Felix | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Papacy began | 355 |
| Papacy ended | 358 |
| Predecessor | Novatian |
| Successor | Ursicinus |
| Opposed to | Pope Liberius |
| Personal details | |
| Died | 22 November 365 Porto, Rome, Italy |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Antipope Felix II, an archdeacon of Rome, was installed as Pope in 355 AD after the Emperor Constantius II banished the reigning Pope, Liberius, for refusing to subscribe to a sentence of condemnation against Saint Athanasius. [1]
In May 357 AD the Roman laity, which had remained faithful to Liberius, demanded that Constantius, who was on a visit to Rome, should recall Liberius. The Emperor planned to have Felix and Liberius rule jointly, but when Liberius returned Felix was forced to retire to Porto, near Rome, where, after making an unsuccessful attempt to establish himself again in Rome, he died on 22 November 365 AD. [2] [3]
This Felix was later confused with a Roman martyr named Felix, with the result that he was included in lists of the Popes as Felix II and that the succeeding Popes of the same name (Pope Felix III and Pope Felix IV) were given wrong numerals, as was Antipope Felix V. [4]
The Catholic Encyclopedia (1909) called this confusion a "distortion of the true facts" and suggested that it arose because the "Liber Pontificalis", which at this point may be registering a reliable tradition, says that this Felix built a church on the Via Aurelia, which is where the Roman martyr of an earlier date was buried. [5] However, a more recent source says that of the martyr Felix nothing is known except his name, that he was a martyr, and that he was buried in the cemetery on the Via Portuensis that bears his name. [6]
The Catholic Encyclopedia remarked that "the real story of the antipope was lost and he obtained in local Roman history the status of a saint and a confessor. As such he appears in the Roman Martyrology on 29 July." At that time (1909) the Roman Martyrology had the following text:
At Rome, on the Aurelian Way, St. Felix II, pope and martyr. Being expelled from his See by the Arian emperor Constantius for defending the Catholic faith, and being put to the sword privately at Cera in Tuscany, he died gloriously. His body was taken away from that place by clerics, and buried on the Aurelian Way. It was afterwards brought to the Church of the Saints Cosmas and Damian, where, under the Sovereign Pontiff Gregory XIII, it was found beneath the altar with the relics of the holy martyrs Mark, Marcellian, and Tranquillinus, and with the latter was put back in the same place on 31 July. In the same altar were also found the bodies of the holy martyrs Abundius, a priest, and Abundantius, a deacon, which were shortly after solemnly transferred to the church of the Society of Jesus, on the eve of their feast.
This entry was based on what the Catholic Encyclopedia called later legends that confound the relative positions of Felix and Liberius. More recent editions of the Roman Martyrology [7] have instead:
At Rome, at the third milestone on the Via Portuensis, in the cemetery dedicated to his name, Saint Felix, martyr.
The feast day of the Roman martyr Felix is 29 July. [7] The antipope Felix died, as stated above, on a 22 November, and his death was not a martyr's, [8] occurring when the Peace of Constantine had been in force for half a century.
As well as the Roman Martyrology, the Roman Missal identified the Saint Felix of 29 July with the antipope. This identification, still found in the 1920 typical edition, [9] does not appear in the 1962 typical edition. [10] To judge by the Marietti printing of 1952, which omits the numeral "II" and the word "Papae", the correction had already been made by then. One Catholic writer excuses this by saying that the antipope "himself did refuse to accept Arianism, and so his feast has been kept in the past on [29 July]". [1]
Pope Alexander I was the bishop of Rome from c. 107 until his death c. 115. The Holy See's Annuario Pontificio (2012) identifies him as a Roman who served from 108 or 109 to 116 or 119. Some believe he suffered martyrdom under the Roman emperor Trajan or Hadrian.
Pius I was the bishop of Rome from c. 140 to his death c. 154, according to the Annuario Pontificio. His dates are listed as 142 or 146 to 157 or 161, respectively. He is considered to have opposed both the Valentinians and Gnostics during his papacy. He is considered a saint by the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church with a feast day in 11 July, but it is unclear if he died as a martyr.
Pope Stephen I was the Bishop of Rome from 12 May 254 to his death on 2 August 257. He was later canonized as a saint and some accounts say he was killed while celebrating Mass.
Pope Felix I was the bishop of Rome from 5 January 269 to his death on 30 December 274.
