Gigthi was a town in the late

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 ...

Tripolitania Tripolitania ( ar, طرابلس '; ber, Ṭrables, script=Latn; from Vulgar Latin: , from la, Regio Tripolitana, from grc-gre, Τριπολιτάνια), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province o ...

, which became a residential episcopal see. It corresponded to present-day Djorf-Bou-Ghara.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 {{ISBN, 978-88-209-9070-1), p. 902 Githis Forum Gigthi is today identified as extensive ruins near Rass el Bacha,

Boughrara Boughrara ( aeb, بوغرارة) is a coastal town in central-eastern Tunisia. It is located at around . During the Roman occupation of North Africa, Boughrara was known as Gigthis. File:Golfboughrara.jpg, Golf of Boughrara File:Port boughrara ...

and Oulad Mehabeul.(Latitude: 33°31'59.98" Longitude:10°40'0.01") Gigthi was close to Wādī Bertema and Port de Boughrara. The town was 10 meters above sea level Gigthi identified with Bou Ghara, was connected by a causeway to

Djerba Djerba (; ar, جربة, Jirba, ; it, Meninge, Girba), also transliterated as Jerba or Jarbah, is a Tunisian island and the largest island of North Africa at , in the Gulf of Gabès, off the coast of Tunisia. It had a population of 139,544 ...

island and the home of the pre

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Lotus-eaters In Greek mythology, the lotus-eaters ( grc-gre, λωτοφάγοι, lōtophágoi) were a race of people living on an island dominated by the lotus tree, a plant whose botanical identity is uncertain. The lotus fruits and flowers were the primary ...

''. The town has remains of a forum with

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

a monumental arch, treasury and porticoed street leading to the harbor north of the city, which was probably a market. It also boasted two

bath house Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

s. The town was a prosperous source of grain from the rule of Nerva to Caracalla, and

Antoninus Pius Antoninus Pius ( Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatori ...

made the town a

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the priv ...

. Inscriptions from the ruins show the survival of the

Punic language The Punic language, also called Phoenicio-Punic or Carthaginian, is an extinct variety of the Phoenician language, a Canaanite language of the Northwest Semitic branch of the Semitic languages. An offshoot of the Phoenician language of coastal W ...

well into Roman times, and strong sense of civic pride in the citizens. File:Temple de Mercure 11 2.jpg, Temple of Mercure File:Temple d’Esculape à Boughrara 05.jpg, Temple of Asclepius File:Grand temple.jpg, The Grand Temple File:Port boughrara.jpg, Port boughrara. File:Gigthis.1.jpg, Githis in 1975.

Bishopric

Gighthi was also the seat of an ancient

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 ...

, which ceased to function effectively in the 7th century with the arrival of Islamic armies. Gighthi is now 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 archbis ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, being restored as a titular in 1933. The Latin adjective referring to it is ''Gigthensis''. We know of Bishop Catulinus, a Catholic bishop who attended the

Council of Carthage (411) The Councils of Carthage were church synods held during the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries in the city of Carthage in Africa. The most important of these are described below. Synod of 251 In May 251 a synod, assembled under the presidency of Cyprian ...

. The first

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 ...

of the see was appointed on 23 March 1966.Information on the diocese
/ref> The current bishop is Mark O'Connell.

References

Catholic titular sees in Africa