The Diocese of Sicca Veneria was an episcopal see of Africa Proconsularis, and was a suffragan of the bishops of Carthage.[citation needed] The cathedra of the bishopric was in the Roman colonia (highest ranking city) of Colonia Julia Veneria Cirta Nova Iulia.[1][2] The bishopric was founded in early Christianity; it ceased to function sometime after the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb.
It exists today as a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church. The current bishop is Lajos Varga of Hungary.
Remains of the bishopric included ruins at El Kef of a cathedral, baptistry, Christian burials, and numerous Christian inscriptions.[3]
Known bishops
editAntiquity and Early Middle Ages
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- Castus, at the Council of Carthage (255), at which he addressed the meeting[4]
- Patritius mentioned in 349;
- Fortunatianus mentioned in 407, present at the Council of Carthage (411) and spoken of by St. Augustine,[5]
- Urbanus in 418, mentioned in 429 by Augustine,[6]
- Paul towards 480;
- Candidus in 646.[7]
Catholic
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- Gustave Marie Blanche Vicar Apostolic Golfe St-Laurent (Canada) 1905–1916 [8]
- Stanislaw Kostka Łukomski auxiliary bishop of Gniezno and Poznań 1920–1926
- Kazimierz Tomczak Auxiliary Bishop of Łódź 1927–1967
- Joseph Augustin Hagendorens (Zaire) 1968–1976
- Felix Eugenio Mkhori (Malawi) 1977–1979
- Kazimierz Romaniuk 1982–1992
- Lajos Varga (Hungary) since May 27, 2006
References
edit- ^ Sicca Veneria, at New Advent.org.
- ^ Trudy Ring, Middle East and Africa: International Dictionary of Historic Places (Routledge, 2014) p456.
- ^ Sicca Veneria, at New Advent.org.
- ^ The Epistles of S. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage and Martyr (John Henry Parker, 1844) p 294.
- ^ Augustine Retractationes XLI
- ^ Augustine, "Epist." ccxxix
- ^ Sicca Veneria, at New Advent.org.
- ^ Titular Episcopal See of Sicca Veneria at GCatholic.org.