Editing Hippo Regius (section)

=== Council of Hippo ===
{{main|Synod of Hippo}}
Three church councils were held at Hippo (393, 394, 426){{sfn|Pétridès|1910}} and more synods – also in 397 (two sessions, June and September) and 401, all under Aurelius.{{sfn|Havey|1907}}

The synods of the Ancient (North) African church were held, with but few exceptions (e.g. Hippo, 393; [[Milevum]], 402) at [[Carthage]]. We know from the letters of [[Cyprian|Saint Cyprian]] that, except in time of persecution, the African bishops met at least once a year, in the springtime, and sometimes again in the autumn. Six or seven synods, for instance, were held under St. Cyprian's presidency during the decade of his administration (249–258), and more than fifteen under Aurelius (391–429). The Synod of Hippo of 393 ordered a general meeting yearly, but this was found too onerous for the bishops, and in the Synod of Carthage (407) it was decided to hold a general synod only when necessary for the needs of all Africa, and it was to be held at a place most convenient for the purpose. Not all the bishops of the country were required to assist at the general synod. At the Synod of Hippo (393) it was ordered that "dignities" should be sent from each ecclesiastical province. Only one was required from [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]] (in Libya), because of the poverty of the bishops of that province. At the Synod of Hippo (393), and again at the Synod of 397 at Carthage, a list of the books of Holy Scripture was drawn up,{{sfn|Havey|1907}} and these books are still regarded as the constituents of the Catholic canon.