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{{Short description|Phoenician Christian missionary; the first bishop of Axumite Empire}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox saint
{{Infobox saint
|honorific_prefix=[[Saint]]
|name=Saint Frumentius
|name=Frumentius
|birth_date=4th century [[AD]]
|birth_date=4th century
|death_date=c. 383
|death_date={{circa}} 383
|feast_day=August 1 ([[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]])<br>October 27 ([[Roman Catholic Church]])<br>November 30 ([[Eastern Orthodox Churches]])<br>December 18 ([[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic Orthodox Church]])
|feast_day=*27 December ([[Ethiopian Orthodox Church]])
|venerated_in=[[Western Christianity|Western]] and [[Eastern Christianity]]
*20 July ([[Catholic Church]])
|image=Frumentius.jpg
*30 November ([[Eastern Orthodox Church]])
*18 December ([[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic Orthodox Church]])
|venerated_in=[[Eastern Orthodox Church]]<br />[[Oriental Orthodoxy]]<br />[[Catholic Church|Catholicism]]<br />[[Anglican Communion]]
|image=St_Frumentius.jpg
|imagesize=140px
|imagesize=140px
|caption=Saint Frumentius of the Axumite Kingdom
|caption=Saint Frumentius
|birth_place=[[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]], [[Lebanon]]
|birth_place=[[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]], [[Phoenice (Roman province)|Phoenice]], [[Byzantine Empire]] (modern-day [[Lebanon]])
|death_place=[[Ethiopia]]
|death_place=[[Kingdom of Aksum]]
|titles=Bishop, Confessor and Apostle to Ethiopia
|titles=Confessor<br />Bishop of Axum<br />Apostle to Ethiopia
|beatified_date=
|beatified_date=
|beatified_place=
|beatified_place=
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|canonized_by=
|canonized_by=
|attributes=
|attributes=
|patronage=[[Aksumite Empire]]
|patronage=[[Kingdom of Aksum]]
|major_shrine=
|major_shrine=
|suppressed_date=
|suppressed_date=
|issues=
|issues=
}}
}}
{{Oriental Orthodox sidebar|expanded=figures}}
{{Contains Ethiopic text}}
[[File:Frumentius.jpg|thumb|Frumentius]]
{{Contains special characters|Ethiopic}}
'''Frumentius''' ({{langx|gez|ፍሬምናጦስ}}; died c. 383) was a [[Phoenicia|Phoenician]] [[Christian mission]]ary and the first [[bishop]] of [[Axum]] who brought [[Christianity]] to the [[Kingdom of Aksum]].<ref name="isbn0-313-32273-2">{{cite book|last=Adejumobi|first=Saheed A.|title=The History of Ethiopia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3Un6_LGIEyQC&pg=PA171|year=2007|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-32273-0|page=171}}</ref> He is sometimes known by other names, such as [[Abuna]] ("Our Father") and '''Aba Salama''' ("Father of Peace").<ref>{{cite book|title=Butler's Lives of the Saints|year=1995 |author=Alban Butler |author2=Paul Burns |isbn=0-86012-259-X|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WmiNrUarzLUC&pg=PA191|page=191|publisher=A&C Black }}</ref>


He was a native of [[Phoenicia]], born in [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]], modern day Lebanon.<ref name="EB">{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Frumentius|volume=11|page=270|quote=FRUMENTIUS (c. 300–c. 360), the founder of the Abyssinian church, traditionally identified in Abyssinian literature with Abba Salama or Father of Peace (but see Ethiopia), was a native of Phoenicia.}}</ref><ref>
'''Saint Frumentius''' ([[Ge'ez language|Ge'ez]] ፍሬምናጦስ ''frēmnāṭōs'') (born at Tyre - died ca. 383, Ethiopia) was the first [[Bishop]] of [[Axum|Aksum (or Axum)]], and he is credited with bringing [[Christianity]] to the Aksumite Kingdom.<ref name="isbn0-313-32273-2">{{cite book |author=Saheed A. Adejumobi |authorlink= |editor= |others= |title=The History of Ethiopia |edition= |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, Conn |year=2007 |pages=171 |isbn=0-313-32273-2 |oclc= |doi= |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=3Un6_LGIEyQC&pg=PA171&dq=Frumentius+383|accessdate=}}</ref>
*{{cite book|last=Nabokov|first=Vladimir|author-link=Vladimir Nabokov|date=1964|title=Notes on Prosody and Abram Gannibal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VRnWCgAAQBAJ|location=Princeton, New Jersey|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|page=127|isbn=9781400875924|quote=the history of Abyssinia should be briefly recalled. The Gospel was introduced there about A.D. 327 by Frumentius (c. 290-c. 350), a native of Phoenicia, who was consecrated bishop of Aksum by Athanasius of Alexandria.}}

