Saint Bretannio (also Bretanion, Bretannion, Vetranio, Vetranion) was a bishop of Tomi (today Constanţa,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

) during the fourth century. Of Cappadocian origin, he occupied the see of Tomi from 360. According to

Sozomen Salamanes Hermias Sozomenos (; ; c. 400 – c. 450 AD), also known as Sozomen, was a Roman lawyer and historian of the Christian Church. Family and home Sozoman was born around 400 in Bethelia, a small town near Gaza, into a wealthy Christia ...

, during the campaign against the Goths in this region, the emperor

Valens Valens (; ; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the Byzantine Empire, eastern half of the Roman Em ...

stopped at Tomi and urged the populace to convert to

Arianism Arianism (, ) is a Christology, Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is co ...

and reject the

Nicene Creed The Nicene Creed, also called the Creed of Constantinople, is the defining statement of belief of Nicene Christianity and in those Christian denominations that adhere to it. The original Nicene Creed was first adopted at the First Council of N ...

. Bretannio spoke out against this and for this he was exiled.Fleury, Claude. ''The ecclesiastical history of M. l'abbé Fleury'', Vol. 2, T. Wood, 1728, p. 391
/ref> However, due to public outcry over the bishop's exile, he was allowed to return.Santi Beati: San Bretannione
/ref> Basil the Great requested of the ruler of Scythia Minor, Junius Soranus (Saran), that he should send him the

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

of saints of that region. Basil was sent the relics of Sabbas the Goth in Caesarea,

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

, in 373 or 374 accompanied by a letter entitled the 'Epistle of the Church of God in Gothia to the Church of God located in Cappadocia and to all the Local Churches of the Holy Universal Church'. The sending of Sabbas' relics and the writing of the actual letter has been attributed to Bretannio. He may have represented Tomi at the council held in Constantinople in 381, but his name may have been confused with the name of the bishop Gerontius (Terentius) of Tomi, who may have been the actual participant at this council. Baronio, in compiling his

martyrology A martyrology is a catalogue or list of martyrs and other saints and beati arranged in the calendar order of their anniversaries or feasts. Local martyrologies record exclusively the custom of a particular Church. Local lists were enriched by na ...

, seems to have arbitrarily assigned him the

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 does n ...

of January 25.

Notes

External links

VETRANION, episcop la Tomis

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bretannio 4th-century deaths 4th-century Christian saints History of Dobruja Romanian saints Year of birth unknown