Quodvultdeus

Quodvultdeus ( Latin: " What God wants ") (* late 4th century in Carthage ; † before October 24, 454 in Naples ) was Bishop of Carthage at the time of the vandals and father of the church .

He was occupied in Carthage around 407/408 and as a deacon around 421 . Augustine was inspired by him to write “ De haeresibus ”, which he dedicated to Quodvultdeus. Between 431 and 439 he was Bishop of Carthage, from which he was expelled by Geiseric in 439 . He landed in Campania , took part in the fight against Pelagianism and died in Naples before October 24, 454. Umberto Fasola interprets an arcosol mosaic in the catacombs of S. Gennaro / Capodimonte as his portrait.

The Tunisian Church celebrates his commemoration on January 8, the Church of Naples on February 19 and the “ Roman Calendar ” records his feast day on October 26.

He sharply criticized Christians who were enthusiastic about the circus and theater and opposed them with the examples of saints and martyrs and good works. He saw the devastation caused by the vandals in North Africa as God's punishment.

His works have long been attributed to Augustine and Prosper of Aquitaine . Only recently have the following sermons been assigned to him, which were previously considered the works of Augustine:

• De symbolo
• De tempore barbarico
• De accedentibus ad gratiam
• Adversus quinque haeresies
• De cataclismo
• De ultima quarta feria
• De cantico novo
• Contra iudaeos

Also “De promissionibus et praedictionibus Dei” is probably not to be assigned to Prosper of Aquitaine, but to Quodvultdeus.

literature

• Hubertus Drobner:  Quodvultdeus, hl .. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 7, Bautz, Herzberg 1994, ISBN 3-88309-048-4 , Sp. 1137-1142.