Secundus of Tigisis () was an early church leader and

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

Numidia Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunis ...

. He was a leading organiser of the early

Donatist 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 ...

movement in

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

Biography

Personal life

Little is known about Secundus' personal life. He lived in

during the

Diocletianic Persecution The Diocletianic or Great Persecution was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. In 303, the emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rights ...

and was

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of Tigisis. Later in life, Secundus was convicted by a Roman court of being a

traditor Traditor, plural: ''traditores'' (Latin), is a term meaning "the one(s) who had handed over" and defined by Merriam-Webster as "one of the Christians giving up to the officers of the law the Scriptures, the sacred vessels, or the names of their br ...

and a thief, but it is possible that this verdict was motivated by Secundus' support of the

Schism. He is mentioned in the Notitia Provinciarum et Civitatum Africae.

Council of Cirta (305)

The Council of Cirta was held in the spring of AD305 to elect a new

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

for the town. The Bishops present included Secundus of Tigisis, Donatus of Mascula, Marinus of Aquae Tibilitanae, Donutus of Calama, Purpurius of

Limata Limata was a Roman era city of Byzacena, in Roman North Africa.Joseph Bingham, ''Origines Ecclesiasticae'' Volume 3 (Straker, 1843p236 It was home to the Bishop, Purpurius, one of the founders of Donatist Donatism was a Christian sect leading ...

, Victor of Garbis, Felix of Rotarium,

Nabor of Centurio Secundus of Tigisis () was an early church leader and primate of Numidia. He was a leading organiser of the early Donatist movement in Carthage. Biography Personal life Little is known about Secundus' personal life. He lived in Numidia during the ...

, Silvanus, and Secundus the younger. All of those present were accused of crimes, including thievery, book burning, and burning incense as an offering to pagan gods. Secundus was elected

of the council, but not without controversy. Secundus was known to be opposed to the consecration of

traditors Traditor, plural: ''traditores'' (Latin), is a term meaning "the one(s) who had handed over" and defined by Merriam-Webster as "one of the Christians giving up to the officers of the law the Scriptures, the sacred vessels, or the names of their br ...

, or bishops who had turned over the Scriptures to the Romans during the

. At the beginning of the meeting, Secundus asked those assembled whether they had been traditors. Nearly all at once confessed that they were guilty. One bishop, Purpurius of

, accused Secundus of capitulating during the persecution. Secundus denied this, and Purpurius refused to take back his accusation. Secundus accused Purpurius of murder, which Purpurius admitted but countered with the accusation that Secundus had been a traditor. After a lengthy debate, the Council set aside the issue of traditors and appointed Silvanus, a confessed traditor, as Bishop of Cirta. Following the meeting,

Mensurius Mensurius was a bishop of Carthage in the early 4th century during the early Christian Church. During the Christian persecution of Diocletian he evaded turning over sacred scriptures to the Roman authorities, but was nevertheless considered a ...

, the Bishop of Carthage, wrote to Secundus to explain his actions during the persecution, claiming that he had only handed over heretical works. Mensurius explained that he had taken the

canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical example ...

texts from the church to his own house, and had replaced them with heretical writings. When the authorities came to the Church, Mensurius claimed that he gave them the heretical texts rather than the real ones. Even though the officials asked for more, the

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

of the province had refused to search the Bishop's private home. Secundus responded without directly blaming Mensurius, but he pointedly praised the

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

s in his own province who had been tortured and put to death for refusing to surrender the Scriptures, and mentioned that he himself replied to the officials who asked him for the Scriptures: "I am a Christian and a bishop, not a traditor."

Donatist Controversy

The Bishop of Carthage,

, died in 311.

Caecilian Caecilians (; ) are a group of limbless, vermiform or serpentine amphibians. They mostly live hidden in the ground and in stream substrates, making them the least familiar order of amphibians. Caecilians are mostly distributed in the tropics of ...

, a deacon under Mensurius and a

, was appointed as his successor and consecrated by

Felix of Aptungi Felix, Bishop of Aptunga, in proconsular Africa was a 4th-century churchman, at the center of the Donatist controversy. Felix was one of those who laid hands on Caecilian as Bishop of Carthage in 311AD. This act led to a major schism in Early N ...

. Secundus was opposed to the election of a traditor as bishop, and presided over the rival Council of 70 that elected Majorinus instead. In 315, Majorinus died and was succeeded by

Donatus Magnus Donatus Magnus, also known as Donatus of Casae Nigrae, became leader of a schismatic sect known as the Donatists in North Africa, Algeria. He is believed to have died in exile around 355. Life Little is known of his early life because of the com ...

, who would serve as Bishop of Carthage for 40 years. Those who supported Donatus rather than Caecilian as Bishop of Carthage soon became known as the Donatists. The Donatists held that both Caecilian and his predecessor, Mensurius, had been traditors and thus the sacraments they administered were invalid. The Donatists appealed to Emperor

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

, who asked

Pope Miltiades Pope Miltiades ( grc-gre, Μιλτιάδης, ''Miltiádēs''), also known as Melchiades the African ( ''Melkhiádēs ho Aphrikanós''), was the bishop of Rome from 311 to his death on 10 or 11 January 314. It was during his pontificate that Emp ...

to oversee a hearing with three neutral bishops. The Pope held a hearing, but summoned 16 additional Bishops who all opposed the Donatists. Both Cecilian and Donatus appeared with a delegation of 11 each. The decision of the tribunal favored Cecilian, causing Donatus to appeal to the Emperor a second time. Constantine convened the

Synod of Arles Arles (ancient Arelate) in the south of Roman Gaul (modern France) hosted several councils or synods referred to as ''Concilium Arelatense'' in the history of the early Christian church. Council of Arles in 314 The first council of Arles"Arles, S ...

, which also condemned Donatism. Donatus and Secundus refused to recant, and Donatism continued to be popular among

Berbers , image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 ...

in North Africa until the arrival of Islam.

Assessment

Secundus has been described as having intemperate zeal. He certainly believed in Rigorism, or the idea that in times of crisis there is no moral path except that supported by the Church. His intransigence in this belief, as well as the intransigence of Donatus, is often cited as a prime cause of the schism, since neither man would have accepted a more moderate candidate for bishop if he was proposed by Mensurius.''The Contours of Donatism: Theological and Ideological Diversity in Fourth Century North Africa'' (ProQuest, 2008
p56.
/ref>

References

{{reflist, 30em 4th-century bishops in Roman North Africa Numidia (Roman provinces) 4th-century births Carthaginians Year of death missing Year of birth unknown Ancient Christians involved in controversies 4th-century Latin writers Latin letter writers Donatists