CARTAGINE, ARCIDIOCESI DI

CARTHAGE, ARCHDIOCESE OF. - I. HISTORY. The origins of the Church of Carthage, like those of the African Church in general, are still obscure: the hypothesis of a direct apostolic preaching finds no support in the oldest testimonies of the African writers themselves, such as Tertullian and St Augustine; they insist rather on the relations between the African Church and that of Rome, while not denying that the first news of the new faith could have reached Africa and particularly Carthage either from Alexandria or from the ports of Syria and Asia Minor. It seems that the regular preaching of the Gospel and the foundation of the Church were most likely the work of ministers sent or come from Rome: hence the bond of dependence and devotion that bound Carthage and Africa to the Roman See, and the characteristically Latin imprint that African Christianity always bore.

When Carthage had its first bishop is not known: the first certain one is Agrippinus, who lived between the end of the 2nd century and the beginning of the 3rd, but it does not seem credible that before him the Church of Carthage did not have its own hierarchy, when one considers that by 181 Africa already had its first known martyrs (those of Scilli), not from a city, but from a modest village in the interior, and that even before the end of the same century, at the time of the African pope Victor, a bishop is recorded at Leptis Magna, an important city, but much smaller than Carthage. If therefore in this period the Church of Carthage enters history with a complete organization in every part, in its hierarchy and in the composition of the various categories of the faithful (confessors, widows, virgins), it must be admitted that it had a previous period of life, the events of which remain for now unknown. Moreover, Agrippinus, by the very position that Carthage held with respect to all the other African provinces, appears already to enjoy a certain primacy over the bishops of proconsular Africa and Numidia: indeed he convened a synod in Carthage, the date of which is unknown, to discuss the question of the baptism of heretics. Other councils later than this seem to be alluded to in some passages of Tertullian and St Cyprian: but nothing precise can be said about them.

To Donatus (236-48), who had Privatus of Lambesis condemned by a synod of 90 bishops, succeeded St Cyprian (248-58) (q.v.), who played a notable part in the question of the lapsi (q.v.) and asserted episcopal authority against the schism of Novatus and Felicissimus. Against Novatian he sided with Pope Cornelius, but came into conflict with Pope Stephen over the question of the baptism of heretics, in which Cyprian, according to the practice of the African Church, adhered to a principle opposed to that of the Roman Church. Two, or according to some three, councils, in 255 and 256, supported and confirmed Cyprian's thesis; lively letters were exchanged with Rome, but no breach of mutual communion resulted. The new persecution ordered by Valerian in 257 caused the conflict to recede into the background; and the relations between Rome and Carthage, both struck at their heads, Pope Stephen and Cyprian, martyred in September 258, returned to their former cordiality.

From this time the bishop of Carthage was the recognized head of the bishops of proconsular Africa and Tripolitania; but even the bishops of nearby Numidia and of more distant Mauretania acknowledged the supremacy of Carthage in matters concerning all North Africa and relations with the other neighbouring countries.

Of the second half of the 3rd century the names of two bishops, Lucian and Carpophorus, are known, but neither their succession nor whether they were the only ones to occupy the see of Carthage in this period can be established:

On another occasion, the prudent and moderate conduct of the bishop provoked the protest and opposition of the more hot-headed elements of African Christianity, so prone, by the very nature of the population, to intolerance, and gave rise to the Donatist schism, which, for more than a century, drawing into itself causes of a social, economic, and political order, divided and afflicted the African Church. The schism broke out only after the death of Mensurius (311), when, to his successor Ceciliano, the opposing party opposed another bishop in the person of Majorinus; upon his death, probably at the end of 315, he was succeeded by Donatus, called the Great.

The struggle was intensified also by the intervention of imperial authority, which convened councils at Rome and Arles for the condemnation of the Donatists.

The legitimate bishop was unanimously recognized at Rome and outside Africa: Ceciliano alone among all the African bishops attended the Council of Nicaea (325), and his successors, Rufus at a Roman council against the Arians ca. 340, Gratus at that of Sardica (343), Restitutus at that of Rimini (359). In 349 the emperor Constantius sent to C. two officials, Macarius and Paulus, to attempt a reconciliation of the parties, but their mission failed and bloody conflicts ensued; Gratus convened a council, hoping to bring his adversaries to better counsel, but in vain, for upon the death of Donatus in exile (between 350 and 355), he was succeeded by Parmenian, who wrote much against the Catholics. The period from 390 to 411 is marked by an almost uninterrupted series of councils, normally convened at C. by the bishop Aurelius, to put an end to the schism.