*{{cite book|last=Mullen|first=Roderic L.|date=2004|title=The Expansion of Christianity: A Gazetteer of Its First Three Centuries|url=https://brill.com/display/title/8419|location=|publisher=Brill|page=331|isbn=978-90-47-40232-9|quote=Rufinus, Ecclesiastical History, 10.9-10, records the account of Aedesius and Frumentius, nephews of the Phoenician trader Meropius, who were kidnapped on the coast of "further India" in the time of Constantine and later raised at the royal court.}}
He was a Syro-Phoenician [[Greek people|Greek]] born in [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]]. Captured with his brother as a boy, they became slaves to the King of Axum. He freed them before his death, and they were invited to educate his young heir. They also began to teach Christianity. Later Frumentius traveled to Alexandria, where he appealed to have a bishop appointed and missionary priests sent to Axum. He was appointed bishop and established the Church in Ethiopia, converting many.
*{{cite book|last=Felshman|first=Jeffrey|date=1996|editor-last1=Ring|editor-first1=Trudy|editor-last2=Watson|editor-first2=Noelle|editor-last3=Schellinger|editor-first3=Paul|title=Middle East and Africa International Dictionary of Historic Places|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oHMBAwAAQBAJ|volume=4|publisher=Taylor & Francis|pages=278–302|chapter=Chapter 73: Gonder (Gonder, Ethiopia)|isbn=9781134259939}}
*{{cite journal|last=Kebede|first=Ashenafi|date=Spring 1980|title=The Sacred Chant of Ethiopian Monotheistic Churches: Music in Black Jewish and Christian Communities|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1214519|journal=The Black Perspective in Music|volume=8|issue=1|pages=21–34|doi=10.2307/1214519|jstor=1214519 |quote=Frumentius, the first Ethiopian bishop, was a Phoenician.}}
</ref> As a boy, he was captured with his brother on a voyage, and they became slaves to the [[Ousanas|King of Axum]]. He freed them shortly before his death, and they were invited to educate his young heir. They also began to teach Christianity in the region. Later, Frumentius traveled to [[Alexandria]], [[Egypt]], where he appealed to have a bishop appointed and missionary priests sent south to Axum. Thereafter, he was appointed bishop and established the Church in Ethiopia, converting many local people, as well as the king. His appointment began a tradition that the Patriarch of Alexandria appoint the bishops of Ethiopia.<ref>{{cite book| title= Ethiopia, the Unknown Land |author=Stuart Munro-Hay |authorlink=Stuart Munro-Hay |publisher=IB Tauris |year=2002 |page=20}}</ref>


