Saint Félix de Nole
Prêtre d'origine
syrienne (+ 252)
Sans doute d'origine
syrienne, même s'il naquit à Naples. Durant la persécution de l'empereur
Valérien, il fut fait prisonnier. Libéré à la mort de l'empereur, il se retira
plein de simplicité, refusant d'être choisi comme évêque de Nole.
On retient de lui
"qu'il subsista, le reste de sa vie, au moyen d'un petit jardin et de
trois mesures de terre prises à louage qu'il cultivait de ses propres mains et
dont il partageait le produit avec les pauvres."
A lire aussi: Saint
Félix sur le Pincio (la légende dorée de Jacques Voragine).
À Nole en Campanie, vers
260, saint Félix, prêtre. Comme le rapporte saint Paulin, quand la
persécution fit rage, il fut jeté en prison, supporta d’affreuses tortures et,
quand la paix fut enfin rétablie, il revint parmi les siens, vivant dans la
pauvreté volontaire jusqu’à sa vieillesse, invincible confesseur de la foi.
Martyrologe romain
Nul, s’il possède la
charité, ne hait. On connaît l’arbre à ses fruits : ainsi ceux qui font
profession d’être du Christ se feront reconnaître à leurs œuvres. Car maintenant
l’œuvre qui nous est demandée n’est pas une simple profession de foi, mais
d’être trouvé jusqu’à la fin dans la pratique de la foi.
Saint Ignace d’Antioche
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/424/Saint-Felix-de-Nole.html
S. Félix de Nole
14 janvier
Saint Félix était Syrien
d’origine, mais né à Nole qui est une ville dans l’arrière-pays de Naples en
Campanie. Prêtre de Nole, s’attaquant avec véhémence à une idole, il est jeté
en prison et subit de nombreux tourments de la part des infidèles.
Un Ange le délivra
pendant la nuit et lui ordonna d’aller trouver Maximien, évêque de Nole,
lequel, accablé de vieillesse et désespérant de pouvoir supporter le supplice
de la persécution, s’était caché dans une forêt.
Saint Félix, conduit de
Dieu, y étant parvenu, trouve le saint évêque étendu à terre et à demi-mort. Il
le ranime, le relève, le prend sur ses épaules et le confie aux soins d’une
veuve fidèle.
Ayant de nouveau accusé
d’impiété les adorateurs des idoles, il est en butte à une agression, et,
dans sa fuite, il se cache dans l’intervalle de deux murailles. Cette retraite
apparaît soudain couverte par des toiles d’araignées, et on ne put se douter
que quelqu’un s’y fût récemment abrité. Saint Félix, ayant ainsi échappé,
demeura trois mois dans la maison d’une pieuse femme.
Lorsque l’Église de Dieu
eut commencé à jouir d’un peu de repos, il revint à Nole, et ayant obtenu, par
l’exemple de sa vie, par les enseignements de sa doctrine et par ses
miracles, de nombreuses conversions à la Foi du Christ, et ayant
opiniâtrement refusé l’épiscopat de sa ville natale,
Il s’endormit dans
le Seigneur et fut enseveli près de Nole, au lieu nommé in Pineis.
C’était l’an 256, saint Étienne Ier étant pape et Valérien empereur.
Des miracles innombrables
rendirent célèbre son tombeau. Au témoignage de saint Paulin qui fut évêque de
Nole et qui lui dut sa conversion, Nole est, après Rome, le second centre des
nombreux pèlerinages qui caractérisent le IVe siècle. Ainsi s’affirme
dans Son glorieux serviteur la puissance divine du Maître.
Saint Félix de Nole,
prêtre fidèle en dépit des tortures
Et ami de son ange
gardien
JANVIER 14, 2013By Anita BourdinÉcriture
Sainte, théologie
Le martyrologe romain
fait aujourd’hui mémoire de saint Félix de Nole, prêtre d’origine syrienne qui
a annoncé l’Evangile en Italie, à Nole (†v. 260).
Félix aurait en effet été
fils d’un Syrien chrétien installé à Nole, près de Naples. Il se prépara très
jeune au sacerdoce et reçut l’ordination des mains de l’évêque Maxime. Celui-ci
fut contraint de s’éloigner de la ville lors des persécutions et il confia à
Félix la responsabilité pastorale des fidèles.
Or, Félix fut lui-même
arrêté et cruellement torturé : les Romains voulaient le contraindre à
sacrifier aux dieux de Rome. Sa foi ne vacilla pas sous la douleur. Il aurait
alors été délivré miraculeusement par son ange. Celui-ci le conduisit ensuite
au chevet de l’évêque qu’il sauva de la faim.
Il poursuivit ensuite son
ministère en dépit de la persécution. A la mort de l’évêque, et la persécution
ayant cessé, il se retira dans la solitude et la pauvreté, et s’endormit en
Dieu.
Saint Paulin, évêque de Nole
(354-431), en Campanie, a laissé un récit enflammé du témoignage de la
vénération populaire envers saint Félix. Il nourrissait en effet envers ce
saint une grande dévotion et il a chanté ses louanges dans deux poèmes.
SOURCE : http://fr.zenit.org/articles/saint-felix-de-nole-pretre-fidele-en-depit-des-tortures/ et
SAINT FÉLIX SUR LE PINCIO
Félix est surnommé in
pinci, ou bien du lieu où il repose, ou des stylets avec lesquels on prétend
qu'il souffrit, car pinca signifie stylet.
On dit que saint Félix
était maître d'école, et que sa sévérité était par trop grande. Ayant été pris
par les païens il confessa ouvertement J.-C. et fut livré à ses écoliers qui le
tuèrent à coups de stylet et de poinçon. Cependant l’Eglise paraît croire qu'il
ne fut pas martyr, mais confesseur. Toutes les fois qu'il était mené à une
idole pour lui sacrifier, il soufflait dessus et à l’instant elle était
renversée. On lit, dans une autre légende, que Maxime, évêque de Nole, fuyant
la persécution, tomba par terre, saisi par la faim et la gelée. Félix lui fut
envoyé par un ange; et comme il n'avait rien à lui donner à manger, il vit une
grappe de raisin pendant à un églantier, il lui en exprima le jus dans la
bouche, le mit sur ses épaules et l’emporta. Après la mort de Maxime, Félix fut
élu évêque. S'étant livré ensuite à la prédication, il fut recherché par le
persécuteur; alors il se cacha dans des décombres de murailles en se glissant
par un petit trou, et aussitôt des araignées conduites par la main de Dieu
vinrent tendre leurs toiles sur cette ouverture. Les persécuteurs, qui les
aperçoivent, jugent qu'il n'y a là personne et passent outre. Félix s'en vint
de là en un autre lieu où il fut nourri pendant trois mois par une veuve dont
il ne regarda jamais la figure. Enfin le calme ayant été rendu, il revint à son
église et il y reposa en paix. Il fut enseveli auprès de la ville dans un lieu
appelé Pincis. Il avait un frère, comme lui nommé Félix. Comme on le forçait
aussi d'adorer les idoles, il dit : « Vous êtes les ennemis de vos dieux, car
si vous me conduisez vers leurs images, je soufflerai sur eux comme mon frère
et ils tomberont. » Saint Félix cultivait un jardin, dont quelques-uns
voulurent prendre les légumes. En pensant commettre leur vol, pendant toute la
nuit, ils cultivèrent parfaitement le jardin. Le matin Félix les salua; alors
ils confessèrent leur péché et retournèrent chez eux. Les gentils vinrent pour
s'emparer de Félix; mais une douleur grave les saisit à la main. Comme ils
poussaient des hurlements, Félix leur parla en ces termes : « Dites : «
J.-C. est Dieu » et la douleur cessera aussitôt. » Après avoir prononcé ces
paroles, ils furent guéris. Le pontife des idoles vint le trouver et lui dire :
« Seigneur, voici mon Dieu; dès qu'il vous voit venir, à l’instant il prend la
fuite, et comme je lui disais: « Pourquoi fuis-tu ?» il répondit « Je ne puis
supporter la vertu de ce Félix. » Si donc mon Dieu vous craint ainsi, à combien
plus forte raison dois-je vous craindre moi-même. » Félix l’ayant instruit dans
la foi, il se fit baptiser. Félix disait à ceux qui adoraient Apollon : « Si
Apollon est le vrai Dieu, qu'il me dise ce que je serre en ce moment dans ma
main? » Or il tenait un petit billet sur lequel était écrite l’oraison
dominicale. Comme il ne répondait rien, les gentils se convertirent. Enfin
après avoir célébré la messe, et avoir donné la paix au peuple, il se coucha
sur le pavé, se mit en prières et mourut dans le Seigneur.
La Légende dorée de Jacques de Voragine nouvellement traduite en
français avec introduction, notices, notes et recherches sur les sources par
l'abbé J.-B. M. Roze, chanoine honoraire de la Cathédrale d'Amiens, Édouard
Rouveyre, éditeur, 76, rue de Seine, 76, Paris mdcccci
SOURCE : http://www.abbaye-saint-benoit.ch/voragine/tome01/022.htm
Lorenzo
Lotto. San Felice in cattedra, 1542, 139 x 57, Chiesa di San Domenico, Giovinazzo
St Félix, prêtre et
martyr
Le culte de St Félix
gagna Rome grâce à la basilique dont il était le titulaire ad Portam Pincianam,
sa fête était déjà célébrée sous St Grégoire le Grand (+604). St
Paulin de Nole contribua beaucoup à la diffusion du culte de St Félix,
qui bien que mort de mort non violente hérita du titre de martyr à cause des
persécutions qu’il subit.
Textes de la Messe
eodem die 14 ianuarii
S. Felicis
Presb. Et Mart.
