Fidentian ( la, Fidentianus) or Fidentius ( it, Fidenzio) was the

bishop of Hippo Regius Hippo Regius (also known as Hippo or Hippone) is the ancient name of the modern city of Annaba, Algeria. It historically served as an important city for the Phoenicians, Berbers, Roman Empire, Romans, and Vandals. Hippo was the capital city of th ...

from 303 until his

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...

during the

Great Persecution The Diocletianic or Great Persecution was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. In 303, the emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal right ...

in 304. His predecessor, Leontius, was also martyred. He was the first of the Twenty Martyrs of Hippo to be executed after being imprisoned for refusing to make pagan sacrifices. A church at Hippo was later dedicated to the Twenty and at least one miracle was reported at it., p. 35. Among Fidentian's companion martyrs were Valerian and Victoria.

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

later preached a sermon in their honour. Their

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

is 15 November in the

Roman Martyrology The ''Roman Martyrology'' ( la, Martyrologium Romanum) is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved ...

, but they are not in the

General Roman Calendar The General Roman Calendar is the liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgical rite is in use. These celebra ...

. The edition of the Martyrology of 1937 mangles their names ("Secundus, Fidentian and Varicus")..

References

{{reflist 304 deaths Roman Catholic bishops in Africa 4th-century Christian martyrs Christians martyred during the reign of Diocletian