Vigilius of Thapsus

Vigilius of Thapsus was bishop of the city of Thapsus, in the province of Byzacena (today Tunisia), in the 5th century, and a theological writer and polemicist. Our sources show no liturgical veneration, feast day or miracles, so we cannot say that he is venerated as a saint; we note him as a Latin Church writer of Africa.

He was bishop when the Arian Vandal kingdom ruled Africa. He took part in the conference convened at Carthage by King Huneric on 1 February 484, between Catholic and Arian bishops; his name appears at number 109 in the list of the bishops of Byzacena. After the synod he was probably exiled by Huneric for his Trinitarian belief, like many other Catholics, and perhaps took refuge in Constantinople.

He wrote the treatise in five books Against Nestorius and Eutyches, in defense of the Council of Chalcedon, setting out the arguments against Eutychianism. The Catholic Encyclopedia also attributes to him a series of dialogues against the Arians, Sabellians and Photinians, and some authors identify him with the bishop Vigilius mentioned by Cassiodorus as author of a lost commentary on the Apocalypse.