==Biography==
==Biography==
According to the 4th-century historian [[Tyrannius Rufinus|Rufinus]] (x.9), who cites Frumentius' brother Edesius as his authority, as children (ca. 316) Frumentius and Edesius accompanied their uncle Meropius from their birthplace of [[Tyre]] (in present-day [[Lebanon]]) on a voyage to Ethiopia. When their ship stopped at one of the harbors of the [[Red Sea]], local people massacred the whole crew, sparing the two boys, who were taken as [[slaves]] to the King of Axum. The two boys soon gained the favour of the king, who raised them to positions of trust. Shortly before his death, the king freed them. The widowed queen, however, prevailed upon them to remain at the court and assist her in the education of the young heir, [[Ezana of Axum|Ezana]], and in the administration of the kingdom during the prince's minority. They remained and (especially Frumentius) used their influence to spread Christianity. First they encouraged the Christian [[merchant]]s present in the country to practise their faith openly; later they converted some of the natives.<ref name="isbn0-313-32273-2" />
According to the fourth-century historian [[Tyrannius Rufinus]] (x.9), who cites Frumentius' brother Edesius as his authority, as children (ca. 316) Frumentius and Edesius accompanied their uncle Meropius from their birthplace of [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]] (now in [[Lebanon]]) on a voyage to 'India'.<ref name="EB"></ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Villa|first=Massimo|date=2017|title=Frumentius in the Ethiopic sources: Mythopoeia and text-critical considerations|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/45137006|journal=Rassegna di Studi Etiopici|volume=1|issue=3|pages=87–111|doi=|jstor=45137006 |quote=The narrative is widely known. Meropius, a philosopher from Tyre on the Lebanese coast, is travelling through the Red Sea with two young brothers belonging to his own family, Frumentius and Aedesius.}}</ref> When their ship stopped at one of the harbors of the [[Red Sea]], local people massacred the whole crew, sparing the two boys, who were [[slavery|taken as slaves]] to the King of Axum. The two boys soon gained the favor of the king, who raised them to positions of trust. Shortly before his death, the king freed them. The [[Sofya of Axum|widowed queen]], however, prevailed upon them to remain at the court and assist her in the education of the young heir, [[Ezana of Axum|Ezana]], and in the administration of the kingdom during the prince's minority. They remained and (especially Frumentius) used their influence to spread Christianity. First they encouraged the Christian [[merchant]]s present in the country to practice their faith openly, and they helped them find places "where they could come together for prayer according to the Roman Rite";<ref>Cardinal [[Paulos Tzadua]] on [https://www.angelfire.com/stars4/zion/divine_liturgy_according_to_ethiopia.htm St. Frumentius and the Liturgy of the Ethiopian Church]</ref> later they converted some of the natives.<ref name="isbn0-313-32273-2" />


When the prince came of age, Edesius returned to Tyre, where he stayed and was ordained a priest. Frumentius, eager for the conversion of Ethiopia, accompanied his brother as far as [[Alexandria]], where he requested [[Athanasius of Alexandria|Athanasius]], [[Patriarch of Alexandria]], to send a bishop and some priests as [[missionaries]] to Ethiopia. By Athanasius' own account, he believed Frumentius to be the most suitable person for the job and consecrated him as bishop,<ref>Athanasius, ''Epistola ad Constantinum''</ref> traditionally in the year 328, or according to others, between 340-346.
When the prince came of age, Edesius returned to [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]], where he stayed and was ordained a priest.<ref name="EB"/> Frumentius, eager for the conversion of Ethiopia, accompanied his brother as far as [[Alexandria]], where he requested [[Athanasius of Alexandria|Athanasius]], [[Patriarch of Alexandria]], to send a bishop and some priests as [[missionary|missionaries]] to Ethiopia. By Athanasius' own account, he believed Frumentius to be the most suitable person for the job and consecrated him as bishop,<ref>Athanasius, ''Epistola ad Constantinum''</ref> traditionally in the year 328, or according to others, between 340 and 346.


Frumentius returned to Ethiopia, where he erected his [[episcopal see]] at Axum. He baptized King Ezana, who had succeeded to the throne, built many churches, and spread Christianity throughout Ethiopia. The people called Frumentius '''''Kesate Birhan''''' (Revealer of Light) and '''Abba Salama''' (Father of Peace). He became the first ''Abune'' &mdash; a title given to the head of the [[Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian Church]].
Frumentius returned to Ethiopia, where he erected his [[episcopal see]] at [[Axum]], then converted and baptized King [[Ezana of Axum|Ezana]], who built many churches and spread Christianity throughout Ethiopia. Frumentius established the first monastery of Ethiopia, called ''[[Degol Woyane|Dabba Selama]]'' in [[Dogu'a Tembien]]. The people called Frumentius '''''Kesate Birhan''''' (Revealer of Light) and '''Abba Salama''' (Father of Peace). He became the first ''Abune'', a title given to the head of the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian Church]].


