In the 3rd century, at the time of
Cyprian, the Bishop of Carthage exercised a real though not formalized primacy in the
Early African Church,
Pope Leo confirmed the primacy of the
Bishop of Carthage in 446 when he wrote: "Indeed, after the Roman Bishop, the leading bishop and metropolitan for all Africa is the Bishop of Carthage." At the beginning of the 8th century and at the end of the 9th century, the
Patriarch of Alexandria claimed jurisdiction over Carthage, however in 1053
Pope Leo IV confirmed the primacy of Carthage and twenty years later
Pope Gregory VII reiterated Leo's statement. The
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria is officially called "Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa". Today the Archdiocese of Carthage and Primate of Africa has been incorporated into the
Archdiocese of Tunis. The title of
primate was applied to the Archbishop of Carthage and Tunis for a time from 1894 until
Tunisian independence in 1964. ==See also==