Felix of Burgundy
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Denomination | Catholic |
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Senior posting | |
See | Diocese of Dunwich |
Title | Bishop of Dunwich |
Period in office | c630–647 |
Predecessor | new foundation |
Successor | Thomas |
Personal | |
Date of death | 647 |
Felix of Dunwich | |
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Died | 647 |
Major shrine | Ramsey Abbey |
Feast | previously March 8 now May 13 |
Attributes | bishop with three rings on his right hand |
Patronage | Diocese of East Anglia |
Saints Portal |
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 the hamlet of Babingley, Norfolk via the River Babingley, and made his way to Canterbury where he was ordained as a Bishop around 630[1] by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Honorius, at the request of King Sigebert of East Anglia.[2]
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[1] 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.
Contents |
[edit] External links
- Patron Saints Index: St. Felix of Dunwich
- Prosopography of Anglo Saxon England entry for Felix
- St. Felix RC Parish - Felixstowe
- St. Felix - Soham
[edit] Notes
[edit] 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
[edit] See also
Religious titles | ||
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Preceded by new foundation |
Bishop of Dunwich c630–647 |
Succeeded by Thomas |
Persondata | |
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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 |