The Diocese of Thagaste is an ancient Titular See of the Roman Catholic Church. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
The ancient Roman town of Tagaste, corresponding to the city of Souk Ahras in Algeria, was the seat of an ancient episcopal diocese during the Roman and Vandal empires in what was the Roman province of Numidia.
Tagaste is famous for being the birthplace of Augustine, who was a bishop in nearby Hippo (now Annaba), and his mother, Monica. Near Tagaste, Saint Melanie the young founded two monasteries in one of the vast possessions of her property in Roman Africa, where she lived a few years before going to Jerusalem where she died in 439.
The first known bishop of Tagaste is Fermo, who suffered martyrdom in the late 3rd century and is remembered by the Vetus Martyrologium Romanum on 31 July: "Tagaste, in Africa, sancti Firmi Episcopi, confessionis gloria conspicui". St. Augustine mentions it in the work The lie. [6]
The next known bishop is Alypius, a disciple and friend of Augustine, also remembered by Vetus Martyrologium Romanum on August 15.In Alipio Augustin dedicates three chapters of the book VI of his Confessions. [7]
The third known bishop of Tagaste is Gennaro, who participated in the synod gathered in Carthage by the Huneric the Vandal in 484, after which he was exiled.
Today, Tagaste survives as a titular bishop's seat; the current archbishop, personal title, holder is Ivo Scapolo, apostolic nuncio to Portugal.
Hippo Regius is the ancient name of the modern city of Annaba, Algeria. It historically served as an important city for the Phoenicians, Berbers, Romans, and Vandals. Hippo was the capital city of the Vandal Kingdom from 435 to 439 AD. until it was shifted to Carthage following the Vandal capture of Carthage (439).
Saldae was an important port city in the ancient Roman Empire, located at today's Béjaïa. It was generally a crossroads between eastern and western segments of Northern Africa, from the time of Carthage to the end of the Byzantine Empire from the continent.
Thagaste was a Roman-Berber city in present-day Algeria, now called Souk Ahras. The town was the birthplace of Saint Augustine.
Souk Ahras is a municipality in Algeria. It is the capital of Souk Ahras Province. The Numidian city of Thagaste, on whose ruins Souk Ahras was built, was the birthplace of Augustine of Hippo and a center of Berber culture.
Ziama Mansouriah is a town and commune in Jijel Province, Algeria. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 12,642.
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Valerius Pinianus in Jerusalem, was a member of a branch of the gens Valeria and among the richest men of his time. He was the son of a Roman praefectus urbi and also had a brother named Severus. His life is closely coupled with that of his paternal cousin and wife, Melania the Younger, whom he married sometime between 396 and 400. After their arrival in Tagaste, North Africa in 410 and Melanias mother, Augustine, bishop of Hippo, convinced the couple to dedicate a large part of their wealth to his church. In 417, the couple moved to Palestine.
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