Felix of Burgundy

Infobox bishopbiog
name =Felix


religion =Catholic
See =Diocese of Dunwich
Title = Bishop of Dunwich
Period = c630–647
Predecessor = new foundation
Successor = Thomas
ordination =
bishops =
post =
date of birth =
place of birth =
date of death =647
place of death =

Infobox Saint
name=Felix of Dunwich
birth_date=
death_date=647
feast_day=previously March 8
now May 13
venerated_in=


imagesize=
caption=
birth_place=
death_place=
titles=
beatified_date=
beatified_place=
beatified_by=
canonized_date=
canonized_place=
canonized_by=
attributes=bishop with three rings on his right hand
patronage=Diocese of East Anglia
major_shrine=Ramsey Abbey
suppressed_date=
issues=

Saint Felix of Burgundy, also known as Felix of Dunwich is a saint widely credited as the man who introduced Christianity to East Anglia in Eastern England.

He arrived in England sometime around AD 615 in the hamlet of Babingley, Norfolk via the River Babingley, and made his way to Canterbury where he was ordained as a Bishop around 630Powicke "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 222] by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Honorius, at the request of King Sigebert of East Anglia.Walsh "A New Dictionary of Saints" p. 201]

He is recorded by Bede as having formed his episcopal see at "Dommoc" which is widely taken to mean Dunwich on the Suffolk coast, although other historians have suggested an alternative site at Walton, Suffolk near Felixstowe, where a church and priory were dedicated to him by Roger Bigod in 1105. Soon afterwards, he established a church and school at "Domnoc" and also founded the abbey of Soham in Cambridgeshire. He was widely seen as being something of a bridge-builder between the Roman and Celtic traditions of Christianity. St Felix is said to have died on 8 March 647 later celebrated as his feast day.

His body was interred at Soham Abbey but this was pillaged by the Vikings in 869 and his tomb desecrated. During the reign of Cnut his remains were again moved to Ramsey Abbey on the Fens. He was succeeded as Bishop by Thomas, a Fenman.

External links

* [http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintf24.htm Patron Saints Index: St. Felix of Dunwich]
* [http://www.pase.ac.uk/pase/apps/persons/CreatePersonFrames.jsp?personKey=2478 Prosopography of Anglo Saxon England entry for Felix]
* [http://www.saintfelix.co.uk/index.html St. Felix RC Parish - Felixstowe]
* [http://www.soham.org.uk/history/stfelix.htm St. Felix - Soham]

Notes

References

* Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde "Handbook of British Chronology" 2nd. ed. London:Royal Historical Society 1961
* Walsh, Michael "A New Dictionary of Saints: East and West" London: Burns & Oates 2007 ISBN 0-8601-2438-X

ee also

* List of the Bishops of the Diocese of Norwich, England and its precursor offices

Persondata
NAME=Felix of Burgundy, Saint
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Felix of Dunwich
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Bishop of Dunwich
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=647
PLACE OF DEATH=