The struggle was embodied on the Catholic side in St. Augustine, still a simple priest at the Council of Hippo (393), then bishop, and in Aurelius, the greatest of the bishops of C. after Cyprian; to them is due the happy conclusion of the council of June 411, presided over by Aurelius himself, to which 279 Donatist bishops and 286 Catholic bishops came.

At the same time or shortly thereafter the Church of C. had to suffer, though to a much lesser extent, other errors: Manichaeism and Pelagianism. Pelagius himself had gone to C., but had left almost immediately, leaving behind his companion Caelestius; even he, however, had been forced to depart after a first council, convened in 411 by Aurelius, had condemned his error. Other councils followed in the succeeding years up to 418, always on the same issue. Moreover, in this period the councils at C. were almost annual, and the see of Carthage, thanks not only to its primatial position but also to the virtues of its bishop, united in unity of purpose and doctrine with St. Augustine, enjoyed the highest authority throughout Africa. This authority manifested itself both in the religious and in the civil sphere. Thus Aurelius successfully defended the rights of the Africans in the question whether it was lawful or not for bishops and clergy to appeal to Rome in case of disputes; he promoted the drafting of a codex canonum Ecclesiae africanae; he overcame the last resistance of paganism, establishing in 399 his see in the very cell of the temple where the Carthaginian goddess Caelestis had been venerated until then; and he finally defended his city from the violence of the comes Marinianus.

The probable year of Aurelius’ death is 429; he was succeeded by Capreolus, of whom we know that he had himself represented at the Council of Ephesus by the deacon Bessula. During the episcopate of Capreolus Africa was invaded by the Vandals, but C., as is well known, was not taken by them until 439, when the see of Carthage was occupied by the bishop Quodvultdeus.

The invasion of the Arian Vandals marked the beginning of new sorrows and new persecutions for the Catholics; the struggle, now more, now less intense under Gaiseric, reached its peak of violence under his successor Huneric. The Church was thus left almost desolate, and remained in this state until 454, when Valentinian succeeded in obtaining the appointment of a new bishop, Deogratias, distinguished for his charitable assistance to the prisoners captured in the Sack of Rome. After Deogratias’ death in 457, the see of C. remained vacant for many years more: for an ordinance of the king forbade the ordination of new bishops in Zeugitana, thus bringing about what Victor of Vita calls “the closing of the churches.” In 475 a mitigation of the previous rigors allowed the exiles to return home, but C. could not have a bishop of its own again until 481, under Huneric, thanks to an edict that granted parity of rights to the two cults: the Catholic and the Arian.

This bishop was Eugenius, whose name is linked to the new and more bitter phase of the struggle, which reached its climax in the council of 484. C. then had beside the Catholic bishop an Arian patriarch, Cyria, who accused Eugenius, bringing about a renewal of the persecution. The emperor of the East, Zeno, intervened, obtaining from Huneric the convocation of a council: 470 bishops were present at its opening on February 10. However, the obstructive and provocative attitude of the Arians caused the meeting to fail from the outset, and this was followed immediately by the exile of Eugenius and many other Catholic clergy. Their return could not take place until after the death of Huneric, under Gunthamund; but at the accession of Trasamund, Eugenius was forced once more to abandon his see and went to settle in Gaul at Albi, where he died in 505. The see of C. thus remained vacant, nor could the presence at C. of Fulgentius of Ruspe, recalled from his exile in Sardinia by King Gunthamund, who wished to be instructed in the Catholic faith, but soon afterward made to depart because of the protests of his adversaries, bring more than a momentary relief. In 523 Ultheric granted the return of the exiles and the election of a new bishop, Boniface: on February 5, 525, a council could thus be held in the basilica of Agileo, aimed above all at putting the Church of C., and in general the whole African Church, in order after so many trials.

With the Byzantine conquest the Catholic faith regained its full and secure independence, and with it the rights and privileges that the Vandals had abolished. C. had its primatial position reconfirmed, which it had previously held and which during the years of persecution the bishops of Byzacena had tried to usurp. In order to regulate the new situation thus created, Reparatus, who succeeded Boniface, convened a council in 536, which ended with the sending of delegations to Rome and Constantinople to represent to the Pope and the emperor the requests of the African episcopate, requests that were fully granted.

