Arcadius of Africa

Arcadius was a martyr of the Roman province of Africa, killed around 437, in the persecution of the Vandals. He is venerated in the Catholic Church and commemorated on 13 November. He is usually mentioned together with other martyrs killed in the same persecution, in present-⁠day Africa, among them Paschasius and Probus, sometimes also Eutychian, Paulillus and Compsus, the list differing from one source to another.

The only historical sources about Arcadius are the writing of Prosper of Aquitaine and a surviving letter of the bishop of Constantina, in which he urges Arcadius to bear steadfastly the sufferings that had fallen on him.

According to tradition, Arcadius was born into a distinguished family in present-⁠day Andalusia, perhaps in the city of Salamanca. He entered the service of the Vandal king Geiseric and after a time reached high rank. Then Geiseric required him to accept Arianism, which demanded among other things the denial of the divine nature of Christ. After he refused, Arcadius was subjected to long tortures and then put to death with particular cruelty, perhaps at Hippo. Later his relics, like those of his companions, were moved to Medina del Campo in Spain.