Pope Saint Felix IV was
popeThe pope is the Bishop of Rome and, as such, is leader of the worldwide Catholic Church...
from 526 to 530.
He came from
SamniumSamnium is a historical region of the south central Apennines in Italy, that was home to the Samnites, a group of Sabellic tribes that controlled the area from about 600 BC to about 290 BC. Samnium was delimited by Latium in the north, by Lucania in the south, by Campania in the west and by Apulia...
, the son of one Castorius. Following the death of
Pope John IPope Saint John I was Pope from 523 to 526. He was a native of Siena or the Castello di Serena, near Chiusdino, and was very old and frail by the time he was elected to the papacy....
at the hands of the
OstrogothThe Ostrogoths were a branch of the Goths , an East Germanic tribe that played a major role in the political events of the late Roman Empire....
King
Theodoric the GreatTheodoric the Great , was king of the Ostrogoths , ruler of Italy , regent of the Visigoths , and a viceroy of the Roman Empire...
, the papal voters gave in to the king's demands and chose Cardinal Felix as Pope. Felix's favor in the eyes of the king caused him to push for greater benefits for the Church.
He was elected after a gap of nearly two months after the death of John I.
Imperial edict passed granting that cases against clergy should be dealt with by the Pope.
He defined church teaching on grace and free will in response to a request on opposing Semi-Pelagianism in
GaulGaul is a historical name used in the context of the Roman Empire in references to the region of Western Europe approximating present day France and Belgium, but also sometimes including the Po Valley, western Switzerland, and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the River...
.
Felix attempted to designate his own successor:
BonifacePope Boniface II was pope from 530 to 532.He was by birth an Ostrogoth, the first Germanic pope, and he owed his appointment to the influence of the Gothic king Athalaric. Boniface was chosen by his predecessor, Pope Felix IV, who had been a strong adherent of the Arian king, and was never elected...
. The reaction of the Senate was to forbid the discussion of a pope’s successor during his lifetime, or the acceptance of such a nomination.
The majority of the clergy reacted to Felix's activity by nominating
DioscorusDioscorus, Antipope from 22 September 530 – 14 October 530. Pope Felix IV wished Boniface to succeed him, partially to avoid the riots that had occurred on his own accession. However, on Felix' death a majority of the electors voted for Dioscorus...
as Pope, and a minority for Boniface.
Felix built the
Santi Cosma e DamianoThe basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano is one of the ancient churches of Rome called tituli, of which cardinals are patrons as deacons: the Cardinal Deacon of the Titulus Ss. Cosmae et Damiani is Giovanni Cheli...
in the
Imperial forumsThe Imperial Fora consist of a series of monumental fora , constructed in Rome over a period of one and half centuries, between 46 BC and 113 AD. The forums were the center of the Roman Republic and of the Roman Empire....
.
(Note on numbering: When numbering of the Popes began to be used,
Antipope Felix IIAntipope Felix II was installed as Pope in 355 after the Emperor Constantius II banished the reigning Pope, Liberius, for refusing to subscribe the sentence of condemnation against Saint Athanasius. In May 357 the Roman laity, which had remained faithful to Liberius, demanded that Constantius, who...
was counted as one of the Popes of that name. The second true
Pope FelixPope Saint Felix III was pope from March 13, 483 to 492.-Biography:He was born into a Roman senatorial family and said to have been a great-great-grandfather of Saint Gregory the Great. Nothing certain is known of Felix until he succeeded St...
is thus known by the number III, and the true third Pope Felix was given the number IV. It also affected the name taken by
Antipope Felix VAmadeus VIII was the son of Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy and Bonne of Berry. He was surnamed the Peaceful and was the Count of Savoy from 1391 to 1416 and was elevated by Emperor Sigismund to the Duke of Savoy in 1416...
, who would have been the fourth Pope Felix.)
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