Dura was an Ancient city and bishopric in Roman North Africa, which remains a Latin Catholic
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 archbish ...
.
History
Dura was among the many cities in the
Roman province
The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') 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 rule ...
of
Byzacena
Byzacena (or Byzacium) ( grc, Βυζάκιον, ''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 ...
that became a
suffragan diocese
A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria ...
. Its precise Roman location, in present-day
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
, remains unknown.
Its only historically documented bishop, Quodvultdeus, was among the Catholic bishops attending the
Council of Carthage called in 484 by king
Huneric
Huneric, Hunneric or Honeric (died December 23, 484) was King of the (North African) Vandal Kingdom (477–484) and the oldest son of Gaiseric. He abandoned the imperial politics of his father and concentrated mainly on internal affairs. He was m ...
of the
Vandal Kingdom on the heresy
Donatism
Donatism was a Christian sect leading to a schism in the Church, in the region of the Church of Carthage, from the fourth to the sixth centuries. Donatists argued that Christian clergy must be faultless for their ministry to be effective and t ...
, after which and many of his party were exiled, unlike their schismatic counterparts (none of which is named for Dura).
Titular see
The ancient city has been used as a titular see in the 17th and 19th centuries and regularly from 1933 to the present as the Latin
titular bishopric
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 archbish ...
of Dura (Latin = Curiate Italian) / Duren(sis) (Latin adjective).
['']Annuario Pontificio
The ''Annuario Pontificio'' (Italian for ''Pontifical Yearbook'') is the annual directory of the Holy See of the Catholic Church. It lists the popes in chronological order and all officials of the Holy See's departments. It also provides names ...
'' 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 {{ISBN, 978-88-209-9070-1).
It has been held as a titular see by the following bishops:
* Franciscus Antonius von und zu Losenstein (1690.11.27 – death 1692.06.17) as
Coadjutor Bishop
A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...
of
Olomouc
Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019).
Located on th ...
(Olmütz,
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The me ...
, now a Czech Metropolitan) (1690.11.27 – 1692.06.17)
* Patriarch
Francisco de São Luiz Saraiva,
(O.S.B.) (1824.04.30 – 1843.04.03), in between prelatures; previously
Coadjutor Bishop
A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...
of
Coimbra
Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of .
The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...
(
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
) (1821.04.19 – 1822.04.16), succeeding as Bishop of Coimbra (1822.04.16 – 1824.04.30); later
Latin Patriarch of Lisboa
The Patriarchate of Lisbon ( la, Patriarchatus Olisiponensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or patriarchal archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal.
Its archiepiscopal see is the Patriarchal Cathedra ...
(Lisbon, Portugal) (
840
__NOTOC__
Year 840 ( DCCCXL) was a leap year starting on Thursday in the Julian calendar, the 840th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 840th year of the 1st millennium, the 40th year of the 9th century, and the ...
1843.04.03 – death 1845.05.07), created
Cardinal-Priest
A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...
with no Title assigned (1843.06.19 – 1845.05.07)
* René-Fernand-Bernardin Collin,
Friars Minor
The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachin ...
(O.F.M.) (1949.05.26 – 1958.12.21), first as Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of
Port-Said
Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 6 ...
(
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
) (1949.05.26 – 1952.01.18), then succeeding as Apostolic Vicar of Port-Said (1952.01.18 – 1958.12.21); later Bishop of
Digne
Digne-les-Bains (; Occitan: ''Dinha dei Banhs''), or simply and historically Digne (''Dinha'' in the classical norm or ''Digno'' in the Mistralian norm), is the prefecture of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Cô ...
(France) (1958.12.21 – retired 1980), died 1985
*
Knut Ansgar Nelson
Knut Ansgar Nelson (1 October 1906 – 31 March 1990) was a Danish-born convert to Roman Catholicism who served as bishop of Stockholm from 1957 to 1962.
Life
Nelson was born in 1906 in Frederiksværk, Denmark, but travelled to the United Sta ...
,
English Benedictine Congregation
The English Benedictine Congregation (EBC) unites autonomous Roman Catholic Benedictine communities of monks and nuns and is technically the oldest of the nineteen congregations that are affiliated in the Benedictine Confederation.
History and ...
(E.B.C.- (1962.07.02 – death 1990.03.31) as emeritate; previously
Titular Bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.
By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...
of
Bilta
Bilta also known as Balta or Balţah, is an antique town in northern Tunisia, close to Mateur in today's Bizerte governorate. Its name comes from the Numidian language (Lybico-Berber) root ''BLT,'' meaning, filled with water.
An inscription in t ...
(1947.08.11 – 1957.10.01) as Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
(1947.08.11 – 1953.06.29) and (see) promoted as Coadjutor Bishop of
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
(Sweden) (1953.06.29 – 1957.10.01); later succeeded as Bishop of Stockholm (1957.10.01 – 1962.07.02)
*
Rafal Wladyslaw Kiernicki
Rafal Wladyslaw Kiernicki ( uk, Рафал Владислав Керницький; pl, Rafał Władysław Kiernicki; 3 May 1912 – 23 November 1995) was a Roman Catholic prelate from Ukraine as the Titular Bishop of Dura and Auxiliary bishop o ...
,
Conventual Franciscans
The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) is a male religious fraternity in the Roman Catholic Church that is a branch of the Franciscans. The friars in OFM CONV are also known as Conventual Franciscans, or Minorites.
Dating back to ...
(O.F.M. Conv.) (1991.01.16 – death 1995.11.23) as
Auxiliary Bishop of
Archdiocese of Lviv (
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
) (1991.01.16 – 1995.11.23)
*
Aloysius Paul D'Souza
Aloysius Paul D'Souza ( knn, अलोय्सिउस पौल डी सोझा (Devanagari), ಎಲೋಷಿಯಸ್ ಪಾವ್ಲ್ ಡಿ'ಸೋಜಾ (Kannada); born 21 June 1941) is the former Bishop of the Roman Catholic Dioce ...
(born India) (1996.01.11 – 1996.11.08) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Mangalore
Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...
(India) (1996.01.11 – 1996.11.08); next succeeded as Bishop of Mangalore (1996.11.08 – )
* Anthony Giroux Meagher (later Archbishop) (1997.04.30 – 2002.04.27)
* Rafael Francisco Martínez Sáinz (2002.06.19 – 2016.11.06)
* (2016.12.20 – ): Allwyn D’Silva, Auxiliary Bishop of Bombay (India)
See also
*
List of Catholic dioceses in Tunisia
The Catholic Church in Tunisia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
Dioceses
The Catholic church in Tunisia presently comprises only a single Latin archbishopric, in the national capital T ...
References
Sources and external links
GCatholic
Catholic titular sees in Africa
Former Roman Catholic dioceses in Africa
Suppressed Roman Catholic dioceses