Commemoratio
Missa Lætábitur, de
Communi unius Martyris 4 loco, cum orationibus ut infra :
Oratio
Concéde, quǽsumus,
omnípotens Deus : ut ad meliórem vitam Sanctórum tuórum exémpla nos
próvocent ; quaténus, quorum sollémnia ágimus, étiam actus imitémur. Per
Dóminum.
Secreta
Hóstias tibi, Dómine,
beáti Félicis Mártyris tui dicátas méritis, benígnus assúme : et ad
perpétuum nobis tríbue proveníre subsídium. Per Dóminum.
Postcommunio
ce même 14 janvier
Saint Félix
Prêtre et Martyr
Commémoraison
Messe Lætábitur, du
Commun d’un Martyr 4, avec les oraisons ci-dessous :
Collecte
Accordez-nous, nous vous
en supplions, ô Dieu tout-puissant, que les exemples de vos Saints nous
excitent à une vie meilleure, en sorte que nous imitions aussi les œuvres de
ceux dont nous célébrons la fête.
Secrète
Recevez favorablement,
Seigneur, les hosties que nous vous offrons par les mérites de votre saint
Martyr Félix ; faites qu’elles nous obtiennent votre assistance
continuelle.
Postcommunion
Rassasiés par la
participation à ces mystères de salut, nous vous demandons, Seigneur, d’être
aidés grâce aux prières de votre bienheureux Martyr Félix dont nous célébrons
la solennité.
Office
Leçon des
Matines avant 1960
Neuvième
leçon. Félix, Prêtre de Nole, s’étant élevé avec force contre le culte des
idoles, fut persécuté de diverses manières par les infidèles, puis jeté en
prison. Délivré la nuit par un Ange, il reçut l’ordre de chercher Maximien,
Évêque de Nole : celui-ci, se voyant accablé de vieillesse, et craignant
de ne pouvoir supporter les supplices des persécuteurs, s’était caché dans une
forêt. Félix, conduit par Dieu, parvint au lieu où se trouvait le saint Évêque,
il l’aperçut gisant à terre et presque sans vie ; après l’avoir ranimé, il
le prit sur ses épaules, et le confia, pour le rétablir, aux soins d’une veuve
chrétienne. Comme Félix reprenait de nouveau de leur impiété les adorateurs des
idoles, ils voulurent se précipiter sur lui, mais fuyant leur poursuite, il se
cacha dans l’intervalle étroit de deux murailles. L’entrée de ce lieu parut
soudain couverte de toiles d’araignées, en sorte que personne ne put soupçonner
qu’on était venu s’y cacher à l’heure même. Félix, s’évadant de cette retraite,
demeura caché trois mois dans la maison d’une pieuse femme. Lorsque l’Église de
Dieu commença à jouir d’un peu de repos, il revint à Nole, où il fit beaucoup
de conversions par les exemples de sa vie, ses enseignements et ses miracles.
Il refusa constamment l’épiscopat de cette ville, s’endormit dans le Seigneur,
et fut enseveli près de Nole au lieu appelé in Princis.
Pressano
(Lavis, Trentino) - Chiesa di San Felice di Nola, interno - Affresco
raffigurante san Felice
Dom Guéranger, l’Année
Liturgique
Aux splendeurs radieuses
de son Épiphanie l’Emmanuel associe en ce jour, avec Hilaire
de Poitiers, un humble amant des vertus de la crèche. Soustrait par Dieu
même à la rage des persécuteurs, Félix n’en a pas moins obtenu le titre de
martyr pour son courage invincible dans des tourments et une captivité qui
devaient naturellement aboutir à la mort. Déjà inscrit au ciel dans la blanche
armée des athlètes du Seigneur, il devait encore longtemps réjouir et fortifier
l’Église par l’exemple de cette pauvreté admirable, de cette humilité, de cette
charité ardente qui lui donnent place, sur le cycle sacré, près de l’humble
berceau du Roi pacifique.
Il a aimé, il a suivi
l’Enfant-Dieu dans son obscurité volontaire ; et voilà qu’aujourd’hui ce
Roi des anges et des hommes, manifesté au monde, adoré par les rois, partage
avec lui la gloire de sa triomphante Épiphanie. Au vainqueur je donnerai de
s’asseoir avec moi dans mon trône, dit le Seigneur. (Apoc. III, 21.) En qui
plus qu’en Félix de Noie s’est réalisée sur terre la promesse bénie du divin
chef à ses membres ? Un pauvre tombeau venait de recevoir la dépouille
mortelle de l’humble prêtre de Campanie, qui semblait devoir y attendre, dans
le silence et l’obscurité qu’il avait tant aimée, le signal de la trompette de
l’Ange au jour de la Résurrection. Soudain des miracles éclatants et nombreux
illustrent cette tombe ; le nom de Félix, porté en tous lieux, opère en
tous lieux les mêmes prodiges de grâce ; à peine la paix est-elle rendue à
l’Église et au monde par l’avènement de Constantin à l’empire, que de toutes
parts les peuples s’ébranlent ; des foules sans nombre affluent au tombeau
du martyr ; Rome elle-même se dépeuple à certains jours, et l’antique voie
Appienne, dont le sol disparaît sous les pas pressés des pèlerins, semble
n’avoir jamais eu d’autre destination que de porter aux pieds de Félix les
hommages, la reconnaissance et l’amour du monde entier. Cinq basiliques ne
suffisent pas à l’immense concours ; une sixième s’élève, et une ville
nouvelle couvre le champ solitaire où furent autrefois déposés les restes précieux
du martyr. Pendant tout le quatrième siècle, qui à tant d’autres grandeurs
joignit celle de donner son extension entière au grand mouvement des
pèlerinages, la ville de Noie en Campanie demeure pour l’Occident le principal
centre, après Rome, de ces manifestations si catholiques de la foi chrétienne.
« Heureuse ville de Nole », s’écrie un contemporain, témoin oculaire
de ces merveilles, « heureuse ville, qui, par le bienheureux Félix, est
devenue la seconde après Rome même, Rome la première autrefois par son empire
et ses armes victorieuses, la première encore aujourd’hui par les tombeaux des
Apôtres ! » (Paulini, De S. Felice natalitium carmen II.)
Nous venons de citer
Paulin, l’illustre consulaire dont le nom est à jamais inséparable de celui de
Félix, Paulin
que nous retrouverons, au Temps après la Pentecôte, donnant lui aussi au
monde, sous le souffle du divin Esprit, d’admirables exemples de renoncement.
Dans la fleur de sa brillante jeunesse, prévenu déjà par les honneurs et la
gloire, Paulin, un jour, s’est rencontré près du tombeau de Félix ; il a
compris à ce tombeau la vraie grandeur et pénétré le néant des gloires
humaines : le sénateur romain, le consul, le descendant des Paul-Émile et
des Scipion, se voue à son vainqueur ; il sacrifiera tout, richesses,
honneurs, patrie, à l’ambition d’habiter près de cette tombe ; doué d’un
talent poétique admiré dans Rome, il n’aura plus d’inspiration que pour chanter
chaque année, au jour de sa fête, la gloire du bienheureux Félix, et se
proclamer l’esclave, l’humble portier du serviteur du Christ. Tel est en ses
saints le triomphe de l’Emmanuel ; telle est la gloire des membres, en ces
jours où le divin chef ne semble se manifester lui-même que pour les montrer,
selon sa promesse, assis dans un même trône et recevant comme lui les hommages
des peuples et des rois.
Ce jour, dirons-nous avec
le noble chantre de vos grandeurs, ô Félix, est le vingtième après celui où
l’Emmanuel naissant dans la chair, soleil nouveau vainqueur des frimas, ramena
la lumière et fit décroître les nuits. Sa splendeur est la vôtre. Faites
qu’échauffés par ses rayons fécondants, nous croissions comme vous en lui.
Redevenus enfants à la crèche, la semence du Verbe est en nous ; qu’elle
fructifie dans l’innocence d’un cœur nouveau. Par vous, le joug du Christ est
léger aux faibles ; par vous l’Enfant-Dieu s’adoucit, et rend ses caresses
aux âmes pénitentes. Ce jour donc aussi doit nous être cher qui vous vit naître
au ciel ; car par vous, nous mourons au monde et naissons à l’Emmanuel.
Bhx Cardinal
Schuster, Liber Sacramentorum
Station à Saint-Félix
« in Pincis ».
Dans l’antiquité, la
dévotion des fidèles envers ce martyr de Nole était si grande que, au dire de
saint Paulin, à l’approche de son natale, le long de la voie Appienne c’était
tout un va-et-vient de pèlerins qui, de Rome, se rendaient à Nole. Son culte ne
demeura pas limité à l’Italie, car des lointaines plages africaines, saint
Augustin envoyait ses clercs se disculper en prêtant serment sur le tombeau de
saint Félix. Le pape Damase composa en l’honneur de ce saint une magnifique
épigraphe votive ; Rome lui éleva de très bonne heure sur le mont Pincio
une basilique, l’antique oratoire domestique de la domus Pinciana des Anicii.
Bien que l’éponyme de la
fête de ce jour ne soit pas mort dans les tourments, la messe de saint Félix, à
l’exception des collectes, est celle du Commun des martyrs, comme pour la fête
de saint Saturnin. Cependant, dans l’antiquité, les lectures étaient propres,
et le Lectionnaire romain de Würzbourg, du milieu du VIIe siècle, prescrit pour
ce jour la lecture de l’évangile selon saint Luc (X, 16-20) : « Celui
qui vous écoute, etc. ... que vos noms soient écrits dans le
ciel. » [1].