During the controversy of the Three Chapters, Africa, and therefore also C., was entirely united against Constantinople and, after the Judicatum of Pope Vigilius, also against Rome, with which relations were broken. The bishop Reparatus went to Constantinople to take part in the council convoked by Justinian, but he was arrested and sent into exile at Euchaita, where he died on January 7, 563. After Primosus, appointed in his place, about fifteen years later, in 581, a bishop named P. biliano appears. The correspondence of Gregory the Great, on the other hand, makes known to us a certain Dominicus as bishop of C. From the letters of St. Gregory it appears that at this time Donatism had revived in Africa: the Pope urges the clergy to combat it energetically, and for this purpose a council was indeed held at C. in 594. The fortunes of the Church of Carthage now become more obscure, while the political and economic conditions of Africa grow ever more grave, and from the East the threat of Muslim invasion looms on the horizon by the middle of the 7th century. When this fell upon the eastern provinces of Syria and

Cartage – Remains of the basilica of St Cyprian (7th century)

The arrival of Islam in Egypt and the flight before it of numerous elements of the population and the clergy brought to Africa the doctrinal disputes then current in Eastern Christianity, particularly those of Monothelitism and Monophysitism, from which the African Church had generally remained aloof. Famous is the debate held in July 645 at C. between Abbot Maximus and Pyrrhus, former Patriarch of Constantinople, which ended with the latter’s temporary abjuration of his error.

A few years later the whole of Africa as far as the Atlantic was traversed by the Arabs, who by the end of the century had established their dominion there. The small number of invaders did not, however, at once alter the character and way of life of the region, which only gradually declined and became depopulated. The see of C. was naturally among the last to disappear. It is still remembered in the second half of the 11th century, after the second and more serious invasion of the Banū Hilāl. A letter of Leo IX of 1053 shows that Africa still had at this time five bishops, over whom the Pope reaffirmed the primacy of the see of Carthage, held by a certain Thomas. Twenty years later, in 1073, Gregory VII wrote to the bishop of C., Cyriacus, and to the faithful under his care, complaining that they had accused their shepherd before the Muslims, causing him fresh pain in addition to that arising from the condition of his city. In 1076, beside Cyriacus there remained only one other bishop in Africa; the Pope took steps to consecrate a third, so that the three might be able to consecrate others if necessary. This is the last document that survives concerning the see of Carthage, and it is not rash to suppose that with the death of Cyriacus or one of his immediate successors it remained constantly vacant; indeed, with the close of the 11th century every trace of Roman and Christian life in Africa vanished irretrievably, so that when such life reappeared after about two centuries it showed an altogether different stamp from the ancient. Hence when in 1192 the bishop of C. is still found figuring in the Liber Censuum of the Church of Rome, it is very likely that this is no more than a formal remembrance, without any real existence to correspond.

The Church of C. came to life again at the end of the 19th century, after the Treaty of the Bardo (12 May 1881) placed the state of the Bey of Tunis under the protectorate of France. With the Bull *Materna Ecclesiae Caritas* of 10 Nov. 1884, Leo XIII restored the primatial see of C., naming as its titular the Cardinal C. Lavigerie, already Apostolic Administrator of Tunisia and Archbishop of Algiers. A few months earlier construction had been begun, on the site of the ancient acropolis of C., of the new cathedral dedicated to St Louis King of France; the church was consecrated on 15 May 1890. By a papal brief of 5 Aug. 1918 it was raised to the dignity of a Basilica. After Cardinal Lavigerie (d. 1892) the see was held successively by Mgr Combes (1893–1922), Mgr Lemaître (1922–39), and the present incumbent, Mgr Gounot, who had been coadjutor to his predecessor with right of succession.

The International Eucharistic Congress of 1930, marking the 15th centenary of the death of St Augustine, consecrated the Catholic revival of the glorious African metropolis.

Pietro Romanelli

II. Council of C. (1 May 418) – 1. History. In the series of Councils of C. it is the 15th or 16th. It is of great importance both for the gravity of the doctrine defined—the relations between Grace and nature—and for the gravity of the error condemned: Pelagianism. The Council of C. is closely connected with the Council of Diospolis (Lydda; cf. Acts 9:32), of which it in a sense took up and completed the doctrinal definitions, adding the condemnation of the heresiarch. At Diospolis, held on 20 Dec. 415 in the presence of 15 bishops, with Pelagius himself present, the subject discussed was the doctrine of original sin and its effects;