Pope Soter was the bishop of Rome from c. 167 to his death in c. 174. According to the Annuario Pontificio, the dates may have ranged from 162–168 to 170–177. He was born in Fondi, Campania, today in the Lazio region of Italy. Soter is known for declaring that marriage was valid only as a sacrament blessed by a priest and also for formally inaugurating Easter as an annual festival in Rome. His name, from Greek Σωτήριος from σωτήρ "saviour", would be his baptismal name, as his lifetime predates the tradition of adopting papal names.
Pope Lucius I was the bishop of Rome from 25 June 253 to his death on 5 March 254. He was banished soon after his consecration, but gained permission to return. He was mistakenly classified as a martyr in the persecution by Emperor Valerian, which did not begin until after Lucius' death.
Pope Anacletus, also known as Cletus, was the bishop of Rome, following Peter, and Linus. Anacletus served between c. AD 79 and his death, c. AD 92. Cletus was a Roman who, during his tenure as pope, ordained a number of priests and is traditionally credited with setting up about twenty-five parishes in Rome. Although the precise dates of his pontificate are uncertain, he "...died a martyr, perhaps about 91". Cletus is mentioned in the Roman Canon of the mass; his feast day is April 26.
Pope Marcellinus was the bishop of Rome from 30 June 296 to his death in 304. A historical accusation was levelled at him by some sources to the effect that he might have renounced Christianity during Emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians before repenting afterwards, which would explain why he is omitted from lists of martyrs. The accusation is rejected, among others, by Augustine of Hippo. He is today venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church and in the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Pope Liberius was the bishop of Rome from 17 May 352 until his death. According to the Catalogus Liberianus, he was consecrated on 22 May as the successor to Julius I. He is not mentioned as a saint in the Roman Martyrology. That makes him the earliest pontiff not to be venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church and, along with Anastasius II, one of only two popes to be omitted from Catholic sainthood in the first 500 years of church history.
Ursicinus, also known as Ursinus, was elected pope in a violently contested election in 366 as a rival to Pope Damasus I. He ruled in Rome for several months in 366–367, was afterwards declared antipope, and died after 381.
Abdon and Sennen, variously written in early calendars and martyrologies Abdo, Abdus, and Sennes, Sennis, Zennen, are recognized by the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church as Christian martyrs, with a feast day on 30 July. In some places they have been honoured on 20 March, and the first Sunday of May.
Cyriacus, sometimes Anglicized as Cyriac, according to Christian tradition, is a Christian martyr who was killed in the Diocletianic Persecution. He is one of twenty-seven saints, most of them martyrs, who bear this name, of whom only seven are honoured by a specific mention of their names in the Roman Martyrology.
Saints Simplicius, Faustinus and Beatrix were siblings martyred in Rome during the Diocletian persecution.
Martinian and Processus were Christian martyrs of ancient Rome. Neither the years they lived nor the circumstances of their deaths are known. They are currently buried in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
Felicitas of Rome, also anglicized as Felicity, is a saint numbered among the Christian martyrs. Apart from her name, the only thing known for certain about this martyr is that she was buried in the Cemetery of Maximus, on the Via Salaria on a 23 November. However, a legend presents her as the mother of the seven martyrs whose feast is celebrated on 10 July. The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates their martyrdom on 25 January.
Saint Hermes, born in Greece, died in Rome as a martyr in 120, is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. His name appears in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum as well as entries in the Depositio Martyrum (354). There was a large basilica over his tomb that was built around 600 by Pope Pelagius I and restored by Pope Adrian I. A catacomb in the Salarian Way bears his name.
Eusebius of Rome, the founder of the church on the Esquiline Hill in Rome that bears his name, is listed in the Roman Martyrology as one of the saints venerated on 14 August.
Marcellus and Apuleius were third- or fourth-century martyrs who were inserted in the General Roman Calendar in the 13th century. They were recognized as saints by the Catholic Church, with 7 October as their feast day. Apuleius is considered purely legendary, and is no longer recognized.
Agapitus is venerated as a martyr saint, who died on August 18, perhaps in 274, a date that the latest editions of the Roman Martyrology say is uncertain.
1969 edition of the General Roman Calendar was promulgated on 1 January 1970 by Paul VI's Mysterii Paschalis. It is the current version of the General Roman Calendar.
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