Maintenant, la fête de
saint Félix, tombant le même jour que celle de saint Hilaire, est réduite pour
l’Église universelle à une simple commémoraison ; mais à Rome, lors d’une
nouvelle réforme du calendrier diocésain, il semblerait vraiment opportun de
restituer à l’antique honneur les fêtes traditionnelles des martyrs romains, en
attribuant à ceux-ci, selon la tradition liturgique, la préséance sur les autres
saints du cycle sanctoral.
Ainsi seraient remis en
honneur les églises stationnales et les sanctuaires élevés par les premiers
pontifes à la mémoire des plus célèbres champions de la Foi ; toute une
histoire très glorieuse de piété liturgique, éminemment romaine, serait remise
en lumière, et les reflets de cette vive lumière ajouteraient une nouvelle splendeur
à la Chaire apostolique.
La prière a un caractère
général, mais elle exprime très élégamment le fruit que nous devons retirer des
fêtes des saints : « Accordez-nous, ô Dieu tout-puissant, que les
exemples de vos saints nous provoquent à une vie meilleure, afin que, célébrant
leur solennité, nous imitions aussi leurs œuvre. Par notre Seigneur,
etc. »
La secrète est la
suivante : « Accueillez favorablement, Seigneur, les hosties qui vous
sont offertes en l’honneur des mérites de votre bienheureux martyr Félix, et
faites qu’il en résulte pour nous un secours pour l’éternité. » Quelques
sacramentaires donnent encore cette autre collecte : « Vous offrant,
Seigneur, ce sacrifice en la fête de votre martyr Félix nous vous supplions de
nous accorder à nous une immense miséricorde, comme vous lui concédâtes une
immense foi (fidei largitatem). »
Autrefois il y avait
aussi une préface propre pour cette fête. ...Et confessionem sancti Felicis
memorabilem non tacere, qui nec haereticis pravitatibus, nec saeculi
blandimentis a sui status rectitudine potuit immutari, sed inter utraque
discrimina, veritatis assertor, firmitatem tuae fidei non reliquat.
Après la communion on
récite la collecte suivante : « Enivrés par le Mystère du salut, nous
vous supplions, Seigneur, de permettre que nous soyons aidés par les prières de
votre bienheureux martyr Félix dont aujourd’hui nous célébrons la fête. Par
notre Seigneur, etc. »
Ce furent les magnifiques
miracles qui s’accomplissaient continuellement sur la tombe de saint Félix, qui
déterminèrent le grand saint Paulin de Noie à se consacrer entièrement à Dieu
et au service du sanctuaire du martyr. Par les soins du saint Évêque,
s’élevèrent rapidement autour du sépulcre de Félix un baptistère, deux
splendides basiliques, un monastère et de vastes habitations pour les pèlerins
qui y venaient en foule de toute l’Italie.
Saint Paulin avait
coutume de composer chaque année un poème à l’occasion du dies natalis de son
patron, et un grand nombre en a été conservé, ce qui contribua sans doute
beaucoup à répandre le culte de Félix.
Le pape Damase, lui
aussi, en un poème émouvant, professe sa reconnaissance envers le martyr Félix
qui lui avait obtenu de triompher de ses calomniateurs :
CORPORE - MENTE • ANIMO •
PARITERQVE • ET • NOMINE • FELIX
SANCTORVM • IN • NVMERO •
CHRISTI • SOCIATE • TRIVMPHIS
QVI • AD • TE • SOLLICITE
• VENIENTIBVS • OMNI • PRAESTAS
NEC • QVEMQVAM • PATERIS •
TRISTEM • REPEDARE • VIANTEM
TE • DVCE • SERVATVS . MORTIS
• QVOO • VINCVLA • RVPI
HOSTIBVS • EXTINCTIS • FVERANT
• QVI • FALSA • LOCVTI
VERSIBVS • HIS • DAMASVS
• SVPPLEX • TIBI • VOTA • REPENDO
O toi Félix (heureux) de
corps, d’âme, de cœur et de nom. Que le Christ associa au triomphe de ses
saints ; Toi qui accordes tout à celui qui vient solliciter ton
intercession, Ne permets pas que le pèlerin reprenne tristement sa route ;
Puisque sous ta protection j’ai échappé à la mort, Et qu’au contraire ne sont
plus ceux qui m’avaient calomnié, Moi, Damase, suppliant, par mes vers j’ai
voulu te rendre grâces.
La basilique de
Saint-Félix in Pincis se trouvait peu éloignée de l’église actuelle de la
Trinité-des-Monts. L’auteur anonyme du catalogue turinois des églises de Rome
au XIVe siècle, la compte parmi les églises abandonnées : Ecclesia sancti
Felicis non habet servitorem ; toutefois ses ruines sont encore indiquées
dans le plan de Rome fait par Bufalini.
[1] MENSE IANUARI XIIII DIE NAT. SCI. FELICIS IN
PINCIS lec. sci. euan. sec. Lucam k. CXVI In illo tempore dixit Ihs
discipulis suis qui vos audit usq. nomina uestra scripta sunt in
cælis.
Les réformes du Missel
Romain ont fait disparaître la plupart de ces leçons spéciales assignées
anciennement aux fêtes de cette espèce. On s’est contenté de retenir les trois
oraisons du sacramentaire en renvoyant pour tout le reste à quelqu’une des
messes du commun des saints : pour s. Félix, par exemple, à la
messe Lætabitur. Il en est résulté un réel appauvrissement et une
déperdition regrettable de la tradition concernant les péricopes. (Dom
Morin, Liturgie et basiliques de Rome au milieu du VIIe siècle d’après les
listes d’Évangiles de Würzburg, Revue bénédictine, XXVIII, 1911, p. 238, note
3).
Dom Pius Parsch,
le Guide dans l’année liturgique
Saint Félix. — Jour de
mort : 14 janvier 260. Tombeau : à Nole (Campanie) ; au-dessus
de ce tombeau s’élève une église célèbre. Image : On le représente
enchaîné et en prison ou bien dans une caverne avec une toile d’araignée. Sa
vie : Le prêtre Félix de Nole, après avoir été torturé sur le chevalet,
fut jeté en prison. Là, chargé de chaînes, il dut se coucher sur des
coquillages et des tessons. Mais, dans la nuit, apparut un ange qui fit tomber
ses chaînes et l’emmena hors de la prison. Plus tard, lorsque la persécution
-fut finie, il parvint, par ses prédications et ses saints exemples, à
convertir beaucoup de gens à la foi chrétienne. Mais ensuite, comme il montrait
de nouveau son zèle contre le culte impie, il se produisit contre lui un
soulèvement. Il s’enfuit et se réfugia dans une cachette située entre deux
murs. Soudain l’entrée de la cachette fut recouverte d’une épaisse toile
d’araignée, si bien que personne ne put soupçonner qu’il se trouvait là Après
avoir quitté cette cachette, Félix se réfugia, pendant trois mois, chez une
femme pieuse. Il mourut en paix (260). Saint
Paulin de Nole (v. 22 juin) a composé en l’honneur de ce saint, pour
lequel il avait de la prédilection, quatorze hymnes (carmina natalicia). Au
temps, de saint Paulin (4e siècle), son tombeau était visité par des foules de
pèlerins qui venaient des contrées les plus éloignées, et des guérisons
miraculeuses le rendirent glorieux.
Pratique : Soyons
persuadés que, lorsque nous travaillons et combattons pour Dieu, nous pouvons
être assurés de sa protection. Dieu nous protège de nos ennemis, quand bien
même il lui faudrait tendre une toile d’araignée.
SOURCE : http://www.introibo.fr/14-01-St-Felix-pretre-et-martyr
Also
known as
Felix in Pincis
Felix the Martyr
Felix of Inpincis
Felice….
Flin….
Profile
Elder son of Hermias,
a Syrian soldier who
had retired to Nola, Italy.
After his father‘s death,
Felix sold off most of his property and possessions, gave the proceeds to
the poor,
and pursued a clerical vocation. Ordained by,
and worked with Saint Maximus
of Nola.
When Maximus fled
to the mountains to escape the persecution of Decius, Felix
was arrested and beaten for
his faith instead.
Legend says he was freed by an angel so
he could help his sick bishop.
Felix hid Maximus from soldiers in
a vacant building. When the two were safely inside, a spider quickly spun a web
over the door, fooling the imperial forces into thinking it was long abandoned,
and they left without finding the Christians.
The two managed to hide from authorities until the persecution ended
with the death of Decius in 251.
After Maximus‘ death,
Felix was chosen as bishop of Nola,
but declined, favoring Quintus, a “senior” priest who
had seven days more experience than Felix. He worked to farm his
remaining land, and gave most of the proceeds to people even poorer than
himself. Much of the little information we have about Felix came from the
letters and poetry of Saint Paulinus
of Nola, who served at a porter at
the door of a church dedicated to Saint Felix,
and who gathered information about him from churchmen and pilgrims.
Though Felix died of
natural causes, he is normally listed as a martyr because
of the torture, imprisonment,
and privations he experienced in the persecutions.