In about 356, the Emperor [[Constantius II]] wrote to King [[Ezana of Axum|Ezana]] and his brother [[Saizanas]], requesting them to replace Frumentius as bishop with [[Theophilos the Indian|Theophilus]], who supported the [[Arianism|Arian]] position, as did the emperor. Frumentius had been appointed by Athanasius, a leading opponent of Arianism. The king refused their request.<ref>[http://christianbookshelf.org/athanasius/select_works_and_letters_or_athanasius/31_letter_of_constantius_to.htm "Letter of Constantius to the Ethiopians against Frumentius"], Bible Suite, Christian Booksheld</ref><ref>[http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?id=g9780631232032_chunk_g978063123203210_ss1-9 "Frumentius of Axum"], Blackwell Reference Online</ref>
In about 356, the Emperor [[Constantius II]] wrote to King Ezana and his brother [[Saizana]], requesting them to replace Frumentius as bishop with [[Theophilos the Indian]], who supported the [[Arianism|Arian position]], as did the emperor. Frumentius had been appointed by Athanasius, a leading opponent of Arianism. The king refused the request.<ref>[http://christianbookshelf.org/athanasius/select_works_and_letters_or_athanasius/31_letter_of_constantius_to.htm "Letter of Constantius to the Ethiopians against Frumentius"], Bible Suite, Christian Booksheld</ref><ref>[http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?id=g9780631232032_chunk_g978063123203210_ss1-9 "Frumentius of Axum"], Blackwell Reference Online</ref>


The [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic Orthodox Church]] celebrates the feast of Frumentius on December 18,<ref>[http://www.kidusmichael.com/EthiopianChristianity.htm Date of Feast/Consecration as Bishop of Ethiopia]</ref> the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] on November 30, and the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] on October 27. Saint Frumentius is venerated on August 1 in the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]].<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=atHpI1Gqzi0C&pg=PA252&lpg=PA252&dq=frumentius+december+18&source=web&ots=gx5dNwtDf1&sig=o7WiY3yQY8lttSsW__SNsikO9tg ''Festivals and Commemorations: Handbook to the Calendar in Lutheran Book of Worship''], Augsburg Press, 1980</ref> Ethiopian traditions credit him with the first [[Ge'ez]] translation of the New Testament, and the development of [[Ge'ez script]] from an ''[[abjad]]'' (consonantal-only) into an ''[[abugida]]'' (syllabic).
Ethiopian traditions credit him with the first [[Geʽez]] translation of the New Testament, and being involved in the development of [[Geʽez script]] from an [[abjad]] (consonantal-only) into an [[abugida]] (syllabic).

==Feast date==
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and [[Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church]] celebrate the feast of Abba Salama's consecration on [[Ethiopian calendar|Taḫśaś (the 4th month of Ethiopian or Coptic calendar) 18]] and departure Hamle (the 11th month of Ethiopian or Coptic calendar) 26.<ref>{{cite book |last=Budge |first=E. A. Wallis |title=Synaxarium: The Bool of the Saints of The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church |url=http://www.stmichaeleoc.org/The_Ethiopian_Synaxarium.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110161417/http://www.stmichaeleoc.org/The_Ethiopian_Synaxarium.pdf |archive-date=10 January 2017|page=222}}</ref>

The [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria]] celebrates the feast of Frumentius on 18 December,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.kidusmichael.com/EthiopianChristianity.htm |title=Date of Feast/Consecration as Bishop of Ethiopia |access-date=2007-11-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080119130131/http://www.kidusmichael.com/EthiopianChristianity.htm |archive-date=2008-01-19 }}</ref> the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] on 30 November<ref>{{cite web|title=Friday, November 30, 2018|url=https://www.goarch.org/chapel?date=11/30/2018|website=goarch.org|access-date=30 November 2018}}</ref> and the [[Catholic Church]] on 20 July.<ref>''Martyrologium Romanum, Editio Altera'' (Citta del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2004), p. 401 (#5 on 20 July). "''In Æthiopia, sancti Frumentii, episcopi, qui primum ibi captivus, deinde, episcopus a sancto Athanasio ordinatus, Evangelium in ea regione propagavit.''"</ref>

