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The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity


from its origins to circa AD 700, across the entire Christian world


Name

Felix, priest and confessor of Nola

Saint ID

S00000

Number in BH

BHL 2870-2876

Reported Death Not Before

250

Reported Death Not After

260

Gender
Male
Type of Saint
"Confessors", Lesser clergy
Related Evidence Records
IDTitle
E01156Augustine of Hippo, in his treatise On the Care of the Dead (1.1), mentions the desire of a pious woman to bury her son in the basilica of *Felix (priest and confessor of Nola, S00000) at Nola (southern Italy), in the hope that it would be of benefit to him. Written in Latin in Hippo Regius (Numidia, central North Africa), 420/422.
E01750Augustine of Hippo, in his treatise On the Care of the Dead, deals with the issue of the potential advantages of burial ad sanctos (i.e. close to the body of a saint); he rejects any direct benefit, but agrees there are some indirect ones. Written in Latin in Hippo Regius (Numidia, central North Africa), 420/422.
E01774Augustine of Hippo preaches a sermon at the feast of *Felix (priest and confessor of Nola, S00000), most probably at Hippo Regius (Numidia, central North Africa). Exposition on Psalm 127, delivered in Latin, possibly in 407.
E01841Augustine of Hippo, in his Letter 78, probably of the 400s, to his congregation in Hippo Regius (Numidia, central North Africa), explains how he decided to send two clerics, who had accused each other of misbehaviour, to the shrine of *Felix (confessor of Nola, S00000) at Nola (southern Italy), expecting the truth to be revealed there. He refers to a miracle of this kind which took place in Milan (northern Italy), and claims that no miracles occur at the tombs of saints in Africa. Written in Latin in Hippo.
E02204Calendar of the Church of Carthage (central North Africa) lists saints whose liturgical commemorations were celebrated in January. Written in Latin in Carthage, probably between 505 and 535.
E02532The Latin Martyrdom/Life of *Felix (confessor, younger brother of the Roman martyr Felix, the companion of Adauctus, S01483) narrates the tortures endured by Felix and the miracles effected by him in Rome; Felix’s travel to Nola; the conversions effected there, and his peaceful death in the same city after 12 years. Written presumably in Rome, at an uncertain date, in the 9th c. at the latest.
E02874Paulinus of Nola, in a letter to Sulpicius Severus of c. 399 (Letter 17), rebukes him for neglecting a promised visit to the shrine of *Felix (priest and confessor of Nola, S00000), even though he frequently visits the shrine of *Martin (ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397, S00050) in Gaul. Written in Latin at Nola (southern Italy).
E04379Paulinus of Nola, in several of his poems (in the Natalicia) written in honour of *Felix (priest and confessor of Nola, S00000), describes the devotion of pilgrims, both local and from afar, to Felix throughout the year, and the feast day celebrations which take place in Nola. Written in Latin, in Spain and later Nola (southern Italy), between 395 and 408.
E04609The 6th/7th c. recension of the Latin Martyrologium Hieronymianum, as transmitted in 8th c. manuscripts, records the feasts of a number of saints on 14 January.
E04655Paulinus of Nola composes the epitaph of Cynegius, a young aristocratic man buried next to the tomb of *Felix (priest and confessor of Nola, S00000) at Nola/Cimitile (southern Italy); the inscription refers to the protection Felix will offer Cynegius at the Last Judgement. Written in Latin at Nola, 420/421.
E04656Two lost Latin inscriptions, probably set up after 484, celebrate the decoration and expansion of the church of *Felix (priest and confessor of Nola, S00000) at Nola/Cimitile (southern Italy) by Paulinus, bishop of Nola (ob. c. 431).
E04657Paulinus of Nola, in a metrical letter (Carmen 24) addressed to Cyntherius, an Aquitanian aristocrat in c. 400, describes two miraculous escapes experienced by a messenger from southern Gaul to Nola: one, effected by *Paul (the Apostle, S00008) and involving a copy of his Epistles, and one by *Felix (priest and confessor of Nola, S00000). Written in Latin at Nola (southern Italy).
E04741Paulinus of Nola composes fourteen poems (the Natalicia) to be delivered at Nola/Cimitile (southern Italy) on the feast day of *Felix (priest and confessor of Nola, S00000). They include an account of Felix’s life, and descriptions of devotion to Felix, focusing on his feast day (14 January), miracles effected by the saint, and the expansion of Felix’s shrine which took place under Paulinus. Written in Latin, in Spain and later Nola, between 395 and 408. Overview entry.
