The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Mars
fl. AD 303 (death unrecorded) · Deacon of Cirta · Cirta (Constantina), Numidia
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Mars was
Deacon of Cirta. When the persecution broke he fled to Mount Bellona outside the city with Victor the Grammarian and the presbyter Victor, and when the order came to hand over the books he answered that he had none. Victor described the flight under oath seventeen years later, which is how a deacon’s evasion in 303 survives at all.
Common questions
When was Mars active?
Mars is dated fl. AD 303 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Mars in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313).
Which early sources mention Mars?
Mars is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Municipal acts of Cirta and Gesta apud Zenophilum. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Mars from?
The archive associates Mars with Cirta (Constantina), Numidia. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Mars’ contemporaries?
The archive links Mars to 2 other figures, including Victor the Grammarian and Paul of Cirta. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
The Acts of Munatius Felix, 19 May 303 — read into evidence before Zenophilus
c. AD 303In the presence of Paul the Bishop (who remained seated), of Montanus and Victor of Deusatelium, and Memorius priests, Mars and Helius the deacons, Marcuclius, Catullinus, Silvanus and Carosus the subdeacons standing by with Januarius, Meraclus, Fructuosus, Migginis, Saturninus, Victor and the rest of the grave-diggers, Victor of Aufidus made this brief inventory against them.Municipal acts of Cirta · Gesta apud Zenophilum, Acts of 19 May 303 · source text
The trial before Domitius Zenophilus, 13 December 320
c. AD 320Victor answered: ‘I had fled from that storm… When we suffered the inrush of sudden persecution, we fled to Mount Bellona. I remained there with Mars the deacon. Victor the priest was there also. When this Mars was ordered to give up all the books, he said that he had not got them.’Gesta apud Zenophilum · Gesta apud Zenophilum, trial of 13 December 320 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Named alongside Mars in the sources
This figure is placed with Mars by the record — in a council roll, a martyr-act, a letter or a history — without Mars naming them in return.
Events in this lifetime
- AD 235 · Maximinus Thrax targets the clergy, AD 235
- AD 250 · The Decian persecution, AD 250
- AD 251 · The Novatianist schism, AD 251
- AD 257 · The Valerian persecution, AD 257
- AD 260 · Gallienus’ edict of toleration, AD 260
- AD 268 · Antioch deposes Paul of Samosata, AD 268
- AD 272 · Aurelian awards the Antioch church, AD 272
- AD 301 · Hripsime and her company, AD 301
- AD 303 · The Great Persecution begins, AD 303
- AD 303 · The search of the church at Cirta, AD 303
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Mars, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.