Born
3rd century at Nola,
near Naples, Italy
c.255 of
natural causes
for centuries his tomb
was the site of pilgrimages
cobweb
spiderweb
young priest carrying
an old man (Maximus)
on his shoulders
young priest chained in prison with
a pitcher and potsherds near him
young priest with
a bunch of grapes (symbolizes his care of the aged Maximus)
young priest with
a spider
young priest with
an angel removing
his chains
Additional
Information
An
Old English Martyrology, by George Herzfeld
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Book
of Saints and Friendly Beasts, by Abbie Farwell Brown
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Lives
of the Saints, by Sabine Baring-Gould
Roman
Martyrology, 1914 edition
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
Saints
and Their Attributes, by Helen Roeder
other
sites in english
images
video
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
websites
in nederlandse
nettsteder
i norsk
spletne
strani v slovenšcini
MLA
Citation
“Saint Felix of
Nola“. CatholicSaints.Info. 15 May 2024. Web. 23 February 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-felix-of-nola/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-felix-of-nola/
Book of
Saints – Felix of Nola – 14 January
Article
FELIX of NOLA (Saint)
Martyr (January 14) (3rd century) A Syrian by birth, who after serving in the
Imperial army, became a priest at Nola in Southern Italy, and was chosen to be
his chief adviser by the Bishop Saint Maximus. When in A.D. 250 the persecution
under Decius broke out, Felix was seized, scourged and thrown into prison; but
having been miraculously delivered therefrom, he watched over the deathbed of
the Bishop, and devoted himself to the service of the rest of the persecuted
group of Christians. Decius having perished and the Church being for a time at
peace, the Bishopric of Nola was offered to Felix, which however, he refused,
preferring to occupy himself as before in assisting the prelate chosen in his
place. The ancients are loud in praise of his holiness of life and of his
charity to all. He died in peace at an advanced age, A.D. 260, but on account
of the many sufferings he had endured for Christ’s sake has always been
honoured as a Martyr. He is commemorated annually on January 14 throughout the
Catholic Church, and his shrine at Nola, where many miracles have been wrought
in answer to prayers for help from him, is a famous place of pilgrimage. Saint
Paulinus of Nola and Venerable Bede have both written the Life of Saint Felix,
and Pope Saint Damasus has composed verses in his honour. Another Saint Felix,
a Roman priest, whose Feast is also marked on the 14th of January, is often
confused with the more famous Saint of Nola.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate. “Felix
of Nola”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info.
11 August 2018. Web. 24 February 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-felix-of-nola-14-january/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-felix-of-nola-14-january/
St. Felix of Nola
Feastday: January 14
Patron: of Nola,
Italy
Felix was the son of
Hermias, a Syrian who had been a Roman soldier. He was born on his father's
estate at Nola near
Naples, Italy. On the death of his father, Felix distributed his inheritance to
the poor, was ordained by Bishop St. Maximus of
Nola, and became his assistant. When Maximus fled to the desert at
the beginning of Decius' persecution of
the Christians in 250, Felix was seized in his stead and imprisoned. He was
reputedly released from prison by an angel, who directed him to the ailing
Maximus, whom he brought back to Nola. Even after Decius' death in 251, Felix
was a hunted man but
kept well hidden until the persecution ended.
When Maximus died, the people unanimously selected Felix as their Bishop, but
he declined the honor in favor of Quintus, a senior priest. Felix spent the
rest of his life on
a small piece of land sharing what he had with the poor, and died there on
January 14. His tomb soon
became famous for the miracles reported there, and when St. Paulinus became bishop of Nola almost
a century later (410), he wrote about his predecessor, the source of our
information about him, adding legendary material that had grown up about Felix
in the intervening century. His feast day is January
14th.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=639
New
Catholic Dictionary – Saint Felix of Nola
Article
Martyr (3rd
century), born Nola, Italy.
Ordained by Bishop Maximus
of Nola, he was imprisoned during the persecution of Decius, but was set free
by an angel.
Refusing the episcopacy of Nola which the citizens urged upon him, he continued
his duties as auxiliary; he devoted himself to the poor, among
whom he distributed his inheritance. His sufferings have merited the title
of martyr.
Represented chained in a dungeon. He was buried at Cimitile, near Nola. Feast,
Roman Calendar, 14
January.
MLA
Citation
“Saint Felix of
Nola”. New Catholic Dictionary. CatholicSaints.Info.
11 August 2018. Web. 24 February 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-felix-of-nola/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-felix-of-nola/
Chiesa
di San Felice da Nola e chiesa di Sant'Anna, Pressano (Lavis, Trentino)
St. Felix of Nola
St. Felix was the son of
Hermias, a Syrian who had been a Roman soldier. He was born on his father’s
estate at Nola near Naples, Italy. On the death of his father, Felix
distributed his inheritance to the poor, was ordained by Bishop St. Maximus of
Nola, and became his assistant.
When Maximus fled to the
desert at the beginning of Decius’ persecution of the Christians in 250, Felix
was seized in his stead and imprisoned. He was reputedly released from prison
by an angel, who directed him to the ailing Maximus, whom he brought back to
Nola. St. Felix hid St. Maximus from soldiers in a vacant building. When the
two were safely inside, a spider quickly spun a web over the door, fooling the
imperial forces into thinking it was long abandoned, and they left without
finding the Christians. The two managed to hide from authorities until the
persecution ended with the death of Decius in 251.
When Maximus died, the
people unanimously selected Felix as their Bishop, but he declined the honor in
favor of Quintus, a senior priest. Felix spent the rest of his life on a small
piece of land sharing what he had with the poor, and died there on January 14.
His tomb soon became famous for the miracles reported there, and when St.
Paulinus became bishop of Nola almost a century later (410), he wrote about his
predecessor, the source of our information about him, adding legendary material
that had grown up about Felix in the intervening century. His feast day is
January 14th.
SOURCE : http://www.ucatholic.com/saints/saint-felix-of-nola/
Felix of Nola M (RM)
Born in Nola (near Naples),
Italy; died in Nola on January 14, 260. Hermias, a Syrian officer of the Roman
army, retired at Nola, where he had some land. Upon his death he bequeathed his
property to his two sons. The younger, like his father before him, joined the
Roman army and followed Caesar; the elder, Felix, happy by name and nature,
distributed his inheritance, was ordained priest by Bishop Saint Maximus of
Nola, and became a soldier of Christ. After his ordination he served the aged
bishop as his assistant. When the persecution broke out under Decius in 250,
the old man escaped to the hills, leaving his diocese in charge of Felix and
nominating him as his successor.
When a search was made for Maximus and he was not to be found, Felix was
arrested in his place, and thrown into prison. Maximus, meanwhile, a fugitive
in the mountains, was perishing from cold and hunger, and suffering all the
more on account of his great age.
In prison Felix was
treated with brutality, but, in course of time, and following a vision, Felix
escaped with the help of an angel and sought out his old friend. After
prolonged and difficult search he found Maximus, alone, prostrate with illness,
and helpless. Felix revived him with food and wine, and carried him on his
back, under cover of night, to the home of a pious and aged woman who took him
into her care. Felix himself then went into hiding until the outbreak of
persecution had passed with the death of Decius in 251.
When, later, there was a
fresh outburst of hostility against the Christians, his life was again in
danger. He was accosted in the street by a search party, but fortunately went
unrecognized. After this narrow escape he concealed himself in a ruined
building, creeping in through a small hole which he found in its broken walls
and finding an inner and secret hiding place. We are told that there came a
spider who let down a thread and weaved its web over the entrance, so that when
the search party was going through the building, they were deceived by the
cobweb and passed by the place where he lay hidden.
For some months Felix lay
in hiding, most of the time living among the same ruins in a unused well. When
the persecution had ceased, he resumed his ministry in Nola. On the death of
Maximus he was naturally elected bishop but declined the honor in favor of
Quintus, a senior priest, though he had been ordained but seven days before
him. This was characteristic of his graciousness and humility. Felix lived out
the rest of his days as a simple priest, revered for his goodness and his
sufferings under persecution.
His own property having
long been confiscated, he rented a plot of some three acres of barren ground,
which he tended with his own hands, growing his own food, supporting himself so
far as he could, and giving generously to the poor.
He lived to a good age
and had a brave and gallant spirit. While he didn't actually die a martyr's
death, Saint Felix is venerated as such because of the sufferings he underwent
during the persecution.
The little that is known
about Saint Felix derives chiefly from the poems of Saint Paulinus of Nola, who
wrote over 100 years later, and built a church in honor of Saint Felix.
Paulinus incorporated legendary material the had accumulated around Felix's
name in the intervening century. Paulinus relates that Felix was tortured but
not killed in time of persecution, and afterwards enjoyed a fruitful
apostolate, notable for conversions and miracles. (The Venerable Bede wrote a
summary of Paulinus's work.) Soon after Felix's death crowds of people came
from distant parts to visit Saint Felix's tomb. In fact, a miraculous cure at
his tomb was the cause of Saint Paulinus's own conversion.
The cultus of Felix is
recognized in the martyrologies of Jerome and of Carthage and by many ancient
sacramentaries. His church at Nola, decorated by murals of Old Testament
subjects, was a notable pilgrimage center from the 4th century. Hagiographers
have often confused things by attributing his work to many people or
consolidating many of the 66 Roman Martyrology entries of "Felix" into
one. Felix of Nola can be found in the Sarum calendar and in 15 English
Benedictine ones (Delaney, Farmer).
Usually Felix is
portrayed by artists with a spider, or with an angel removing his chains, or
with a bunch of grapes symbolizing his care of the aged Maximus, or bearing the
old man upon his shoulders (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia,
Gill). His emblem is the cobweb which concealed his hiding place. Normally he
is a young priest in all these pictures. He may also be shown chained in prison
with a pitcher and potsherds near him. Occasionally he is dressed as a deacon,
rather than a priest.
He is the patron of
domestic animals, and invoked against eye troubles (Roeder).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0114.shtml
Chiesa
di San Felice da Nola, San Felice (Fierozzo, Trentino)
St. Felix of Nola
Born at Nola,
near Naples,
and lived in the third century. After his father's death
he distributed almost all his goods amongst the poor,
and was ordained priest by Maximum Bishop of Nola.
In the year 250, when the Decian persecution broke
out, Maximus was forced to flee. The persecutors seized
on Felix and he was cruelly scourged, loaded with chains, and cast
into prison.