The necessity and function of grace; the nature and limits of free will in relation to the attainment of perfection (cf. Mansi, IV, 312-20). The doctrine defined was strictly orthodox: Pelagius subscribed to the condemnation of the doctrines attributed to him and was thus readmitted to communion with the faithful. Yet the decision of Diospolis surprised especially the bishops of the African Church, who, having convened in council at Carthage with 68 bishops and later at Milevis with 61 in 416, reaffirmed the condemnation pronounced against Pelagius in 411 and requested Innocent I to confirm it with his authority. Innocent I, in a letter dated 27 January 417, confirmed and adopted the decisions of the African council, but refused to recognize the Council of Diospolis. Pelagius and Caelestius then, with vague and equivocal professions of faith, attempted to deceive Pope Zosimus, Innocent’s successor. Pelagius succeeded in this, obtaining personal absolution. Zosimus communicated the news to the African bishops, accusing them of rashness and misunderstanding in their condemnation of Pelagius and summoning them to present their case before his tribunal within two months. Aurelius, bishop of Carthage, then asked him to desist, and in the meantime, on 1 May 418, he convened a full assembly of 214 bishops at Carthage: this was the historic Council of Carthage to which reference is made. The council, reaffirming the previous condemnations of 411 and 416 against Pelagius and Caelestius and their doctrines, condensed into nine canons the traditional doctrine on original sin, grace, and free will. Meanwhile, however, Zosimus—without the knowledge of the African bishops—condemned the two innovators in March 418. Later that summer, he published a document that became famous in history, the *Epistola Tractoria*, in which he imposed on all the bishops of the world the obligation to subscribe to the condemnation of Pelagian heresy. It was a plebiscite of faith throughout the Church; only 18 Italian bishops, incited by Julian of Eclanum, refused to subscribe.

2. Doctrinal content

Pelagian doctrine held that human nature remained intact, in no way impaired by Adam’s personal fall. This theory is refuted in the first three canons of the Council of Carthage, which define the existence, transmission, and effects of original sin. Taking as their starting point the effects—and more precisely the most apparent external effect, death—the first canon establishes the penal character of death, opposing the Pelagian error that claimed it was a natural and necessary consequence of the human constitution, thereby denying the existence of the preternatural gift of immortality. The second canon establishes: 1) the existence and universality of original guilt for all without exception, including children; 2) the strict sense of guilt in original sin; 3) the mode of transmission, carnal generation; 4) the remedy and its absolute and universal necessity, spiritual regeneration through baptism. To the denial of guilt and punishment in the original fault, Pelagianism had added a confusion of the natural and supernatural orders: heaven is a strict hereditary right of nature in the state in which Adam was created, that is, the state in which children are born. This is precisely what the third canon condemns, while also denying to unbaptized children any intermediate place of true happiness. The Fathers of the Council of Carthage, concerned to eliminate the coexistence of a state of guilt with a state of supernatural happiness, consign unbaptized children to the same privative unhappiness as the devil, namely, the privation of God, without pronouncing on positive unhappiness, that is, on punishments as retribution.

Sin is removed by grace: in the next three canons, therefore, the nature, necessity, and function of grace are defined. Pelagianism, anticipating the Lutheran error, held that grace is synonymous with the remission of sin, but rejected the concept of grace as prevenient aid to avoid sin, claiming that free will alone merits the avoidance of evil. The fourth canon condemns this error, affirming that grace both raises one from the fall and prevents II. “We grant,” the Pelagians equivocated, “that grace comes first so that one does not fall, but only in the sense that it enlightens the intellect regarding what is to be done or avoided, not in that it effectively moves the will to will what the intellect has recognized.” Grace, the fifth canon replies, acts upon the intellect to enlighten it and upon the will to move it effectively to the good. “We grant too,” the Pelagians insisted, “that grace influences the will, but only in the sense that it helps the will to desire more easily what, in an absolute sense, it could do by itself, albeit with greater difficulty.” The sixth canon then intervenes to establish the absolute impossibility—not merely relative—of free will in fulfilling the works of the divine law, as our Lord admonished: *Sine me nihil potestis facere* (not *difficilius potestis*: John 15:5).

Thus grace must aid us in all things; yet even with the help of grace, man is not impeccable: this is the assertion of the last three canons, which together insinuate the absolute and universal necessity of prayer, condemning the opposing Pelagian doctrine that claimed prayer was

If not unbecoming for free will, at least useless and superfluous. Not out of humility, the seventh canon declares, but in truth everyone must acknowledge themselves a sinner. Therefore, everyone must ask God for mercy through prayer, which, as explained in the eighth canon, is necessary not only for the sinner but also for the just, who must therefore pray for themselves and not only for others, as the Pelagians interpreted. Firmly convinced, the ninth canon concludes, that he too is needy and lacking, and therefore with no less sincerity than the sinner must cry out to God: *dimitte nobis debita nostra* (Mt. 6:12).

