ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN DECEMBER Saints celebrated on the 9th of December WELCOME! SAINT HIPPARCHUS AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS OF SAMOSATA Hipparchus and his friend Philotheus lived at the time of Emperor Maximian. They were highly respected by their high birth and by their offices. In A.D. 297, the Emperor Maximian held public festivals in honour of the gods at Samosata on the Euphrates to celebrate his five-year reign, and an order was issued that all inhabitants should gather in the temple of the goddess of fortune for the sacrifices. Hipparchus and Philotheus stayed at home and prostrated themselves in front of the Crucifix on the wall, praying to the true Lord and thanking God for the grace of their conversion. Here they were interrupted by the visit of five young citizens called James (Jacobus), Paragrus, Habidus, Roman, and Lollianus. When asked why they kept themselves shut up at home and did not rush to the Temple of Fortuna as every citizen was instructed to, Hipparchus r...