VIGILIUS, Bishop of Tapso. - This African bishop (province of Byzacena) took part in the religious disputation that Huneric had convened in 484 at Carthage. Nothing else is known of his life.
He was the author of a work Contra Eutychetem (PL 62, 95-154). Catholic doctrine, says V., keeps the right mean between Monophysitism and Nestorianism. The last two books (the work consists of 5 books), a defense of the letter of Pope Leo to Flavian and a defense of the Council of Chalcedon, are added by the author himself (cf. bk. III, 13). V. wishes to admonish the brethren in the East not to adhere to the doctrine of Eutyches. In this work V. speaks of earlier writings. These are the book: Contra Arianos, Sabellianos et Photinianos dialogus, Athanasio, Ario, Sabellio, Photino et Probo iudice interlocutoribus (PL 62, 179-238; a Contra Arianos dialogus: PL 62, 155-86, is only a later extract of the earlier book). From the dialogue it is known that V. had previously published two anti-Arian writings (2, 45). One against the Arian deacon
Maribadus, of whom it is known that he stood in favor with King Huneric (Victor Vit., Hist. persecut. Afric. prov., I, 18), the other was directed against the Arian bishop Palladius of Ratiaria (Illyria), who had been the theological adversary of St. Ambrose (Dial., II, 50). These two anti-Arian writings of V. have not been preserved (PL 62, 433-68 is not a work of V.). It is not to be excluded that Ps. Augustine, Contra Felicianum arianum de unitate Trinitatis (PL 62, 333-52; also PL 42, 1157-72) is a work of V. According to Cassiodorus an African bishop by the name of V. would have written on the doctrine of the thousand years in the Apocalypse (Instit. div., I, IX). It is hardly likely that this author is identical with our V. The name was very widespread. Other writings are wrongly attributed to V., for example, Ps. Athanasius, De Trinitate (PL 62, 237-334) etc.
Bibliography4 works
Erik Peterson