==Patronage==
Frumentius is regarded as the patron saint of the former [[Kingdom of Aksum]], and its contemporary territories.{{fact|date=February 2022}}

He is the patron saint of [[St Frumentius Theological College]], the Tigrayan Seminary in Ethiopia.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

==See also==
* [[4th century in Lebanon]]
* [[Portal:Catholicism/Patron Archive/October 27|Saint Frumentius, patron saint archive]]


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
<references/>

*{{1911}}
==Sources==
*''Martyrologium Romanum, Editio Altera,'' (Citta del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2004), p.&nbsp;401
*''Martyrologium Romanum, Editio Altera'' (Citta del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2004), p.&nbsp;401


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/75400 "San Frumenzio"], Santi e Beati {{it icon}}
*[http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/75400 "San Frumenzio"], Santi e Beati {{in lang|it}}
*[http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=637 Catholic News Agency: Frumentius of Ethiopia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910091922/http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=637 |date=10 September 2015 }}
*[http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-frumentius-of-ethiopia/ Saints.SQPN: Frumentius]
*[http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=648 Catholic Online: Frumentius]

{{Ethiopian saints by feast day|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}


{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME = Frumentius
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Bishop of Aksum
| DATE OF BIRTH =
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]], [[Lebanon]]
| DATE OF DEATH = 383
| PLACE OF DEATH = [[Ethiopia]]
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frumentius}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frumentius}}
[[Category:383 deaths]]
[[Category:380s deaths]]
[[Category:Aksumite Empire people]]
[[Category:People from the kingdom of Aksum]]
[[Category:History of Ethiopia]]
[[Category:Lebanese saints]]
[[Category:Lebanese Roman Catholic saints]]
[[Category:Bishops of Axum]]
[[Category:Bishops of Axum]]
[[Category:Syrian Roman Catholic saints]]
[[Category:Syrian Christian saints]]
[[Category:Ethiopian Eastern Catholics]]
[[Category:Ethiopian saints]]
[[Category:Ethiopian Roman Catholic saints]]
[[Category:4th-century bishops]]
[[Category:4th-century bishops]]
[[Category:4th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:4th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:Inventors of writing systems]]
[[Category:Creators of writing systems]]
[[Category:People from Tyre, Lebanon]]
[[Category:People from Tyre, Lebanon]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:4th-century births]]
[[Category:Christian missionaries in Ethiopia]]
[[Category:Missionary linguists]]
[[Category:4th-century Phoenician people]]

Latest revision as of 04:46, 14 December 2024


Frumentius
Saint Frumentius
Confessor
Bishop of Axum
Apostle to Ethiopia
Born4th century
Tyre, Phoenice, Byzantine Empire (modern-day Lebanon)
Diedc. 383
Kingdom of Aksum
Venerated inEastern Orthodox Church
Oriental Orthodoxy
Catholicism
Anglican Communion
Feast
PatronageKingdom of Aksum
Frumentius

Frumentius (Ge'ez: ፍሬምናጦስ; died c. 383) was a Phoenician Christian missionary and the first bishop of Axum who brought Christianity to the Kingdom of Aksum.[1] He is sometimes known by other names, such as Abuna ("Our Father") and Aba Salama ("Father of Peace").[2]

He was a native of Phoenicia, born in Tyre, modern day Lebanon.[3][4] As a boy, he was captured with his brother on a voyage, and they became slaves to the King of Axum. He freed them shortly before his death, and they were invited to educate his young heir. They also began to teach Christianity in the region. Later, Frumentius traveled to Alexandria, Egypt, where he appealed to have a bishop appointed and missionary priests sent south to Axum. Thereafter, he was appointed bishop and established the Church in Ethiopia, converting many local people, as well as the king. His appointment began a tradition that the Patriarch of Alexandria appoint the bishops of Ethiopia.[5]

Biography

[edit]

