May 30
SAINT FELIX I Pope and Martyr († 274)

Pope Felix was St. Dionysius' sucessor. He was consecrated in the year 269. Like his predecessor, he rallied the Church during an era of persecution.
Pope Felix's biography begins with the work of unifying a Church under attack from heresies. The third council of Antioch in 269 refuted Paul of Samosata's teaching that Jesus was a man who became divine. Paul of Samosata forfeited his bishopric, but only exited after being expelled by the pagan emperor.
The narrator Alban Butler writes about St. Felix's end: "The persecution of Aurelian breaking out, St. Felix, fearless of danger, strengthened the weak, encouraged all, baptized the catechumens and continued to exert himself in converting persons to the Faith." He was martyred like the Apostles in 274.

Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

 


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