Also known as Felix of Dunwich · Felix, Bishop of the East Angles · Felix of East Anglia
A 7th-century Burgundian-Frankish missionary who became first bishop of the East Angles, establishing his see at Dommoc (Dunwich). He converted King Sigebert and helped found a school for the kingdom, evangelizing the region until his repose around 647.
Feast Day
March 8
Draft
Draft — pending review. Not yet verified for publication.
Our Father among the Saints Felix of Burgundy, First Bishop of the East Angles
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Missionary Work
Life
Felix of Burgundy was a seventh-century Frankish missionary bishop who became the first bishop of the kingdom of the East Angles in Anglo-Saxon England. Born in the Frankish kingdom of Burgundy and ordained a priest there, he was sent to East Anglia by Archbishop Honorius of Canterbury around the year 630 to assist in the conversion of the kingdom.
Working with King Sigeberht, who had himself been converted and baptized while in exile in Gaul, Felix established his episcopal see at Dommoc, which most scholars identify with Dunwich in Suffolk. He governed the East Anglian church for about seventeen years and helped found a school for the instruction of boys, and is commemorated on March 8.
Timeline 5 moments
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early lifeOrigins in BurgundyFelix was born in the Frankish kingdom of Burgundy and was ordained a priest in Gaul before undertaking his mission to England.
c. 630Sent to the East AnglesArchbishop Honorius of Canterbury consecrated Felix and sent him to East Anglia to assist King Sigeberht in establishing Christianity, making Felix the first bishop of the kingdom of the East Angles.
c. 630-631The see at DommocSigeberht established the bishop's seat of his kingdom for Felix at Dommoc, identified by scholars as either Dunwich or Walton near Felixstowe in Suffolk.
during his episcopateFounding of a schoolFelix helped Sigeberht establish a school where boys could be taught letters, on the model the king had witnessed in Gaul, obtaining teachers of the kind who taught in Kent.
c. 647Repose at DunwichAfter about seventeen years as bishop, Felix died peacefully on March 8, around the year 647.
Contributions & Legacy
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Mission to East Anglia
According to Bede's Historia ecclesiastica, the principal source for his life, Felix came from Burgundy as a missionary bishop to assist in establishing Christianity in the kingdom of King Sigeberht of East Anglia. Sigeberht had been converted and baptized while living as an exile in Gaul, becoming a devout Christian and a man of learning, and welcomed the spread of the faith on his return to rule.
Archbishop Honorius of Canterbury consecrated Felix for the mission and sent him to the East Angles around 630. Felix became the first bishop of the kingdom, and together with the Irish monk Fursey he effected a large number of conversions and helped establish many churches in Sigeberht's kingdom.
The See of Dommoc and the School
Sigeberht established Felix's episcopal see at Dommoc, around 629 to 631. The exact location of Dommoc has been lost for many centuries and is the subject of scholarly debate, with the two principal candidates being Dunwich, a coastal Suffolk town much of which was later lost to erosion, and Walton near Felixstowe, the site of a Roman fort. Dommoc served as the original seat of the Anglo-Saxon bishops of East Anglia and remained the sole bishopric of the kingdom until about 673, when a second see was established at Elmham.
Felix also assisted the king in founding a school in the kingdom, so that boys could be taught reading and writing in Latin on the model Sigeberht had seen in Gaul; for this purpose teachers were obtained of the kind who taught in Kent.
Relics and Veneration
Felix governed the East Anglian church for about seventeen years and died peacefully at his see around the year 647 or 648. His relics were later removed to Soham and subsequently transferred to Ramsey Abbey.
His feast is kept on March 8. The town of Felixstowe in Suffolk is traditionally said to be named after him, and several churches in England are dedicated to his memory.
