Sicca Veneria (episcopal see)

The Diocese of Sicca Veneria was an episcopal see of Africa Proconsularis, and was a suffragan of the bishops of Carthage.^{[citation needed]} The cathedra of the bishopric was in the Roman colonia (highest ranking city) of Colonia Julia Veneria Cirta Nova Iulia.^[1][2] The bishopric was founded in early Christianity; it ceased to function sometime after the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb.

Ruins of Basilica at El Kef (Sicca Veneria).

It exists today as a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church. The current bishop is Lajos Varga of Hungary.

Remains of the bishopric included ruins at El Kef of a cathedral, baptistry, Christian burials, and numerous Christian inscriptions.^[3]

Known bishops

Antiquity and Early Middle Ages

Map of Roman Africa Proconsularae.

• Castus, at the Council of Carthage (255), at which he addressed the meeting^[4]
• Patritius mentioned in 349;
• Fortunatianus mentioned in 407, present at the Council of Carthage (411) and spoken of by St. Augustine,^[5]
• Urbanus in 418, mentioned in 429 by Augustine,^[6]
• Paul towards 480;
• Candidus in 646.^[7]

Catholic

Kazimierz Tomczak

• Gustave Marie Blanche Vicar Apostolic Golfe St-Laurent (Canada) 1905–1916 ^[8]
• Stanislaw Kostka Łukomski auxiliary bishop of Gniezno and Poznań 1920–1926
• Kazimierz Tomczak Auxiliary Bishop of Łódź 1927–1967
• Joseph Augustin Hagendorens (Zaire) 1968–1976
• Felix Eugenio Mkhori (Malawi) 1977–1979
• Kazimierz Romaniuk 1982–1992
• Lajos Varga (Hungary) since May 27, 2006

References

1. Sicca Veneria, at New Advent.org.
2. Trudy Ring, Middle East and Africa: International Dictionary of Historic Places (Routledge, 2014) p456.
3. Sicca Veneria, at New Advent.org.
4. The Epistles of S. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage and Martyr (John Henry Parker, 1844) p 294.
5. Augustine Retractationes XLI
6. Augustine, "Epist." ccxxix
7. Sicca Veneria, at New Advent.org.
8. Titular Episcopal See of Sicca Veneria at GCatholic.org.