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Pope Felix IV (489/490 – 22 September 530) was the
Felix built the Santi Cosma e Damiano in the Monks of Ramsgate. “Felix IV”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 12 August 2018
/ref> During Felix's pontificate, an imperial edict was passed granting that cases against clergy should be dealt with by the pope or a designated ecclesiastical court. Violation of this ruling would result in a fine, the proceeds of which were designated for the poor. Felix also defined church teaching on grace and free will in response to a request of Faustus of Riez, in
Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Felix 04 530 deaths 6th-century Christian saints Italian popes Ostrogothic Papacy Papal saints Samnite people Popes Year of birth unknown 6th-century popes Year of birth uncertain Burials at St. Peter's Basilica
bishop of Rome
The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...
from 12 July 526 to his death on 22 September 530. He was the chosen candidate of Ostrogoth
The Ostrogoths () were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Western Roman Empire, drawing upon the large Gothic populatio ...
King Theodoric the Great
Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal, was king of the Ostrogoths (475–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy between 493 and 526, regent of the Visigoths (511–526 ...
, who had imprisoned Felix's predecessor, John I John I may refer to:
People
Religious figures
* John I (bishop of Jerusalem)
* John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople
* John I of Antioch (died 441)
* Pope John I of Alexandria, Coptic Pope from 496 to 505
* Pope John I, P ...
.
Rise
Felix came fromSamnium
Samnium () is a Latin exonym for a region of Southern Italy anciently inhabited by the Samnites. Their own endonyms were ''Safinim'' for the country (attested in one inscription and one coin legend) and ''Safineis'' for the The language of t ...
, the son of Castorius. He was elected after a gap of nearly two months after the death of John I, who had died in prison in Ravenna, having completed a diplomatic mission to Constantinople on behalf of the Ostrogoth
The Ostrogoths () were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Western Roman Empire, drawing upon the large Gothic populatio ...
King Theodoric the Great
Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal, was king of the Ostrogoths (475–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy between 493 and 526, regent of the Visigoths (511–526 ...
. The papal electors acceded to the king's demands and chose Felix as pope. Felix's favor in the eyes of the king allowed him to press for greater benefits for the church. However, Theodoric died later that year, allowing Felix to pursue his own policies in peace.Coulombe, Vicars of Christ: A History of the Popes, MJF Books, p. 93
Pontificate
Felix built the Santi Cosma e Damiano in the Imperial forums
The Imperial Fora (''Fori Imperiali '' in Italian) are a series of monumental ''Forum (Roman), fora'' (public squares), constructed in Rome over a period of one and a half centuries, between 46 BC and 113 AD. The fora were the center of the Roman ...
on land donated by Queen Amalasuntha,
and consecrated no fewer than thirty-nine bishops, during his short tenure of four years./ref> During Felix's pontificate, an imperial edict was passed granting that cases against clergy should be dealt with by the pope or a designated ecclesiastical court. Violation of this ruling would result in a fine, the proceeds of which were designated for the poor. Felix also defined church teaching on grace and free will in response to a request of Faustus of Riez, in
Gaul
Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...
, on opposing Semi-Pelagianism. As such, Felix approved the teachings of the Council of Orange in 529, which also explained original sin
Original sin () in Christian theology refers to the condition of sinfulness that all humans share, which is inherited from Adam and Eve due to the Fall of man, Fall, involving the loss of original righteousness and the distortion of the Image ...
.
Felix attempted to designate his own successor: Pope Boniface II. The reaction of the Senate was to forbid the discussion of a pope's successor during his lifetime or to accept such a nomination. The majority of the clergy reacted to Felix's activity by nominating Dioscorus as Pope. Only a minority supported Boniface. His feast day is celebrated on 30 January. He remains the most recent pope to bear the pontifical name "Felix".
Notes
References
External links
Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Felix 04 530 deaths 6th-century Christian saints Italian popes Ostrogothic Papacy Papal saints Samnite people Popes Year of birth unknown 6th-century popes Year of birth uncertain Burials at St. Peter's Basilica