Fulgentius of Ruspe | |
|---|---|
 Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe | |
| Abbot and Bishop | |
| Born | c. 465 Thelepte,Roman province of Africa |
| Died | 1 January, either 527 or 533 Ruspe,Kingdom of the Vandals |
| Venerated in | Latin Catholic Church Eastern Catholic Churches Eastern Orthodox Church[1] |
| Feast | 1 January and 3 January (Augustinian Order)[2] |
Fabius Claudius Gordianus Fulgentius, also known asFulgentius of Ruspe (462 or 467 – 1 January 527 or 533), was a North AfricanChristian prelate who served as Bishop ofRuspe in what is nowTunisia, during the 5th and 6th century. He is venerated as asaint.
Fabius Claudius Gordianus Fulgentius[3] was born in the year 462 at Telepte (modern-day Medinet-el-Kedima), Tunisia, North Africa, into a senatorial family.[2] His grandfather, Gordianus, a senator of Carthage, was despoiled of his possessions by the invaderGenseric, then banished to Italy. His two sons returned after his death; though their house in Carthage had been taken over by Arian priests, they recovered some property in Byzacene.[3]
His father Claudius died when Fulgentius was still quite young. His mother Mariana taught him to speakGreek andLatin. Fulgentius became particularly fluent with the former, speaking it like a native. His biographer says that at an early age Fulgentius committed the entire works of Homer to memory.[3] He quickly gained wide public respect for the conduct of his family's affairs. This reputation helped him to acquire a post as aprocurator or tax collector ofByzacena. He soon grew tired of the material life, and this combined with his religious studies, particularly a sermon ofAugustine of Hippo onPsalm 36, which dealt with the transitory nature of physical life, convinced him to become a monk.
Around the year 499 he set out to join the hermits of the Thebaid in Egypt, but changed his mind when he learned from Eulalius, Bishop of Syracuse, of the influence ofmonophysitism on Egyptian monasticism.[4]
He applied to Faustus, a bishop who had been forced from his diocese by the Vandal kingHuneric and later set up a monastery at Byzacena. Faustus tried to dissuade Fulgentius because his physical weakness made him a poor candidate for the rigorous life of the monastery. When Fulgentius persisted, Faustus admitted him on a trial basis.[5]
Upon learning of her son's decision, Mariana, who evidently had never been told of Fulgentius's wish, was very upset. She rushed to the gates of the monastery, demanding to know how a church that was supposed to protect widows could deprive her of her only son. Her protestations were ineffective, and Fulgentius was ultimately confirmed in his vocation.[5]
RenewedArian attacks on the area forced Fulgentius to leave for another nearby monastery. The abbot there, Felix, gave Fulgentius the duty of managing the temporal affairs of the monastery, while he managed the spiritual affairs. The two of them worked well together, and so in 499, during another wave of persecution, they both fled forSicca Veneria. A local Arian priest had them arrested and tortured after learning the pair were preaching the orthodoxNicene teaching.[6]
In 500, he visitedRome, where he prayed at the tombs of the apostles. His visit coincided with a formal address to the people by kingTheodoric, which confirmed Fulgentius in his low esteem for the earthly vanities of this world. He then returned to Byzacena, where he built a monastery, electing to live in an isolated cell. Fulgentius's reputation quickly spread, and he was several times offered the post of bishop of one of the dioceses which had been vacated through the actions of the Arian kingThrasamund. He chose not to accept these offers, knowing Thrasamund had specifically ordered that only Arians be permitted to fill those seats.[5]
In 502 Fulgentius was persuaded to take the post of bishop ofRuspe in what is nowTunisia.[4] His obvious virtues made a strong impression on the people of his new diocese, but he was soon banished toSardinia with some sixty other bishops who did not hold the Arian position.Pope Symmachus knew of their plight and sent them annual provisions of food and money.
While in Sardinia, Fulgentius turned a house inCagliari into a monastery, and determined to write a number of works to help instruct the Christians of Africa. In 515, he returned to Africa, having been summoned there by Thrasamund for a public debate with his Arian replacement. His book,An Answer to Ten Objections, is supposed to have been collected from the answers he had made regarding objections to the CatholicNicene position. Thrasamund, impressed by Fulgentius' knowledge and learning, and fearing social discord if these persuasive arguments fell into the hands of his Arian subjects, ordered that all Fulgentius' future statements could only be delivered orally. Fulgentius responded with a further rebuttal to the Arian position, now known as theThree Books to King Thrasamund. Thrasamund's respect for Fulgentius grew, leading him to allow Fulgentius to stay in Carthage, but after renewed complaints from the local Arian clergy he banished Fulgentius back to Sardinia in 520.
Fulgentius founded several communities not only in Africa, but also in Sardinia.[2]
In 523, following the death of Thrasamund and the accession of his Catholic sonHilderic, Fulgentius was allowed to return to Ruspe and try to convert the populace to the Catholic position. He worked to reform many of the abuses which had infiltrated his old diocese in his absence. The power and effectiveness of his preaching was so profound that his archbishop, Boniface of Carthage, wept openly every time he heard Fulgentius preach, and publicly thanked God for giving such a preacher to his church.[5]
Tensions withQuodvultdeus (died c.450) over precedence appear to have been overcome by Fulgentius' modest concessions.
Later, Fulgentius retired to a monastery on the island of Circinia (Kerkenna), but was recalled to Ruspe and served there until his death on 1 January 527[4] or 533.[3]
The Life of Fulgentius, (generally attributed toFerrandus of Carthage, but more recently to Redemptus a monk of Telepte) is of value to historians as a record of migrations of social élites to Italy, Sicily and Sardinia due to vicissitudes of the Vandal rulers in North Africa, navigation in the Western Mediterranean, estate management, and the development of an episcopal monastic familia.
As atheologian, Fulgentius's work shows knowledge ofGreek and a strong agreement withAugustine of Hippo. He wrote frequently againstArianism andPelagianism. Some letters and eightsermons survive by Fulgentius. During the Middle Ages, he was conflated withFabius Planciades Fulgentius and considered the author of the famousMythologies, but this identification is now questioned. Three excerpts of Fulgentius's writing are included in the appendix of Henri Cardinal de Lubac's book, "Catholicism," (French original 1947, recent English edition 1988 Ignatius Press).
Fulgentius writes in hisLetter to Peter on the Faith: "Hold most firmly and never doubt that the same Holy Spirit, who is the one Spirit of the Father and the Son, proceeds from the Father and the Son. For the Son says, 'When the Spirit of Truth comes, who has proceeded from the Father,' where he taught that the Spirit is his, because he is the Truth."[7] Though this is only an "economic filioque" since it involves the economic activity of the Holy Ghost in the world, after creation. There is no mention of an "eternal filioque" here (see the definition of Florence, 6th session, 6 July 1439).
Fulgentius makes no clear mention of what will later be Lateran IV's "transubstantiation" (1215). In hisTreatise against Fabianus: "Indeed our sharing in the Lord's body and blood when we eat his bread and drink his cup teaches us that we should die to the world."[8] He makes clear that "we eat his bread and drink his cup", not denying the reality of the bread and wine.
Hissaint's day is January 1, the day of his death. Hisrelics were transferred toBouvines in France in 1903.[5]
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