Pope Felix III
Kingdom of Odoacer | |
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Sainthood | |
Venerated in | Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church |
Other popes named Felix |
Pope Felix III (died 1 March 492) was the
Family
Felix was born into a Roman senatorial family - possibly the son of a priest. He was married and widowed before he was elected as pope. He fathered two children, and through his son Gordianus (a priest) was thought to be great-great-grandfather to Pope Gregory I, and possibly related to Pope Agapetus I.[1][2]
It was also said that Felix appeared as an
Eutychian heresy
Eutyches was an archimandrite at Constantinople. In his opposition to Nestorianism he seemed to have taken the opposite view to extremes. In an effort to defuse controversy regarding the teachings of
Felix's first act was to repudiate the Henoticon. He also addressed a letter of remonstrance to Acacius. The latter proved refractory and sentence of deposition was passed against Acacius.
As Catholics spurned Zeno's edict, the emperor had driven the patriarchs of Antioch and Alexandria from their sees.
Aftermath of the Vandals
In North Africa, conquered by the fervently Arian Vandals, persecution by king Genseric and his son and successor Huneric had driven many Catholic Romans into exile.[5] When Huneric died, the persecutions were eased, and many of those who through fear had been rebaptized as Arians desired to return to the Church. However, the Vandals remained resolutely Arian. The Catholics appealed to Felix, who convened a synod in 487 and sent a letter to the bishops of Africa, expounding the conditions under which the unwilling apostates were to be taken back.[4]
See also
References
- ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope St. Felix III". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
- ^ R.A. Markus, Gregory the Great and his world (Cambridge: University Press, 1997), p. 8
- ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .
- ^ a b c This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Coleman, Ambrose (1909). "Pope St. Felix III". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ Victor of Vita, History of the Vandal Persecution, 2.3-6 (John Moorhead, trans.), Liverpool: University Press, 1992, p. 25
Sources
- Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz (1990). "Felix II.". In Bautz, Friedrich Wilhelm (ed.). Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) (in German). Vol. 2. Hamm: Bautz. col. 10. ISBN 3-88309-032-8.