Restitutus of Carthage

Restitutus of Carthage was bishop of Carthage in North Africa in the second half of the 4th century, and is venerated as a saint in the Western tradition. The years of his episcopate are not known exactly: they lie between 345 to 348 and 390.

He is attested in July 359, when he took part in, and probably presided over, the council of Rimini, convoked by Emperor Constantius II to ratify a formula of faith which tried to reconcile the faith of Nicaea with Arian positions. Restitutus spoke for the majority of bishops who, on 21 July, rejected the formula, holding to the Nicene faith, and excommunicated its chief supporters, Ursacius, Valens, Germinius and Gaius. The council sent two delegations to Constantinople; that of the majority, led by Restitutus, was held near Adrianople in Thrace. Under strong pressure, on 10 October Restitutus and the other delegates agreed to revise their decision and signed a protocol accepting the semi-⁠Arian formula. Apart from these events of 359, nothing certain is known of his episcopate. He is commemorated on 28 August, according to one Western calendar (new style).