula show that the town had at least six churches. *The church of Bellator *The chapel of Jucundus *The

Basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

of Vitalis *The church of Servus *The Basilica of Saints

Gervasius and Protasius Gervasius and Protasius (also Gervase and Protase, Gervasis and Prothasis and in French ''Gervais and Protais'') are venerated as Christian martyrs, probably of the 2nd century. They are the patron saints of Milan and of haymakers and are invok ...

and

Tryphon of Campsada Saint Tryphon of Campsada (; also spelled ''Trypho'', ''Trifon'', ''Triphon'') was a 3rd-century Christian saint. He is venerated by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches as a great martyr and holy unmercenary. Saint Tryphon was form ...

*a sixth-century Basilica *The chapel of Bishop Honorius, outside the city. *Byzantine Chapel, largely unexcavated Among these, several appear to have been

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

. The so-called Church of Servus is believed to have been the Donatist

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

of Sufetula, while the church of Bellator was the Catholic, and later Orthodox, cathedral. The Basilica of Vitalis may have been the Arian Cathedral and dates from the 5th century. The remains at Sufetula are important as they indicate that the various sects within Christianity built and kept their places of worship, not being taken over by successive regimes.

Known bishops

*Privatianus *Jucundus (Catholic) *Titianus (

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 ...

, ) *Amicacius (Catholic) early 5th century *Bellator (Catholic) early 5th century, built church that bears his name; an associate of Jucundus. *Paesidius (

) before 484, was sent into exile by King Huneric before the general purge of bishops *Honorius (6th century) associated with the siege of SufetulaJ. Patout Burns, Robin M. Jensen, ''Christianity in Roman Africa: The Development of Its Practices and Beliefs'' (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 30 Nov. 2014) p.155.

Titular see

The diocese was nominally revived as a

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 ...

of the lowest (episcopal) rank in 1914. It has had the following incumbents, mostly missionary members of congregations: * João Irineu Joffily (1914.08.18 – 1916.05.04), later Archbishop * Flaminio Belotti ( zh, s=包海容, hp=Bao Hairong),

Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions The Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions or PIME (; ) is a society of secular priests and lay people who dedicate their lives to missionary activities in: Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Hong Kong, Ind ...

(P.I.M.E.; 14 June 1917 – 23 November 1945) * Louis Joseph Cabana,

White Fathers The White Fathers (), officially known as the Missionaries of Africa (), and abbreviated MAfr, are a Roman Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right (for men). They were founded in 1868 by Charles-Martial Allemand-Lavigerie, who w ...

(M. Afr.) (1947.01.09 – 1953.03.25) (later Archbishop) * Joseph-Marie-Eugène Bretault, M. Afr. (1954.06.27 – 1955.09.14) *

Arnold Boghaert Arnold Boghaert (21 October 1920 – 29 November 1993) was a Belgian clergyman and 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. ...

Redemptorists The Redemptorists, officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (), abbreviated CSsR, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brothers). It was founded by Alphonsus Liguori at Scala ...

(C.SS.R.) (1956.11.09 – 1957.06.04) * Camille Vandekerckhove,

Lazarists The Congregation of the Mission (), abbreviated CM and commonly called the Vincentians or Lazarists, is a Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men founded by Vincent de Paul. It is associated with the Vincentian Family, ...

(C.M.) (1957.12.24 – 1959.11.10) * Thomas Patrick Collins, Maryknoll Fathers (M.M.) (1960.11.15 – 1973.12.07)

Source and external links

GigaCatholic, with incumbent biography links

References

{{Authority control Catholic titular sees in Africa Roman sites in Tunisia