One night an angel appeared
to him and bade him go to help Maximus. His chains fell off, the doors
opened, and the saint was
enabled to bring relief to the bishop,
who was then speechless from cold and hunger. On the persecutors making
a second attempt to secure Felix, his escape was miraculously effected
by a spider weaving her web over the opening of a hole into which he
had just crept. Thus deceived, they sought their prey elsewhere.
The persecution ceased
the following year, and Felix, who had lain hidden in a dry well for six
months, returned to his duties.
On the death of Maximus he was earnestly desired as bishop,
but he persuaded the people to choose another, his senior in the priesthood.
The remnant of his estate having been confiscated in the persecution,
he refused to take it back, and for his subsistence rented three acres of land,
which he tilled with his own hands. Whatever remained over he gave to the poor,
and if he had two coats at any time he invariably gave them the better. He
lived to a ripe old age and died 14 January (on which day he is commemorated),
but the year of his death is uncertain. Five churches were built in
his honour,
outside Nola,
where his remains are kept, but some relics are
also at Rome and Benevento. St.
Paulinus, who acted as porter to
one of these churches, testifies to numerous pilgrimages made
in honour of Felix.
The poems and letters of Paulinus on Felix are the source
from which St.
Gregory of Tours, Venerable
Bede, and the priest Marcellus have
drawn their biographies (see PAULINUS
OF NOLA). There is another Felix of Nola, bishop and martyr under
a Prefect Martianus. He is considered by some to be the same as the
above.
Coleman, Ambrose. "St. Felix of Nola." The Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 14
Jan. 2017 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06033b.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Joseph P. Thomas.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. September 1, 1909. Remy Lafort,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2020 by Kevin
Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06033b.htm
La chiesa
di San Felice, piazza San Felice a Firenze, nel quartiere di Oltrarno.
La chiesa
di San Felice, piazza San Felice a Firenze, nel quartiere di Oltrarno.
St. Felix of Nola, Priest
and Confessor
IT is observed by the
judicious Tillemont, with regard to the life of this saint, that we might doubt
of its wonderful circumstances, were they not supported by the authority of a
Paulinus; but that great miracles ought to be received with the greater
veneration, when authorized by incontestable vouchers.
St. Felix was a native of
Nola, a Roman colony in Campania, fourteen miles from Naples, where his father
Hermias, who was by birth a Syrian, and had served in the army, had purchased
an estate and settled himself. He had two sons, Felix and Hermias, to whom at
his death he left his patrimony. The younger sought preferment in the world
among the lovers of vanity, by following the profession of arms, which at that
time was the surest road to riches and honours. Felix, to become in effect what
his name in Latin imported, that is happy, resolved to follow no
other standard than that of the King of kings, Jesus Christ. For this purpose,
despising all earthly things, lest the love of them might entangle his soul, he
distributed the better part of his substance among the poor, and was ordained
Reader Exorcist, and, lastly, priest, by Maximus, the holy bishop of Nola; who,
charmed with his sanctity and prudence, made him his principal support in those
times of trouble, and designed him for his successor. 1
In the year 250, the
Emperor Decius raised a bloody persecution against the church. Maximus, seeing
himself principally aimed at, retired into the desert, not through the fear of
death, which he desired, but rather not to tempt God by seeking it, and to
preserve himself for the service of his flock. The persecutors not finding him,
seized on Felix, who in his absence was very vigilant in the discharge of all
his pastoral duties. The governor caused him to be scourged; then loaded with
bolts and chains about his neck, hands, and legs, and cast into a dungeon, in
which, as St. Prudentius informs us, 2 the
floor was spread all over with potsherds and pieces of broken glass, so that
there was no place free from them, on which the saint could either stand or
lie. One night an angel appearing in great glory, filled the prison with a
bright light, and bade St. Felix go and assist his bishop, who was in great
distress. The confessor seeing his chains fall off, and the doors open,
followed his guide, and was conducted by heaven to the place where Maximus lay,
almost perished with hunger and cold, speechless, and without sense: for,
through anxiety for his flock, and the hardships of his solitary retreat, he
had suffered more than a martyrdom. Felix, not being able to bring him to
himself, had recourse to prayer; and discovering thereupon a bunch of grapes
within reach, he squeezed some of the juice into his mouth, which had the
desired effect. The good bishop no sooner beheld his friend Felix, but he
embraced him, and begged to be conveyed back to his church. The saint taking
him on his shoulders, carried him to his episcopal house in the city, before
day appeared, where a pious ancient woman took care of him. 3
Felix, with the blessing
of his pastor, repaired secretly to his own lodgings, and there kept himself
concealed, praying for the church without ceasing, till peace was restored to
it by the death of Decius, in the year 251. He no sooner appeared again in
public, but his zeal so exasperated the pagans, that they came armed to
apprehend him; but though they met him, they knew him not; they even asked him
where Felix was, a question he did not think proper to give a direct answer to!
The persecutors going a little further, perceived their mistake, and returned;
but the saint in the mean time had stept a little out of the way, and crept
through a hole in a ruinous old wall, which was instantly closed up by spiders’
webs. His enemies never imagining any thing could have lately passed where they
saw so close a spiders’ web, after a fruitless search elsewhere, returned in
the evening without their prey. Felix finding among the ruins, between two
houses, an old well half dry, hid himself in it for six months; and received
during that time wherewithal to subsist by means of a devout Christian woman.
Peace being restored to the church by the death of the emperor, the saint
quitted his retreat, and was received in the city as an angel sent from heaven.
Soon after, St. Maximus
dying, all were unanimous for electing Felix bishop; but he persuaded the
people to make choice of Quintus, because the older priest of the two, having
been ordained seven days before him. Quintus, when bishop, always respected St.
Felix as his father, and followed his advice in every particular. The remainder
of the saint’s estate having been confiscated in the persecution, he was
advised to lay claim to it, as others had done, who thereby recovered what had
been taken from them. His answer was, that in poverty he should be the more
secure of possessing Christ. 4 He
could not even be prevailed upon to accept what the rich offered him. He rented
a little spot of barren land, not exceeding three acres, which he tilled with
his own hands, in such manner as to receive his subsistence from it, and to
have something left for alms. Whatever was bestowed on him, he gave immediately
to the poor. If he had two coats, he was sure to give them the better; and
often exchanged his only one for the rags of some beggar. He died in a good old
age, on the fourteenth of January, on which day the Martyrology, under the name
of St. Jerom, and all others of later date mention him. Five churches have been
built at, or near the place, where he was first interred, which was without the
precincts of the city of Nola. His precious remains are at present kept in the
cathedral; but certain portions are at Rome, Benevento, and some other places.
Pope Damasus, in a pilgrimage which he made from Rome to Nola, to the shrine of
this saint, professes, in a short poem which he composed in acknowledgment,
that he was miraculously cured of a distemper through his intercession.
St. Paulinus, a Roman
senator in the fifth age, forty-six years after the death of St. Damasus, came
from Spain to Nola, desirous of being porter in the church of St. Felix. He
testifies, that crowds of pilgrims came from Rome, from all other parts of
Italy, and more distant countries, to visit his sepulchre on his festival: he
adds, that all brought some present or other to his church, as wax candles to burn
at his tomb, precious ointments, costly ornaments, and such like; but that for
his part, he offered to him the homage of his tongue, and himself, though an
unworthy victim. 5 He
everywhere expresses his devotion to this saint in the warmest and strongest
terms, and believes that all the graces he received from heaven were conferred
on him through the intercession of St. Felix. To him he addressed himself in
all his necessities; by his prayers he begged grace in this life, and glory
after death. 6 He
describes at large the holy pictures of the whole history of the Old Testament,
which were hung up in the church of St. Felix, and which inflamed all who
beheld them, and were as so many books that instructed the ignorant. We may
read with pleasure the pious sentiments the sight of each gave St. Paulinus. 7 He
relates a great number of miracles that were wrought at his tomb, as of persons
cured of various distempers and delivered from dangers by his intercession, to
several of which he was an eye-witness. He testifies, that he himself had
frequently experienced the most sensible effects of his patronage, and, by
having recourse to him, had been speedily succoured. 8 St.
Austin also has given an account of many miracles performed at his shrine. 9 It
was not formerly allowed to bury any corpse within the walls of cities. The
church of St. Felix, out of the walls of Nola, not being comprised under this
prohibition, many devout Christians sought to be buried in it, that their faith
and devotion might recommend them after death to the patronage of this holy
confessor, upon which head St. Paulinus consulted St. Austin. The holy doctor
answered him by his book, On the Care for the Dead: in which he
shows, that the faith and devotion of such persons would be available to them
after death, as the suffrages and good works of the living in behalf of the
faithful departed are profitable to the latter. See the poems of St. Paulinus
on his life, confirmed by other authentic ancient records, quoted by Tillemont,
t. 4. p. 226. and Ruinart, Acta Sincera, p. 256. Muratori, Anecd. Lat.
Note 1. St. Paulin. Carm.
19, 20. See Natali. 4. [back]
Note 2. De Cor.
hymn. 5. [back]
Note 3. Paulin.
Carm. 19. [back]
Note 4. Dives egebo
Deo; nam Christum pauper habebo. Paulin. Carm. 20. Natali S. Felicis
5. [back]
Note 5.
————————— Ego munere
linguæ.
Nudus opum, famulor, de
me mea debita solvens,
Meque ipsum pro me, vilis
licet hostia, pendam
Natal 6
[back]
Note 6. Nat. 1, 2,
&c. [back]
Note 7. Nat. 9,
10. [back]
Note 8. St. Paulin.
Ep. 28 and 36. Carm. 13. 18. 21, 22, 23. 29. &c. [back]
Note 9. St. August.
