Fulgentius of Ruspe

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Fulgentius von Ruspe 17Jh.jpg
Jan Brueghel the Elder : Landscape with St. Fulgentius

Fulgentius von Ruspe (Latin: Fulgentius Ruspensis , Fabius Claudius Gordianus Fulgentius ; * around 462 or 467 or 468 in Telept , North Africa ; † January 1, 533 in Ruspe , North Africa) was Bishop of Ruspe and influential church writer of the generation after Augustine of Hippo .

Life

Childhood and youth

Fulgentius was born in Telept, a prestigious town in Africa at the time, to Claudius and Mariana. He had a younger brother, but nothing further is reported about him. His father, Claudius, was an avid Catholic Christian. The father lived first in Carthage , but was persecuted by the Arians , whose priests took his house away from him and he therefore moved to Telept. Fulgentius' father died shortly after his birth. His mother raised the boy piously and later sent him to educated teachers, who taught Fulgentius the then common sciences. He followed the class with diligence and obedience. He was considered meek and humble. Because of his achievements he was given the position of chief tax collector in the province of Byzacena . Immediately, however, he felt the urge to renounce the world and dedicate himself entirely to God. His resolve was strengthened after reading a sermon by St. Augustine of Hippo . He was so moved by their content that he resigned his office and devoted himself to monastery life.

Monastery life

He then went to Bishop Faustus in Byzacena, who had built a monastery there. The latter, however, pointed out to him with the words “Go and learn only in the world to despise its pleasures. Is it plausible that you, brought up in the softness and comfort of life, can suddenly become comfortable with our poor way of life, our rough clothes, our waking and fasting? " Modestly but wisely, Fulgentius replied: “The one who instilled with the will to serve him can also give me the necessary strength to conquer my weakness.” The bishop, overcome by this answer, granted his request and Fulgentius entered the monastery at the age of 23. His mother then went to the bishop and asked him to return her son. Glad to have escaped the snares of the world, Fulgentius did not want to return to his mother and only gave her his goods for administration, which his younger brother later took over. He became a novice in the monastery .

With the Arians returning again, the bishop was forced to leave the city. Previously, he advised Fulgentius to go to a neighboring monastery, which was run by an abbot named Felix. When the abbot found out about this, he wanted to resign immediately and hand over his post to Fulgentius. Fulgentius, however, refused, whereby the two shared the management of the monastery over the next six years. Felix took care of the time, Fulgentius took care of the lessons.

Escape to Giffa

Due to a devastating incursion by the Numidians , the two moved back to Giffa , a city in inner Africa. When an Arian priest learned of her whereabouts, he had her arrested and beaten. The then Arian bishop was angry about the priest's approach, so that he wanted to have the priest punished for it. Fulgentius, however, refused with the words: "A Christian is forbidden to take revenge, and I do not want to lose either the fruit of patience or the honor of having suffered disgrace for Jesus." Influenced by this experience, Fulgentius made the decision to travel to Egypt in order to be able to serve God there in deep solitude.

Trip to Sicily

For this he boarded a ship to Sicily, where the godly bishop Eulalius lived and worked at that time. He was kindly received by him. After Fulgentius had informed him about his plan, however, he tried to turn this away from him. Fulgentius learned that a large part of the monks of Egypt had separated from the papal see in Rome and instead devoted themselves to heresy. Fulgentius was frightened by this, because the unity of the church was close to his heart and he feared that he would lose his faith by traveling to Egypt. He decided to stay in Sicily. Despite his low livelihood, from then on he cared for the poor, which led the bishop to edify himself in his love. Fulgentius, however, now strove for Rome.