In conclusion: the Council of C., by thwarting the subtleties of heresy, dispelling its ambiguities, and crushing every attempt at evasion, weakened the capacity of Pelagianism to resist and closed its first phase of struggle; at the same time, it anticipated the refutation of errors in the centuries to come, clarifying in clear, concise, and complete terms the traditional thought of the Church on the complex problem of the relationship between Grace and nature.

### III. Archaeology.
The earliest meeting places of the Christian community of C., referred to by Tertullian with the word *ecclesia* (*De virginibus velandis*, 13; PL 2, 907; *De pudicitia*, 4; ibid., 987), cannot be identified; they must have been located within the city (P. Monceaux, *Histoire littéraire de l'Afrique chrétienne depuis les origines jusqu'à l'invasion arabe*, I, Paris 1901, p. 16). St. Cyprian spent his last night with his people in the Saturn quarter. The Basilica Novarum is certainly of pre-Constantinian origin and most likely the same one later called *in aries novis* or of Tertullus, a friend of St. Cyprian (Ep., 12), as first highlighted by Cardinal G. Mercati in 1808 (*D'alcuni nuovi sussidi per la critica del testo di s. Cipriano*, in *Studi e documenti di storia e diritto*, 19 [1808], pp. 321–63; republished in C. Mercati, *Opere minori*, II [*Studi e Testi*, 77], Vatican City 1937, p. 153 sqq.). It is mentioned in a letter by Bishop Mensurius of C. during the Diocletian persecution (PL 43, 638). It possessed a library and an archive, from which in 303, instead of the Holy Scriptures, the civil authority removed heretical books (*Optatus*, 1.19; 3.1); St. Augustine preached there once (*Serm.*, 14; PL 38, 111). The hall was so vast that in 455 Bishop Deogratias housed the prisoners of Gaiseric there (*Victor of Vita*, *De pers. Vand.*, 1.8.25). Like Rome, C. was administered by seven deacons, each overseeing one of the seven ecclesiastical regions. Thus, documents record a *Liberatus archidiaconus Ecclesiae carthaginensis regionis sextae*, a *Gaudiosus diaconus regionis quintae*, and a *Mena fu lector regionis qu(artae) or qu(intae)*: CIL, VIII, 13.423.

Some basilicas are known by their regional designation: for example, a basilica in the Second Region hosted the Councils of 403 and 410 (PL 43, 814); in the Third Region there was a basilica dedicated to St. Peter, where St. Augustine delivered his 15th sermon (PL 38, 115); the basilica of St. Paul was in the Sixth Region.

The Basilica Restituta or *Ecclesia catholica Restituta* was located within the city; Victor of Vita describes it as the one «in qua semper episcopi commanebant» (*De pers. Vand.*, 1.5). A first council was held there in 390, followed by others until 419. It was occupied by the Arians; St. Augustine preached there several times (*Serm.*, 19, 29, 90, 112, 277; PL 38, 132, 185, 559, 643, 1257). Procopius mentions a basilica near the Forum (*De Bello Vand.*, II, 14).

The basilicas of Gratian, Theodosius, and Honorius are known only from documents. St. Augustine preached there (*Serm.*, 156, 163; PL 38, 849, 889). That of Honorius was in the temple of Caelestis. On Easter Day in 399, Bishop Aurelius placed his cathedra in the cell of the temple, which is thought to have been the Hill of Juno (A. Audolent, *Carthage romaine*, Paris 1901, pp. 262 and 538). Procopius records that Justinian had the basilicas of the Theotokos and St. Prima built in C.

The Theotokos was located within the palace precincts. Some verses inscribed in the anthology of C. (*Anth. lat.*, n. 380) were copied there; Monceaux believed they were placed beneath two frescoes depicting the Nativity and the Passion of Jesus Christ. The remains of the basilica are thought to have been identified on the Birsa hill. The basilica of St. Prima was erected by Justinian in honor of a martyr of Abitina. A basilica in honor of the martyr Julian (probably of Antioch) is mentioned by Leontius in the life of Gregory of Agrigento (PG 98, 563).

In the region of Mandracium, one of the ports of C., stood the basilica of Sancti Agliei. Aglieus is a martyr commemorated in the calendar of the Church of C. on 25 January. Occupied by the Vandals, it was restored to the Catholics by Guntamund in 487 (Proverbi Aquitani Appendicula ad Chron.: PL 51, 606). The people conducted St Fulgentius in triumph there, together with the other bishops who had been exiled in Sardinia (Vita Fulgentii: PL 65, 145). The Council of the year 525 was held there. Bishop Domenico sent relics of the martyr Aglieus to Gregory the Great (Gregorii I Registr., XII, 1). A sermon for the feast of St Aglieus is known (Possidi indiculus: PL 46, 19).