Ep. 78. olim 137. and lib. De curâ pro mortuis, c. 16. [back]
Rev. Alban
Butler (1711–73). Volume I: January. The Lives of the
Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/1/142.html
Golden Legend –
Saint Felix Inpincis
Article
Here beginneth the Life
of Saint Felix, said Inpincis
Felix was surnamed
Inpincis, and is said of the place where he resteth, or of the pointelles of
greffes. A greffe is properly called a pointel to write in tables of wax, by
which he suffered death. And some say that he was a schoolmaster and taught
children, and was to them much rigorous. After he was known of the paynims, and
because he confessed plainly that he was christian and believed in Jesu Christ
he was delivered to be tormented into the hands of the children his scholars,
whom he had taught and learned, which scholars slew him with their pointelles,
pricks, and greffes, and yet the church holdeth him for no martyr but
for a confessor. And the paynims said to him that he should do sacrifice to the
idols, but he blew on them and anon they fell to the earth. It is read in a
legend that when Maximus, bishop of Nola, and Valerian, fled the persecution of
the paynims, the bishop was tormented with hunger and thirst so much that he
fell down to the ground, wherefore Felix was sent of an angel to him, and he
bare nothing with him for to give to him, and he saw by him a cluster of
raisins hanging on a tree, which he laid on his shoulders hastily, and bare it
with him. And when the bishop was dead. Felix was elected and chosen to be
bishop. And as he preached on a time the persecutors sought him, and he hid him
in the clefts of a broken wall, and incontinent by the will of God came
spincops and made their work and nets before him that they might not find him.
And when the tyrants could not find him they went their way, and he went thence
and came to the house of a widow, and took there his refection of her three
months, and yet he saw her never in the visage. And at last when the peace was
made he went him in to his church and there died and rested in our Lord and was
buried by the city in a place that was called Pincis.
And this Felix had a
brother which was in likewise named Felix, and when this Felix was constrained
to adore the idols he said: Ye be enemies unto your gods, for if ye bring me to
them like as my brother did, and they shall fall to the earth and break.
On a time this Felix did
do labour his garden where he had set coles and worts for his use, and some of
his neighbours would have stolen away these coles and worts, and hoed in the
garden all the night and digged, and on the morning Saint Felix saluted them,
and anon they confessed their sin, and he pardoned them and then they went
their way.
And a little while after
the paynims came for to take Saint Felix, and anon so great dolour and pain
took them that they began to howl as dogs. And he said to them: Believe ye in
God and say ye that Jesu Christ is very God, and do you to be baptized, and ye
shall be whole, and your pain shall cease, and so they did, and anon they were
all whole. And after, the bishop of the idols came to him and said: Sire, as
soon as our God saw thee he fled, and when I said Why fleest thou? he said: I
may not suffer the virtue of Felix, and when my God doubteth thee, much more I
ought to doubt thee, and when Felix had confirmed him in the faith he baptized
him. And Felix said to them that adored Apollo: If Apollo be very God, let him
say to me what I hold in my hand. And he had in his hand a schedule wherein was
written the orison of our Lord, that is the Paternoster. And he might not
answer, wherefore the paynims were converted to our Lord. And at last when he
had sung his mass and the peace given to the people, he fell down in prayer
upon the pavement of the church and passed out of this life unto our Lord.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/golden-legend-saint-felix-inpincis/
ST. FELIX
14 January South transept
Spire-G28
Symbol: Pastoral staff
The few notices about his
existence are provided by St. Paulinus of Nola in his Christmas poems, written
from 395 to 409 in order to collect the oral tradition learned in the Nola
area. According to St. Paulinus, Felix was born in Nola in the second half of
the III Century, son of a rich Syrian who moved to Italy for business. Felix
became priest and collaborator of Maximus, at the time Bishop of Nola. He was
imprisoned and tortured during the prosecutions of Christians. The tradition
states that an angel freed him and healed the sick Bishop Maximus who, in the
mean time, had found refuge in a secret location. When the prosecutions started
again, Felix avoided capture hiding inside a tank. In 313 He came back to Nola,
where he refused the proposal of becoming Bishop and lived the rest of his days
in poverty. Despite not having been killed, St. Felix is recognized as Martyr
by the Catholic Church for the many sufferings he faced during his life. His
body in buried inside the early Christian Churches in Cimitile. His tomb used
to be called “Ara Veritatis”, because it was thought to be particularly
effective in unmasking the untruth.
SOURCE : https://www.duomomilano.it/en/spire/st-felix/
Tomba
del santo nella basilica paleocristiana di Cimitile
Burial
place of Felix of Nola in Cimitile
La
basilica paleocristiana di Cimitile, con le tombe di san Felice e san Paolino.
Burial
place of Felix of Nola in Cimitile
San Felice da Nola Sacerdote
e martire
Nola, III sec. – 14
gennaio 313?
La vita del prete Felice
ci è narrata da san Paolino di Nola, a cui si deve anche l'importante complesso
di basiliche paleocristiane a Cimitile, a sei chilometri dalla località
campana. Qui erano state deposte le spoglie di Felice, morto probabilmente dopo
il 313. Nato a Nola nel III secolo da un ricco padre di origini orientali,
aveva sofferto le persecuzioni ed era stato imprigionato, torturato e poi
liberato miracolosamente da un angelo che lo condusse in un luogo deserto (per
questo, pur non essendo stato ucciso è stato venerato come martire). Grazie
alla pace costantiniana Felice era rientrato in diocesi. Qui, pur essendo stato
indicato come successore dal vescovo Massimo, alla morte di questi rifiutò
l'elezione e visse in povertà fino alla fine dei suoi giorni. In suo onore
si tengono due feste con processioni dal 5 al 14 gennaio, data della sua
memoria liturgica. (Avvenire)
Etimologia: Felice =
contento, dal latino
Martirologio Romano: A
Nola in Campania, san Felice, sacerdote, che, come riferisce san Paolino,
durante l’imperversare delle persecuzioni, patì in carcere atroci torture e,
una volta ristabilita la pace, fece ritorno tra i suoi, ritirandosi in povertà
fino ad avanzata vecchiaia, invitto confessore della fede.
A sei km da Nola, a
Cimitile vi è uno dei più importanti complessi paleocristiani del Mezzogiorno
d’Italia; fino al II secolo d.C. esisteva una necropoli pagana, vicino alla
quale i primi cristiani della zona, seppellirono i loro morti in un
‘cæmeterium’, termine da cui deriva il toponimo di Cimitile.
In seguito i nolani vi
deposero le spoglie del prete s. Felice, la fama dei miracoli che si
verificarono sulla tomba del santo, fece della località, una meta di
pellegrinaggio. Già nel IV secolo, nel recinto erano presenti diverse
basiliche, divenute sei nei tempi successivi, esse sono adiacenti fra loro,
alcune sovrapposte e sono: San Felice in Pincis, Santo Stefano, San Giovanni,
San Paolino, Santissimi Martiri e San Gaulonio, ad esse si aggiunge la
parrocchiale del 1789, posta in alto sul sito archeologico e dedicata anch’essa
a San Felice in Pincis.
L’origine di questi
importanti luoghi di culto e di preghiera, si collega ad un ‘monasterium’ fatto
costruire dal vescovo di Nola s. Paolino, originario di Bordeaux, il quale
stabilendosi nel 394 a Cimitile ne determinò la crescita, infatti presso il
‘monasterium’ si riunirono molti amici del santo vescovo, divenuto poi il santo
patrono di Nola e a cui è dedicata, nel giorno della sua festa il 22 giugno, la
grande e celebre Festa dei Gigli di Nola; questi uomini, conducendo una vita di
lavoro e di preghiera, anticiparono di un secolo la Regola di s.
Benedetto.
S. Paolino divenuto
vescovo di Nola nel 409, lasciò il ‘monasterium’, ingrandì il cimitero e fece
costruire la Basilica Nuova (400-403) inglobata poi nel XVI secolo nella
Basilica di S. Giovanni; questa comunicava mediante un passaggio a triplice
arcata, con quella di San Felice in Pincis.
Quest’ultima è senz’altro
la più importante delle sette basiliche, edificata nel IV secolo, sui resti
della necropoli dei “gentili” di Nola, custodisce il sepolcro del prete martire
s. Felice, custodito in un’arca formata da una celletta, in cui furono deposti
anche i resti di altri due vescovi.
La piccola costruzione
divenne un “martyrium” con una apertura che serviva di passaggio ai fedeli che
introducevano nella tomba degli unguenti, ritenuti miracolosi e protettivi
contro le malattie, dopo il contatto con il corpo del santo.
Il sepolcro è inserito in
un’edicola monumentale, sorretta da colonne e decorata da un mosaico del V
secolo, il tutto incastonato nella più ampia Basilica; il sepolcro-altare,
inizialmente piccolo e povero, divenne come la sorgente di edifici spaziosi e
rimane adesso come una gemma incastonata in cinque basiliche, i cui tetti, visti
da lontano danno l’immagine di una grande città; così come lo descriveva s.
Paolino nel carme 18.
Tutto quello che si
conosce di s. Felice, ci è trasmesso dal santo vescovo Paolino, il quale già
devoto del santo, quando arrivò a Nola ed a Cimitile, gli dedicò ben 14 dei
suoi carmi, che sono detti ‘natalizi’ (carmina natalizia) perché scritti dal
395 al 409 nella ricorrenza del ‘dies natalis’ della festa del santo, il 14
gennaio.
Il racconto poetico di
Paolino è il primo documento storico della vita di s. Felice, cioè la prima
elaborazione scritta della tradizione orale, da lui appresa in zona.