E04767Paulinus of Nola, in many of his fourteen poems (the Natalicia) written in honour of *Felix (priest and confessor of Nola, S00000), identifies Felix as the special protector (patronus) of Nola (southern Italy); the similar role of other saints, in other regions, is detailed in Natalicium 11. Written in Latin, in Spain and later Nola, between 395 and 408.
E04768Paulinus of Nola, in several of his poems (in the Natalicia) written in honour of *Felix (priest and confessor of Nola, S00000), describes the building work undertaken by Paulinus at Felix’s tomb at Nola/Cimitile (southern Italy); Natalicium 9 also refers to the relics of several other apostolic saints and martyrs housed in the basilica complex at Nola. Written in Latin, in Spain and later Nola, between 400 and 407.
E04769Augustine of Hippo, in his treatise On the Care of the Dead (16.19), narrates how *Felix (priest and confessor of Nola, S00000) miraculously appeared at Nola (southern Italy) when it was being attacked by barbarians. In this passage, he considers the nature of miracles. Written in Latin in Hippo Regius (Numidia, central North Africa), 420/422.
E05092Paulinus of Nola, in a letter to Sulpicius Severus of c. 396 (Letter 5), invites him to join Paulinus at Nola (southern Italy), under the protection of *Felix (priest and confessor of Nola, S00000). Written in Latin at Nola.
E05096Paulinus of Nola, in a letter to Sulpicius Severus of c. 400 (Letter 29), refers to pilgrim accommodation at the basilica complex surrounding the tomb of *Felix (priest and confessor of Nola, S00000) at Nola/Cimitile (southern Italy), and to the singing of boys and virgins. Written in Latin at Nola.
E05102Paulinus of Nola, in a letter to Sulpicius Severus of c. 400 (Letter 29), describes the visit of *Melania the Elder (aristocrat of Rome, monastic founder in Jerusalem, ob. AD 410, S01185) to the shrine of *Felix (priest and confessor of Nola, S00000) at Nola/Cimitile (southern Italy). Her sanctity is referred to using hagiographic tropes and her clothes are believed to impart spiritual benefit. Written in Latin at Nola.
E05104Paulinus of Nola, in a long letter to Sulpicius Severus of 403/404 (Letter 32), discusses building-work carried out by Severus at Primuliacum (southern Gaul) and sends proposals for poetic inscriptions at the site; Paulinus also describes his own building-work at Nola/Cimitile and Funda/Fondi (both southern Italy), quoting in full the poems he has written for these churches. Several of these poetic inscriptions refer to the saints venerated at Primuliacum, Nola and Fondi. Written in Latin at Nola.
E05122Paulinus of Nola, in a letter to an aristocrat of Rome (Letter 49), written after 408, describes how Christ taking the form of *Felix (priest and confessor of Nola, southern Italy, S00000) appeared to, and aided, a man at risk of shipwreck; the man's ear, touched by Christ, is for Paulinus a holy object. Written in Latin at Nola.
E05123Paulinus of Nola, in two poems (Natalicia 6 and 13) written in honour of *Felix (priest and confessor of Nola, S00000), describes how perfumed oil was poured into the saint's tomb and then collected to create contact relics. Written in Latin at Nola (southern Italy), in 400 and 407.
E05132Paulinus of Nola, in one of his poems (Natalicium 11), describes the translation to Constantinople of the relics of *Timothy (the disciple of Paul, S00466) and *Andrew (the Apostle, S00288), attributing this to a desire by Constantine to provide the city with protectors as great as those of Rome; the poem also tells how, at this time, small fragments of these relics were detached and distributed; some are housed and venerated at the shrine of *Felix (priest and confessor of Nola, S00000) at Cimitile/Nola (southern Italy). Written in Latin at Nola, c. 405.
E05410Bede, in his Martyrology, records the feast on 14 January in Campania (southern Italy) of *Felix (priest and confessor of Nola, S00000). Written in Latin at Wearmouth-Jarrow (north-east Britain), 725/731.
E05840The Calendar of Willibrord, in its earliest version, records the feasts of various saints in January. Written in Latin at Echternach, Frisia (north-east Gaul), 703/710.
E06540The Latin Gelasian Sacramentary (or Liber Sacramentorum Romanae Ecclesiae), probably compiled around 750 near Paris using earlier material from Rome records prayers to saints on their feast days in January.
E08256Latin inscription recording the presence of relics of *Peter (the Apostle, S00036), *Felix (possibly the martyr of Gerona, S00408), and *Vincentius (probably the martyr of Zaragoza and Valencia, S00290). Found near Calama (Numidia, central North Africa). Probably 6th/7th c.
E0831535 relic labels at Sens (northern Gaul), datable by their script to the 7th or 8th c., for relics of a great diversity of saints. Written in Latin, perhaps at Sens, or at an earlier stage in their transmission.