Pope Saint Felix I

 Mysteries Unveiled: The Intriguing Tale of Pope Saint Felix I 

According to the Roman Martyrology and the Liber Pontificalis, Felix I, a native of Rome, concluded his earthly existence as a martyr. This assertion is undoubtedly an error resulting from a perplexing conflation with a certain Felix, a martyr interred along the Via Aurelia. This very confusion has also given rise to the unquestionably inaccurate assertion, documented in the second edition of the Liber Pontificalis, that Pope Felix "erected a sacred edifice on the Via Aurelia, wherein he himself found his final resting place."

Regrettably, scant knowledge is available regarding Felix. However, it appears that he dispatched a response of some nature to the Synod of Antioch, a communication conveying the deposition of Paul of Samosata, which had been conveyed to Rome during the tenure of his predecessor, the venerable Pope St. Dionysius. Conversely, the veracity of the supposed letter from Felix, as read at the Council of Ephesus, has been debunked by erudite scholars such as Duchesne, Bardenhewer, and Harnack, who contend that it was an Apollinarian fabrication.

The assertion that Pope Felix "decreed that Masses should be solemnized upon the sepulchers of the martyrs" may conceivably allude to a practice he initiated, involving the placement of obstructions to seal the voids (arcosolia) above the tombs in the catacombs, with the exception of tombs incontrovertibly identified as those of martyrs. Hence, this decree would signify that the sacred rites, the Mysteries, ought to be celebrated solely upon the tombs of martyrs.

The accurate date of his demise was December 30th (III kalends of January); however, a misinterpretation of "jun." instead of "jan." has erroneously led to its assignment to May 30th. The Depositio Episcoporum, which unveils this error, also informs us that Felix was interred in the cemetery of Callistus.

Watch the mysteries unveiled: the intriguing tale of Pope Saint Felix I - Martyr and Pontiff