Baia was an ancient city and bishopric in the
Roman province
The Roman provinces (, pl. ) 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 ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...
of
Africa Proconsulare. It is now a
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
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 archbi ...
.
History
Baia, identified with modern Henchir-Settara or Henchir-El-Hammam in present-day
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
, was among the many towns in the
Roman province
The Roman provinces (, pl. ) 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 ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...
of
Numidia
Numidia was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunisia and Libya. The polity was originally divided between ...
that were significant enough to become 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 Alexandr ...
under papal authority.
Five of its Catholic bishops are historically recorded:
* Felix, who participated in a synod called by Bishop Gratus of
Carthage
Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, 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 classic ...
in 349
* Beianus, who supported Maximianus of Carthage against the
Donatist
Donatism was a schism from the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Carthage from the fourth to the sixth centuries. Donatists argued that Christian clergy must be faultless for their ministry to be effective and their prayers and sacraments to ...
heresy in 394
* Valentinus, who attended the Council of Carthage in 411 as a Catholic bishop, convened by the (Western)
Roman Emperor Honorius
Honorius (; 9 September 384 – 15 August 423) was Roman emperor from 393 to 423. He was the younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla. After the death of Theodosius in 395, Honorius, under the regency of Stilicho ...
, and also his Donatist counterpart Quintasius, on the same heresy
* Valentinus, who participated as
Primate
Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...
of Numidia in the synod of Carthage in 419, addressing the issue of appeals to Rome
* Asclepius, an author writing against
Arianism
Arianism (, ) is a Christology, Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is co ...
and Donatism in the mid-fifth century
[Gennadio di Marsiglia, ''De viris illustribus'', chapter 73. Mesnage held him bishop of ]Vaga
VAGA is an artists collective dedicated to improving mental health and fighting cognitive decline through art therapy. The organisation brings together artists, clinicians and academic psychologists to foster research collaboration and the develo ...
, also in Numidia, but presently Tunisian.
Titular see
The diocese was nominally restored in 1933 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 Baia (Latin: Baianen(sis)).
It has had the following incumbents, all of whom held the Episcopal (lowest) rank:
* Miguel Alviter,
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...
(O.P.) (4 April 1502 – ?), served as
Auxiliary Bishop
An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions.
...
of the
Diocese of Plasencia (Spain) from 4 April 1502.
* Anthony Victor Hälg,
Benedictine Order
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...
(O.S.B.) (born in Switzerland) (13 January 1949 – 29 November 1975), served first as
Coadjutor Abbot of the
Territorial Abbacy of Ndanda (Tanzania) from 13 January 1949 to 15 December 1949, then as
Abbot Ordinary of Ndanda from 15 December 1949 until his retirement in 1972, after which he was emeritus.
* László Tóth (2 April 1976 – 6 July 1997) served as Auxiliary Bishop of the
Diocese of Veszprém (Hungary) from 2 April 1976 to 5 June 1987 and was emeritus thereafter.
* Adriano Langa,
Friars Minor
The Order of Friars Minor (commonly 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 t ...
(O.F.M.) (24 October 1997 – 1 April 2005) served as Auxiliary Bishop of the
Archdiocese of Maputo (Mozambique) from 24 October 1997 to 1 April 2005, then as
Coadjutor Bishop
A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese.
The coa ...
of the
Diocese of Inhambane (Mozambique) from 1 April 2005 to 7 September 2006, succeeding as Bishop of Inhambane from 7 September 2006.
* Denis James Madden (10 May 2005 – present) served first as Auxiliary Bishop of the
Archdiocese of Baltimore (Maryland, USA) from 10 May 2005 to 5 December 2016, and is currently emeritus.
See also
*
List of Catholic dioceses in Algeria
References
Sources and external links
GCatholic ; Bibliography
* Pius Bonifacius Gams, ''Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae'', Leipzig 1931, p. 464
* Stefano Antonio Morcelli, ''Africa christiana'', Volume I, Brescia 1816, p. 94
* Auguste Audollent, lemma 'Baiensis' in ''Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques'', vol. VI, 1932, coll. 240-241
* Joseph Mesnage, ''L'Afrique chrétienne'', Paris 1912, p. 369
* Mansi, ''Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio'', volumes III & IV, passim
*
* {{Cite journal , last=Laporte , first=Jean-Pierre , date=September 2006 , title=Henchir el-Hammam (antique ''Aquae Flavianae'') , url=https://www.academia.edu/30387502 , journal=AOURAS , language=fr , volume=3
Catholic titular sees in Africa
Suppressed Roman Catholic dioceses