Felice nacque a Nola nel
III secolo da padre siro, trasferitosi dall’Oriente in Italia, molto ricco;
aveva un fratello Ermia che scelse la carriera militare, mentre lui si consacrò
a Cristo come presbitero.
Divenne fedele
collaboratore del vescovo di Nola, Massimo, che durante l’ultima persecuzione
contro i cristiani, lasciò Nola per rifugiarsi in luogo deserto, lasciando in
città il prete Felice che voleva come suo successore.
Ma Felice fu imprigionato
e torturato, poi liberato miracolosamente da un angelo che lo condusse nel
luogo deserto, dove il vecchio vescovo Massimo era moribondo, consumato dagli
stenti e dalle sofferenze. Lo rifocillò con il succo di uva miracolosa e poi
caricatolo sulle spalle, lo riportò a Nola, affidandolo alle cure di una
anziana cristiana.
Durante la sospensione
della persecuzione, poté riprendere il suo ministero sacerdotale, ma quando la
persecuzione riprese, Felice fu di nuovo ricercato, ma egli sfuggì alla cattura
rifugiandosi in una cisterna disseccata, dove per sei mesi fu alimentato, senza
essere conosciuto, da una pia donna.
Cessata definitivamente
la persecuzione con la pace di Costantino (313), Felice ritorna a Nola, dove
morto il vecchio vescovo Massimo viene candidato a succedergli, ma egli rifiuta
a favore del prete Quinto, rinuncia anche ai beni che gli erano stati
confiscati e trascorre il resto dei suoi giorni nella povertà e nel
lavoro.
Non si consce l’anno
della sua morte, alcuni dati dicono sotto Valeriano (258), ma come spiegare che
sia lui, che il vescovo Massimo non furono uccisi, è probabile quindi che siano
morti dopo la pace di Costantino, quindi dopo il 313.
S. Felice fu comunque
sempre venerato come martire, anche se non era stato ucciso, ma certamente
aveva tanto sofferto e solo miracolosamente aveva avuto salva la vita. La sua
tomba fu detta “Ara Veritatis”, perché gli si attribuiva particolare efficacia
per il trionfo della verità, contro gli spergiuri.
Al santo patrono di
Cimitile, sono dedicate dai fedeli ben due feste con processioni, che iniziate
il 5 gennaio, vengono completate il 14 gennaio, giorno della sua festa
liturgica; la prima parte dall’antichissimo sepolcro nell’area delle basiliche
paleocristiane e finisce nell’ultima in ordine di tempo, cioè nella chiesa
parrocchiale di S. Felice in Pincis; l’altra percorre il paese di
Cimitile.
San Paolino resta il suo
più grande cantore, con i ‘carmina’ ne descrive i numerosi miracoli operati, il
culto che riceveva, la descrizione particolareggiata dei luoghi, delle
primitive basiliche; ma nonostante ciò San Felice, forse per il suo nome, così
numeroso nell’agiografia cristiana, fu confuso spesso con altri santi omonimi,
che portarono ad un culto fuori della zona nolana, anche a Roma (in Pincis);
inoltre la presenza di un presunto protovescovo di Nola (festa il 15 novembre)
di nome s. Felice, ha complicato l’identificazione.
Ma è fuori discussione
che il s. Felice, prete martire di Nola, è quello celebrato il 14 gennaio.
Autore: Antonio
Borrelli
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/37550
La chiesa
di San Felice in Pincis, Napoli, vico della Vicaria.
Den hellige Felix av Nola
(prest) (~200-~260)
Minnedag:
14. januar
Den hellige Felix (it:
Felice) ble født en gang rundt år 200 i Nola i regionen Campania i Sør-Italia,
ikke langt fra Napoli. Han var den eldste av to sønner av den rike soldaten
Hermias (it: Ermia), som var av syrisk opprinnelse. Han hadde vært i keiserens
tjeneste, men hadde nå trukket seg tilbake til Nola og kjøpt jord der. Den
yngste sønnen Hermias fulgte i farens fotspor og ble soldat i den romerske
hæren, mens Felix følte seg tiltrukket av et religiøst liv. Han hadde allerede
i ungdommen vært sjenerøs mot de fattige, og han nektet å gå til retten for å
få tilbake en beslaglagt eiendom.
Etter at faren døde,
fordelte Felix sin del av arven blant de fattige og gikk i Kirkens tjeneste.
Den hellige biskop Maximus av Nola viet
ham først til lektor, så til eksorsist og senere til prest. På grunn av sine
dyder og sitt vesen fikk han snart biskopens fortrolighet. Maximus så på Felix
som sin etterfølger som biskop – et lønnsomt embete i de dager hvor gaver i
form av eiendommer og penger til kirkelige formål utstyrte noen bispeseter med
en betydelig formue.
I år 250 begynte keiser
Decius (249-51) å forfølge de kristne, og biskop Maximus flyktet opp i høyden
og gikk i dekning i ødemarken. Han etterlot bispedømmet i Felix' hender og
utpekte ham til sin etterfølger. Men Felix tiltrakk seg oppmerksomhet ved sin
pastorale aktivitet, så han ble arrestert i biskopens sted. I fengselet ble han
brutalt mishandlet, men etter en tid fikk han en visjon og klarte å unnslippe
fra fengslet ved hjelp av en engel. Han dro da for å lete etter biskop Maximus,
og etter en lang og vanskelig søking fant han sin biskop liggende syk og
hjelpeløs og plaget av sult og kulde, og situasjonen ble ikke bedre av at han
var en svært gammel mann. Felix fikk i ham litt mat og vin og bar ham på ryggen
tilbake til Nola i ly av nattemørket. Han tok biskopen med til huset til en
gammel og from kvinne, som overtok omsorgen for ham.
Forfølgelsene fortsatte,
og det ble gjort et nytt forsøk på å arrestere Felix, men han klarte å slippe
unna ved å gjemme seg i et forfallent hus. Hans legende forteller hvordan han
ble trengt inn i et hjørne mellom to murer, da en edderkopp på utrolig vis
spant et nett foran ham og skjulte ham for forfølgerne. Han holdt seg i skjul i
en nedlagt brønn i flere måneder til forfølgelsen var over med keiser Decius'
død i 251.
Deretter vendte Felix
tilbake til sin tjeneste i Nola. Da biskop Maximus døde, ville folket ha Felix
til ny biskop, noe som også hadde vært Maximus' ønske. Men Felix avslo embetet
og overtalte folket til å akseptere hans kollega Quintus i stedet fordi han
hadde vært prest lenger (det var imidlertid bare snakk om én uke lenger). Selv
levde han resten av sine dager som en enkel prest, æret for sin godhet og sine
lidelser under forfølgelsene. Hans egen eiendom var blitt konfiskert, så han
leide et stykke skrinn jord på rundt tolv mål. Denne jorden dyrket han med sine
egne hender og fikk ikke bare nok mat til eget bruk, men delte også sjenerøst
med de fattige. Han var æret for sin godhet og sine lidelser under
forfølgelsene. Han sto for en rekke omvendelser og mirakler, og legenden
forteller også at Felix mestret kunsten å gå på vannet.
Felix døde en 14. januar
rundt 260. Han kalles ofte «martyr» på grunn av sine lidelser under
forfølgelsene. Han ble gravlagt på en kirkegård (nekropolis) seks kilometer
utenfor Nola. Dette stedet het opprinnelig Coemeterium Nolanum («Nolas
kirkegård»), senere Coemetinus, så Cimitino og endelig dagens
Cimitile. Snart etter Felix' død strømmet store menneskemengder fra fjern og
nær for å besøke hans grav, som snart ble berømt for de miraklene som snart
skjedde der.
Det lille vi vet om
Felix, kommer fra diktene (carmina 15 og 16) til den hellige
forfatteren og biskopen Paulinus av Nola (353-431),
som skrev over hundre år senere. Paulinus ble født i 353 i en rik adelsfamilie
i Bordeaux i Frankrike. Han fikk en god utdannelse og fikk i 378 rang av consul
suffectus, og året etter ble han sendt som consularis til Campania.
Der var han til stede ved en fest til ære for Felix i Nola, og slik begynte
hans livslange engasjement for Felix' kult.
Fra Campania vendte han
tilbake til Frankrike, og rundt 389 ble han opptatt i Kirken av biskop Delfinus
av Bordeaux. Han ble presteviet (temmelig irregulært) i Barcelona, og deretter
dro han til Italia og bosatte seg til slutt ved Felix' grav i Cimitile ved
Nola. Han levde nå sammen med hustruen Teresa som bror og søster. Han brukte hele
sin formue på å ta seg av trengende pilegrimer, betale gjeld for insolvente og
bygde basilikaer i Fondi og Nola i tillegg til en høyst velkommen akvedukt i
Nola.
Det fantes allerede tre
Felix-kirker i Nola til Felix' ære, men den eksisterende basilikaen over Felix'
grav i Cimitile var alt for liten til å huse de store menneskemengdene som
daglig kom for å be ved graven, så i år 400 begynte Paulinus byggingen av en ny
basilika i tilknytning til den gamle, og den sto ferdig i 403. På denne måten
kunne de troende være til stede i den nye basilikaen ved seremoniene som ble
feiret i den gamle. Denne kirken er dekorert med veggmalerier med scener fra
Det gamle Testamentet. Senere ble det også bygd en femte kirke for Felix i
Nola.
Takket være Paulinus ble
det i Cimitile også bygd fire mindre basilikaer: for De hellige martyrer (Santi
Martiri), den hellige Stefan (egentlig
viet protomartyrene Stefan og Laurentius,
også kalt Vergine Incoronata), den hellige apostelen Thomas (også
kalt Apostelbasilikaen) og den hellige Johannes (viet til Johannes Døperen og
evangelisten Johannes).
