HERMAGORAS, saint. – He is the first bishop in the episcopal catalogue of Aquileia; he may be assigned to around the middle of the 3rd century.
Since antiquity he has been identified with the person who, together with Fortunatus, already appears in the Hieronymian Martyrology on 12 July, though in second place and with uncertain spelling (e.g., Armigeri). The Acts concerning him predate the 9th century and were composed with the intention of clarifying the origin of the Church of Aquileia, tracing it back to the evangelist St. Mark and to H., chosen by him and consecrated in Rome by St. Peter. Fortunatus is said to have been his deacon.
BIBL.: Martyr. Hieronymianum, p. 371; Martyr. Romanum, p. 285; Acta SS. Iulii, III, Paris 1867, pp. 249–57; P. Paschini, La Chiesa aquileiese ed il periodo delle origini, Udine 1909; Lanzoni, pp. 866–83; R. Egger, Der hl. Hermagoras, Klagenfurt 1948. Pio Paschini