To the Byzantine period belongs a small oratory adapted in a hall of a Roman public building on the north-east slope of the so-called Hill of Juno, behind Birsa. It consists of an aisle divided into two naves by a row of columns (L. Poinssot and R. Lantier, L'archéologie chrétienne en Tunisie [1920-32], in Atti del III Congresso di archeol. crist., Città del Vaticano 1934, p. 390).

All the other basilicas of C. are funerary and therefore outside the city. C. did not have underground burials but in the open air; in places called cemeteries, as Tertullian shows in a passage (De anima, 51: PL 2, 738), but mostly in areas. The Christians of C. possessed them at least from the time of Tertullian, since he explicitly speaks of aveis sepulturarum nostrarum (Ad Scapulam, 3: PL 1, 701). Most of the Christian funerary areas are found between the road from Tunis to La Marsa, Koudiat-Zateur and Sidi-bou-Said, generally contiguous with Roman tombs; a group from the Byzantine period (6th century) is located in the lower city, near Douar-ech-Chott and the port district (R. Lantier, Notes de topographie cathagnoise. Cimetières romains et chrétiens, in Comptes-rendus de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles lettres, 1922, pp. 22-28). Various basilicas arose in these areas.

The basilica of Damous-el-Karita was discovered in 1878 in the area to the north of C. between the Hill of Juno and the village of Sidi-bou-Said. A vast enclosed area, with a semicircular atrium, a portico with a gallery of columns in black marble; from the atrium occupied by tombs one passes north to a trichora chapel, while to the south one enters a quadrilateral divided into 9 naves (m. 65 x 45) with two apses situated to the south-east and south-west. In the centre of the quadrilateral remain the bases of four large pillars which Gsell supposed supported a dome (Chronique

africane, in Mélanges d'arch. et d'hist., 18 [1898], p. 222). Remain also the four bases of a ciborium. The floor of the central nave and the apses was decorated with mosaics; beneath that of the side naves were tombs. A funerary cell with five arcosolia was a small hypogeum with an equal number of arcosolia. Adjoining this basilica to the southwest is a second one (m. 35.70 x 24.55) containing a baptistery. There follow other halls and cells. Nearby, in 1912, a subterranean rotunda was discovered with sixteen columns of Numidian marble, each topped with capitals adorned with animals and acanthus leaves.

From Damous-el-Karita comes the finest example of non-funerary Carthaginian sculpture, namely bas-reliefs relating to the childhood of Jesus, dated by De Rossi, Bayet, and Audollent to the 4th century, by Bréhier and Lapeyre to the 5th, and by Wilpert to the 6th. They depict, on two slabs, four scenes: the Annunciation to the shepherds, the Adoration of the shepherds, the reappearance of the star, and the Adoration of the Mag

i. It is probable that originally they adorned the door of the basilica near which they were found in 1883 (A

The basilica of the holy martyrs Scillitani or of Celerina. — The group of the twelve martyrs of Scillum, killed at Carthage on 17 July 180 (BHL 7527, BHG 1645), had a basilica erected over their tomb, where St Augustine preached (Serm., 155: PL 38, 841); their anniversary was also celebrated in the 6th century, as shown by the calendar of the Church of Carthage. Victor of Vita calls the basilica Scillitanorum vel Celerina. By this name is known the martyr commemorated by St Cyprian as a relative, together with Laurence and Egnatius, of the confessor Celerinus (Ep., 39, 3); she is listed in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum under the dates of 3 Feb., 24 and 28 Sept. St Augustine preached “in basilica Celerina” (BHL 4906, 7). Delehaye asks whether the eponymous figure is the martyr or the foundress (H. Delehaye, Les origines du culte des martyrs, 2nd ed., Brussels 1933, p. 379).