Trip to Rome

In 500 AD Fulgentius traveled to Rome to visit the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul. It was precisely at this time that Theodoric, King of Italy, made his first entry into the city. Influenced by the sight of the king, Fulgentius exclaimed: “Oh, if earthly Rome is so beautiful, how must the heavenly Jerusalem first be! If in this fleeting life God surrounds the followers and lovers of vanity with such great brilliance, what honor, what glory, what bliss he must first have prepared for his saints in heaven! "

Return to Africa

Shortly after his stay in Rome, Fulgentius returned to Africa. In Bycazene he founded a monastery and wanted to make him head of it. To avoid this, he retired to a small monastery on the seashore. Here he spent his time with prayer and work, but was discovered and had to leave the monastery on the orders of Bishop Faustus to be ordained a priest against his will and then to take over the management of his own monastery. Due to the invasion of the Arians, many episcopal offices in North Africa had become empty and it was intended to fill them with new, pious men. Fulgentius should also occupy such an office; However, he kept himself cleverly hidden during the election period and only reappeared when he was convinced that he had been forgotten. However, he was discovered and, against his will, elected Bishop of Ruspe in North Africa. Despite his new position, he continued his strict way of life. His clothes at the time consisted of a poor woolen undergarment, and he refrained from wearing shoes and lay down on the floor to sleep. His blanket was a dress. He lived on vegetables, roots and eggs and drank spring water, which he only mixed with some wine when he was old. He renounced the consumption of meat and did not season his dishes. Through this humility he gained the love of all people, even the respect of his enemies. He intended to build a monastery next to the church.

Exile to Sardinia and journey to Carthage

Before he could carry out this plan, however, the Vandal King Thrasamund banished him to Sardinia along with six other bishops . But even in exile Fulgentius earned the respect and recognition of his fellow sufferers. With some of these he continued his monastic life there. During this time he wrote several letters to his abandoned homeland to comfort her and strengthen her faith. When the Vandal King learned that Fulgentius was the most learned defender of the Catholic faith, he had him summoned to Carthage. The king sent Fulgentius a pamphlet with objections against the faith with the order to give a short answer. Fulgentius did this so succinctly that Thrasamund allowed him to stay in Carthage. With the greatest zeal and prudence, Fulgentius confronted the false teachers and consolidated the faith of the natives; he succeeded in uncovering the secret routes of the heretics. Enraged by this action, they decreed that Fulgentius would be banished again to Sardinia. In the year 515, according to other sources in 520, Fulgentius was again banished from Thrasamund to Sardinia. In 523 he was finally able to return to Ruspe under Hilderich . On his return, Fulgentius was almost crushed by the cheering crowds.

Return to Ruspe

Fulgentius now returned to Ruspe. The people of the city met him with torches and branches and escorted him into the city. Immediately after his arrival, Fulgentius resumed his activities as bishop and remedied the grievances that had sprouted up during his absence. The exercise of his offices, however, drained his strength. Realizing that his life would soon come to an end, he moved to a monastery on the nearby island of Cenae . At the urging of his community, however, he returned to Ruspe, where he fell ill. During the 60 days he kept repeating the words: "Lord, grant me now (the) patience and then your forgiveness." As he was dying he had his clergymen and monks gathered together, in whose presence he, on the morning of January 1st, 533, 65 years old, according to other sources at the age of 70, died. He was buried in the church in Ruspe. His remains are in Bourges Cathedral .

Fonts

In his writings, he sat down especially for the predestination - and grace doctrine of Augustine and a loving Offenmütigkeit also dissenters against one, but decided to fighting the spread in southern Gaul Semipelagianism and the Arianism of the Vandals. Due to the time-bound nature of his works, with the exception of De fide ad Petrum , which was ascribed to Augustine for a long time, they were later hardly received or used dogmatically. His pupil, the Carthaginian deacon Fulgentius Ferrandus , wrote a biography of Fulgentius.

Fulgentius is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church , and his feast day is January 1st.

expenditure

  • Migne Patrologia Latina, Vol. 65

literature

Web links

Commons : Fulgentius von Ruspe  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Georg Ott: Legend of the dear saints of God, Regensburg 1864