Felix | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of the East Angles | |
 A statue of Felix (1885) at St Peter Mancroft, Norwich | |
| See | Dommoc |
| Appointed | c. 630 |
| Term ended | c. 648 |
| Successor | Thomas |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | by Honorius of Canterbury |
| Personal details | |
| Born | |
| Died | 8 March 647 or 648 Dunwich, East Anglia |
| Sainthood | |
| Feast day | 8 March |
| Venerated in | Church of England[1] Eastern Orthodox Church Catholic Church |
Felix of Burgundy (died 8 March 647 or 648), also known as Felix of Dunwich, was the first bishop of the kingdom of the East Angles. He is widely credited as the man who introduced Christianity to the kingdom. Almost all that is known about him comes from the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, completed by the English historian Bede in about 731, and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Bede wrote that Felix freed "the whole of this kingdom from long-standing evil and unhappiness".[2]
Felix came from the Frankish kingdom of Burgundy, and may have been a priest at one of the monasteries in Francia founded by the Irish missionary Columbanus—he may have been Bishop of Châlons, before being forced to seek refuge elsewhere. Felix travelled from Burgundy to Canterbury, before being sent by Archbishop Honorius of Canterbury to Sigeberht of East Anglia's kingdom in about 630 (travelling by sea to Babingley in Norfolk, according to local legend). Upon his arrival in East Anglia, Sigeberht gave him a see at Dommoc, possibly at Walton, Suffolk near Felixstowe, or Dunwich in Suffolk. According to Bede, Felix helped Sigeberht to establish a school in his kingdom "where boys could be taught letters".[3][4]
Felix died on 8 March 647 or 648, having been bishop for 17 years. His relics were translated from Dommoc to Soham Abbey and then to the abbey at Ramsey. After his death, he was venerated as a saint; several English churches are dedicated to him. Felix's feast date is 8 March.
- ^ "The Calendar". Church of England. Archived from the original on 28 December 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
- ^ Grossi 2021, pp. 63–64.
- ^ Bede 1999, p. 138.
- ^ Orme 2006, p. 22.