The Basilica Mairum was discovered by Delattre in 1906 at Micdifa, between the station of Ste-Monique and that of La Marsa. The building material was dispersed between La Marsa and Sidi-bou-Said; only meagre remains of pillars survive. The basilica (m. 61 x 45) had seven naves divided by columns. Beneath the floor was a burial area. In the center of the central nave stood the confessio, consisting of a small chapel measuring m. 3.60 x 3.70. In front, within the apse itself, were small recesses for relics. Near the confessio was a well filled with human bones and about 7,000 fragments of Christian inscriptions. Among the ruins of the building an inscription from the 6th century was found, relating to the martyrs Saturn, Saturninus, Revocatus, Secondulus, Felicitas, Perpetua, “passi nonis martiis,” and Maillus (CIL, VIII, 25.038); the group, except for Maillus, is mentioned in the Passio of Perpetua and Felicitas. However, given the late date of the inscription, it might refer to mere relics (P. Monceaux, Histoire litt. de l'Afrique chrétienne, IV, Paris 1912, pp. 469-70). A second epigraph mentions Santus Secundulus (CIL, VIII, 25.038); a third is dedicated to Perpetue filie dulcissimae (A.-L. Delattre, Le Cimetière de Micdifa à Carthage, in Comptes rendus de l'Acad. des Inscriptions et Belles lettres, 1906, pp. 402 ff.; id., L'area chrétienne et la basilique de Micdifa à C., ibid., 1907, pp. 118 ff., 516 ff.; id., La Basilica Mairum. Tombeau des saints Perpétue et Felicité, ibid., 1908, p. 59 ff.; 1911, pp. 566-83).

The Acts of St Cyprian clearly distinguish the ager Sexti, the place of martyrdom, from the site of burial, which took place ad areas Macrobii Candidiani... in via Mappaliensi iuxta piscinas (PL 3, 1505), a place where St Augustine refers to the memoria beati Cypriani (Conf., V, 8, 15: PL 32, 713), or where he delivered sermons ad mensam Cypriani (Serm., 131: PL 38, 729). Victor of Vita points to two large and splendid basilicas outside the walls dedicated to St Cyprian, “one where he shed his blood, the other where his body was buried,” a place called Mappalia (De pers. Vand., I, 1, 5).

It seems that in the time of St Augustine, at the site of St Cyprian’s martyrdom, the ager Sexti, there was only a mensa (cf. Serm., 310: PL 38, 1413) and not yet a basilica, though the latter was already built by the year 439, when it was occupied by Gaiseric (Ch. Saumagne, Les basiliques cypriennes, in Revue archéologique, 66 [1909], pp. 188 ff.).

Near the sea, in the place called “les larmes de Ste-Monique,” facing Sidi-bou-Said, Fr. Delattre discovered a basilica built over pagan tombs. It has seven naves (m. 60 x 35.65) divided by spolia columns and Ionic and Corinthian capitals; the presbytery is deep, the ciborium stands almost at the center of the median nave, the altar was likely wooden; beneath the floor, especially in the presbytery, are many tombs, some decorated with mosaics, others constructed from strigilated sarcophagi. The hall is preceded by a rectangular atrium (m. 35.55 x 20), equipped with a spacious underground chamber. Against the northeast side of the building is a subterranean room containing eight tombs. Fr. Delattre collected from the earth over 9,400 fragments of funerary inscriptions, some bearing consular dates from the years 124, 438-39, 454; however, none of these fragments provides confirmation for his hypothesis that this basilica is the one erected over the tomb of St Cyprian (A. Delattre, Une grande basilique près de Ste-Monique à Carthage, in Comptes rendus de l'Acad. des Inscript. et Belles lettres, 1916, pp. 150-64; 1917, pp. 507-29).

Basilica of Dernech. — In 1899, 100 meters from the Antonine Baths, near the sea on the slope of Bordj-Djedid, a seven-aisled basilica was uncovered, built all at once, with an entrance on the south side above the city’s oldest Punic necropolis. The hall (m. 40 x 21) had a mosaic floor, spolia columns, and the central nave had eight paired columns; the wooden altar was covered by a ciborium supported by four pink marble colonnettes with bases adorned with Greek crosses. Beneath the altar was a cavity for relics. On the north side, two doors led into the baptistery, consisting of a rectangular hall with a square enclosure of twelve granite columns connected by gates. In the center was a hexagonal basin covered by a ciborium supported by four pink marble columns; water was supplied via a channel from a cistern. North of the baptistery, a door led into a hall divided into three naves, the consignatorium; behind it were other small rooms; to the northeast were many Christian tombs, including one sarcophagus with the Good Shepherd and a banquet scene. Gauckler dates the basilica to the final period of Vandal rule or the Justinianic age; it was destroyed during the Arab invasion of 695 and does not appear to have served much for worship, bearing traces of fire and looting (P. Gauckler, Basilique chrétiennes de Tunisie, Paris 1913, p. 17).

Basilica of Bir-el-Knisia (“Well of the Church”). — Near the Arab village of Douar-el-Chott, on the road between La Goulette and La Marsa, the remains of a Christian church were noted as early as 1888, later brought to light by excavations in 1913 and 1922.