På 1500-tallet ble Paulinus' nye basilika inkorporert i Johannes-basilikaen, og
i 1789 ble det også bygd en sognekirke på ruinene av den gamle og som den viet
til San Felice in Pincis.
Da bispestolen i Nola ble
ledig rundt 409, ble han valgt til byens biskop, et embete han hadde til sin
død i 431. Cimitile var bispesete for biskopen av Nola til 1300-tallet, da det
ble flyttet til Nola, og fra da av forfalt Cimitile stadig mer.
Paulinus tjente som
dørvokter ved kirken som var viet til Felix, og han samlet informasjoner om
helgenen fra Kirkens menn og fra pilegrimer. Paulinus skrev mellom 393 og 407
fjorten årlige dikt (carmina natalicia) på Felix' festdag 14. januar
(carmina 12-16, 18-21, 23, 26-29). Han inkorporerer mye av det
legendematerialet som hadde utviklet seg i det mellomliggende århundret. Hans
stil ligner den til klassiske forfattere som Vergil (70-19 f.Kr), Horats (65-8
f.Kr) og Ovid (43 f.Kr.-17 e.Kr).
Paulinus forteller om de
store skarene av pilegrimer og syke som i senantikken kom fra hele Italia til
Felix' grav i den kampaniske bispebyen. Paulinus forteller også om
helbredelsene og de andre miraklene som skjedde der, som gjenfinning av husdyr
som hadde forsvunnet, og han forteller også og om den hjelp han selv hadde fått
ved Felix' forbønn.
Innholdet i Paulinus'
dikt ble oppsummert i prosa av den hellige Beda den Ærverdige (~673-735),
og derfra kom historien inn i Acta Sanctorum. Også den hellige Gregor av Tours (539-594)
og presten Marcellus skrev biografier om Felix basert på Paulinus' dikt.
Paulinus av Nola og den hellige Augustin1 kaller
ham Confessor (bekjenner), mens Gregor av Tours2 betegner ham
som martyr.
Felix' kult bevitnes av
den hellige Hieronymus'
og Kartagos martyrologier og av mange gamle sakramentarier. Hans navn finnes
også i Sarum-kalenderen (Sarum var det gamle navnet på Salisbury) og i femten
engelske benediktinske kalendere. Etter å ha opplevd et avbrudd mellom 400-
og-700 tallet, blomstret hans kult opp igjen fra 800- til 1300-tallet.
Han er skytshelgen mot
mened, for man lot senere anklagede sverge ved hans grav, som ble kalt Ara
Veritatis, og ved falsk ed slo det alltid tilbake på forbryteren. Han var også
en hjelper mot øyensykdommer, for fra hans grav i Nola dryppet en væske som
hjalp mot slike lidelser. Felix av Nola står på en liste over helgener3 som har det
til felles at det ble sagt at det fra deres graver eller relikvier strømmet ut
olje til visse tider.4
Felix' minnedag er
dødsdagen 14. januar, og da feires han med store festligheter i Nola. I
Cimitile feires hans minnedag med to prosesjoner, den 5. og 14. januar. I
Martyrologium Hieronymianum blir hans minnedag også angitt på 27. juli, og der
opptrer han som biskop. Hans minnedag ble strøket i den romerske
generalkalenderen ved revisjonen i 1969 og henvist til lokale kalendere. Den
største delen av hans relikvier finnes i katedralen San Felice ved Piazza del
Duomo i Nola, men også Roma og Benevento har noen relikvier. Felix av Nola
fremstilles vanligvis i en hule med et edderkoppnett foran, eller med en engel
som fjerner hans lenker. Han kan også fremstilles med en klase druer som
symboliserer hans hjelp til den gamle biskop Maximus, eller mens han bærer den
gamle biskopen på ryggen. Han avbildes også lenket i fengsel med en ødelagt
krukke eller skår ved siden av seg. Normalt avbildes han som ung prest, men han
kan også være kledd som diakon.
Det finnes 66 helgener
ved navn Felix bare i Martyrologium Romanum, og hagiografer har skapt mye kaos
ved å blande sammen ulike Felix-helgener og ved å gjøre flere helgener ut av
en. Det finnes en annen Felix av Nola,
nemlig byens første biskop, Felice protovescovo, som skal ha lidd
martyrdøden i år 95 under en prefekt Martianus. Men mange mener at den første
biskopen av Nola ved navn Felix var biskop fra 473 til sin død den 9. februar
484 – han kalles gjerne «Felix II» eller «Felix den yngre» – og at «Felix I»
egentlig har oppstått som en legendarisk skikkelse basert på Felix av Nola.
I tidlige martyrologier
har Felix av Nola også blitt blandet sammen med en hellig Felix «in pincis» (in
Pincio) (den hellige pave Damasus'
Epigram 61). I Breviarium Romanum sto det på slutten av niende lesning at Felix
var gravlagt på et sted ved Nola som het «in Pincis» (som tydes som «i
granskogene» eller «på gresskaråkeren»). Sammenblandingen kommer trolig av at
en kirke på Pincio-høyden i Roma, som ikke lenger eksisterer, skal ha vært viet
Felix av Nola. Det virker imidlertid mest sannsynlig at denne Felix-basilikaen
ble bygd til ære for den hellige martyren Felix på Via
Portuensis. Felix in Pincis, som også har minnedag 14. januar, fikk en egen
legende, hvor det heter at han var en streng lærer som ble drept av sine
hedenske elever, som brukte sine jerngrifler som våpen. Den dødsmåten
tilskrives minst fire martyrer, de mest kjente er de hellige Kassian av Imola og Markus av Arethusa.
1
De cura gerenda pro mortuis 16, 19
2
Liber in gloria martyrum, 103
3
Catholic Encyclopedia: Oil of Saints
4
Acta Sanctorum, januar, II, 223
Kilder:
Attwater/John, Attwater/Cumming, Farmer, Butler (I), Benedictines, Delaney,
Bunson, Schauber/Schindler, Melchers, KIR, CE, CSO, Patron Saints SQPN,
Infocatho, Bautz, Heiligenlexikon, Stadler, santiebeati.it, en.wikipedia.org,
de.wikipedia.org, it.wikipedia.org, britannica.com, kirchensite.de -
Kompilasjon og oversettelse: p. Per Einar Odden -
Opprettet: 2000-02-01 21:34 - Sist oppdatert: 2007-12-19 02:44
SOURCE : https://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/felix
Chiesa
di San Felice a Ema (Firenze)
Felix (ook Flin) van
Nola Sr, Italië; priester; † ca 250 à 260.
Feest 14 januari.
Alles wat over hem bekend is, hebben wij te danken aan Sint Paulinus van Nola († 431; feest 22 juni). Hij heeft van hem een levensbericht in verzen nagelaten.
Felix was een zoon van een Syrische soldaat en werd geboren in de plaats Nola bij
Napels. Door Sint Maximus († na 250; feest 15 januari) werd hij priester
gewijd. In hun tijd braken de christenvervolgingen uit onder keizer Decius
(249-251).
Uit Maximus' leven
Tijdens de vervolgingen onder Decius vluchtte hij de bergen in. Teruggekeerd in
Nola stierf hij korte tijd later aan de gevolgen van zijn ontberingen. Felix
droeg zorg voor een eerbiedige bijzetting in de stad.
Ook Felix ontliep de vervolgingen niet. Hij werd opgepakt, gegeseld, in ketens geboeid en opgesloten in een kerker waarvan de vloer met pot- en glasscherven was bedekt. Hij zou door een engel zijn bevrijd, die hem vervolgens bij Maximus in de woestijn bracht; deze dreigde van honger om te komen. Met een beetje druivensap wist Felix zijn bisschop op het nippertje te redden.
Felix trok zich terug in de eenzaamheid van een grot om aan verdere vervolgingen te ontkomen. Toch wisten zijn belagers hem te vinden. Maar een spin had intussen zo'n dik web geweven voor de ingang dat het de achtervolgers onmogelijk leek dat hij in de gauwigheid hier zijn toevlucht had gezocht.
Na de dood van Maximus zorgde hij ervoor dat hij eerbiedig in de stad begraven
werd, maar hij weigerde pertinent hem op te volgen in het bisschopsambt. Liever
volhardde hij in zijn teruggetrokken levenswijze waarbij hij in grote soberheid
zijn eigen voedsel verbouwde.
Verering & Cultuur
Soms wordt hij vanwege de vervolgingen en de ontberingen die hij heeft
doorstaan toch martelaar genoemd,
hoewel hij een natuurlijke dood is gestorven. In later tijd stond er een
gedachteniskapel op zijn graf. Daar woonde Paulinus van Nola aanvankelijk met
enkele anderen als kluizenaar. Van Paulinus is verder bekend dat hij een kerk
bouwde ter ere van Sint Felix.
Hij is patroon tegen oogziekten; daarnaast van huisdieren; zijn voorspraak
wordt ingeroepen tegen meineed.
Afgebeeld
Hij wordt afgebeeld als martelaar;
met scherven en in een voetblok; met een engel die hem bevrijdt; met druiven;
een spinnenweb in de grot waar hij zijn toevlucht zocht; ineengedoken in een
grot of tussen twee muren, met soldaten die hem zoeken.
[Frm.1996; Rge.1989; Rgf.1991; Rld.1963; RR1.1640; S&S.1989p:72.73; Dries
van den Akker s.j./2010.02.25]
© A. van den Akker
s.j. / A.W. Gerritsen
SOURCE : https://heiligen-3s.nl/heiligen/01/14/01-14-0260-felix.php
Saint Félix, prêtre de Nole, martyr : http://orthodoxievco.net/ecrits/vies/synaxair/janvier/felix2.pdf
