Thiava, Numidia
Thiava, Numidia was a Punic speaking town of North Africa during the Roman and Vandal empires. It was located near Thagaste to the south of Hippo, in the high valley of the Medjerda,[1] in the Roman province of Numidia. It was noted from 300 - 640AD
Thiava was notable for being almost completely Donatis in its religion.[2] It was the site of a conflict with the Catholic bishop of Carthage, Augustine.
The town became a center of the Donatist controversy when Donatus Magnus visited the town.[3]
The city had been Donatist[4][5] but was returned to the catholic fold by Augustine in the 390s.
The first bishop of the town was Honoratus, a childhood friend of Augustine who had appointed him. Honoratus had been a monk at nearby Thagaste.
In 402, Honoratus died in Thiava. As he had been a monk at both Thagaste and Thiava and his personal assets were large, there arose a dispute between Thiava and Alypius of Thagaste[6] It was becoming custom for monks to give their assets to the order where they became a monk and so Alypius felt the estate should go to his order.[7]
Augustine eventually decided the matter in favor of Thiava[8] but held that in future intestate estate of clergy be decided by the Roman civil law. This was an interesting outcome given his confections to Thagaste.
Roman governorship ended in the 7th century with the spread of Islam.
Known Bishops
The town was a seat of a Bishopric under Hippo.[9]
- Honoratus
- Dermot Patrick O’Mahony (1975.02.13 – 2015.12.10)
- Stephen Stanislaus Woznicki (1968.10.30 – 1968.12.10)[10]
- Eugène-Jean-Marie Polge (later Archbishop) (1965.05.19 – 1968.04.25)
References
- ^ Mark Vessey, A Companion to Augustine (John Wiley & Sons, 2015) p 134.
- ^ Francois Decret, Early Christianity in North Africa(James Clarke & Co, 2011) p122.
- ^ Serge Lancel, Saint Augustine, (Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd, 2002) p314.
- ^ The Ecclesiastical History of M. L'abbe Fleury, from A.D. 400 to A.D. 429 (J.H. Parker, 1843)
- ^ John Henry parker, Ecclesiastical History from A.D. 400 to 456 with Notes, Volume 1 (Oxford, 1843) p166
- ^ Serge Lancel, Saint Augustine, (Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd, 2002) p314.
- ^ The Ecclesiastical History of M. L'abbe Fleury, from A.D. 400 to A.D. 429 (J.H. Parker, 1843)
- ^ David Johnston, The Cambridge Companion to Roman Law (Cambridge University Press, 2015) p111.
- ^ Thiava at Catholic heirachy.
- ^ Titular Episcopal See of thiava at GCatholic.org.