The building, very ruined (m. 46.60 x 25.60), had three naves, with a mosaic floor covering many tombs; its remains date it to between the 5th and 6th centuries AD, though no elements allow for further precision (A.-L. Delattre, La basilique de Bir-el-Knisia à Carthage, in Comptes rendus de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles lettres, 1922, pp. 302-307; 1923, pp. 449-51).

The basilica of Fausto. — A martyr Faustus of Abitina was martyred at Carthage in February of the year 304 (P. Mon-

Ceaux, *Histoire littéraire de l'Afrique chrétienne depuis les origines jusqu'à l'invasion arabe*, III, Paris 1901, p. 540); but it is not known whether this should be identified with the opinion regarding the cemetery basilica mentioned by Victor of Vita (De pers. Vand., 1, 8; 2, 6, 17; 3, 9). It was built before the year 1418, in which a council was held there; others were held in 1419 and 1421. St. Augustine preached there several times (Serm., 23, 111, 261: PL 38, 155, 645, 1202). Bishop Deogratias, who had been consecrated there in 454, converted it into lodgings for prisoners taken from Rome by Gaiseric. It is still mentioned in 535.

Basilica of Bir-Ftouha. — On the road between Malga and Marsa, through excavations carried out repeatedly in the locality called Bir-Ftouha (1888, 1895, 1897, 1928), a hexagonal baptistery with a mosaic pavement and fragments of columns has come to light; these columns were believed to belong to a basilica. The excavations of 1928–29 revealed a thermal building and a three-chambered structure containing Christian burials (A. Delattre, *La basilica de Bir-Ftouha à Carthage*, in *Comptes rendus de l'Acad. des Inscr. et Belles lettres*, 1928, pp. 252–55; 1929, pp. 23–29). The basilicas of C. so far explored all belong, in their construction, to the period of Byzantine domination. E. Albertini recognizes in their architecture an affinity with that of the East and particularly with Syria (*L'Afrique du Nord française dans l'histoire*, L'Université de Paris, 1937, p. 116). The only building with just three naves is that of Bir-el-Knissia; the others all have at least five and reach up to nine and eleven at Damous-el-Karita. The apse is flanked by the diaconium and the prothesis, which communicate only with the side aisles; however, these are missing in the basilica Maiorum and at Damous-el-Karita. The basilicas of St. Cyprian and of Bir-Knissia are equipped with an atrium. At Dermech the ciborium is surrounded by railings; the altar was probably made of wood; the basilica Maiorum has a confessio; the columns generally come from earlier Roman buildings.

The floors of the basilicas were covered with mosaic decoration, rich in birds, fish, vine tendrils, and singing birds; in the basilica of Bir-Ftouha there are the four rivers of Paradise and stags drinking from them.

A characteristic decoration inside the basilicas is sometimes provided by squares of terracotta, perhaps intended for simple floral designs; there are examples of crosses, or animals such as stags, lions, dolphins, and twice the Blessed Virgin with the Child Jesus. These have been dated to the 4th century (R. de la Blanchère, *Carreaux de terre cuite à figures*, in *Revue archéologique*, 45 [1888], p. 303). In an underground chapel beneath the hill called St. Luciano, a fresco was identified depicting a small central figure with three other figures of the same size and two smaller ones. The central figure is believed to represent Jesus Christ.

In 1935, material was removed and placed in the Lavigerie Museum, also known as St-Louis de Carthage, established to preserve the most perishable archaeological material; it was catalogued from 1899 by Delattre, Babelon, Boulanger, and Martin, with subsequent supplements in 1913 and 1915. Other material is preserved in the Alaoui Museum at the Bardo, catalogued by Gauckler and La Blanchère in 1907, with later supplements by Poinssot, Hautecoeur, Méri, Merlin, and Drappier up to 1921. Documents also attest to the existence of some monasteries, such as the female one *in quo reliquiae s. Stephani sitae sunt* (De promissionibus: PL 51, 842). Gauckler believed it was near the basilica of Dermech. The general Solomon, at the time of Belisarius, had erected a monastery near the port of Mandracium, where Ariobindus later took refuge. Near the basilica of Celerina, the monastery of Bigna is recorded (Victor of Vita, *Passio beat. martyr.*, III, 32).

A Jewish cemetery in the locality of Gamart was discovered repeatedly from 1887 to 1903 in the area northwest of ancient C., where the Arab village of Gamart now stands. It consists of over one hundred and five small burial chambers (A.-L. Delattre, *Gamart ou la nécropole juive de Carthage*, Lyon 1895; id., *Deux hypogées de Gamart*, in *Revue tunisienne*, 11 [1904], pp. 8 ff.).