According to the fourth-century historian Tyrannius Rufinus (x.9), who cites Frumentius' brother Edesius as his authority, as children (ca. 316) Frumentius and Edesius accompanied their uncle Meropius from their birthplace of Tyre (now in Lebanon) on a voyage to 'India'.[3][6] When their ship stopped at one of the harbors of the Red Sea, local people massacred the whole crew, sparing the two boys, who were taken as slaves to the King of Axum. The two boys soon gained the favor of the king, who raised them to positions of trust. Shortly before his death, the king freed them. The widowed queen, however, prevailed upon them to remain at the court and assist her in the education of the young heir, Ezana, and in the administration of the kingdom during the prince's minority. They remained and (especially Frumentius) used their influence to spread Christianity. First they encouraged the Christian merchants present in the country to practice their faith openly, and they helped them find places "where they could come together for prayer according to the Roman Rite";[7] later they converted some of the natives.[1]

When the prince came of age, Edesius returned to Tyre, where he stayed and was ordained a priest.[3] Frumentius, eager for the conversion of Ethiopia, accompanied his brother as far as Alexandria, where he requested Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria, to send a bishop and some priests as missionaries to Ethiopia. By Athanasius' own account, he believed Frumentius to be the most suitable person for the job and consecrated him as bishop,[8] traditionally in the year 328, or according to others, between 340 and 346.

Frumentius returned to Ethiopia, where he erected his episcopal see at Axum, then converted and baptized King Ezana, who built many churches and spread Christianity throughout Ethiopia. Frumentius established the first monastery of Ethiopia, called Dabba Selama in Dogu'a Tembien. The people called Frumentius Kesate Birhan (Revealer of Light) and Abba Salama (Father of Peace). He became the first Abune, a title given to the head of the Ethiopian Church.

In about 356, the Emperor Constantius II wrote to King Ezana and his brother Saizana, requesting them to replace Frumentius as bishop with Theophilos the Indian, who supported the Arian position, as did the emperor. Frumentius had been appointed by Athanasius, a leading opponent of Arianism. The king refused the request.[9][10]

Ethiopian traditions credit him with the first Geʽez translation of the New Testament, and being involved in the development of Geʽez script from an abjad (consonantal-only) into an abugida (syllabic).

Feast date

[edit]

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church celebrate the feast of Abba Salama's consecration on Taḫśaś (the 4th month of Ethiopian or Coptic calendar) 18 and departure Hamle (the 11th month of Ethiopian or Coptic calendar) 26.[11]

The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria celebrates the feast of Frumentius on 18 December,[12] the Eastern Orthodox Church on 30 November[13] and the Catholic Church on 20 July.[14]

Patronage

[edit]

Frumentius is regarded as the patron saint of the former Kingdom of Aksum, and its contemporary territories.[citation needed]

He is the patron saint of St Frumentius Theological College, the Tigrayan Seminary in Ethiopia.[citation needed]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Adejumobi, Saheed A. (2007). The History of Ethiopia. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 171. ISBN 978-0-313-32273-0.
  2. ^ Alban Butler; Paul Burns (1995). Butler's Lives of the Saints. A&C Black. p. 191. ISBN 0-86012-259-X.
  3. ^ a b c Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Frumentius" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 11 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 270. FRUMENTIUS (c. 300–c. 360), the founder of the Abyssinian church, traditionally identified in Abyssinian literature with Abba Salama or Father of Peace (but see Ethiopia), was a native of Phoenicia.
  4. ^
  5. ^ Stuart Munro-Hay (2002). Ethiopia, the Unknown Land. IB Tauris. p. 20.
  6. ^ Villa, Massimo (2017). "Frumentius in the Ethiopic sources: Mythopoeia and text-critical considerations". Rassegna di Studi Etiopici. 1 (3): 87–111. JSTOR 45137006. The narrative is widely known. Meropius, a philosopher from Tyre on the Lebanese coast, is travelling through the Red Sea with two young brothers belonging to his own family, Frumentius and Aedesius.
  7. ^ Cardinal Paulos Tzadua on St. Frumentius and the Liturgy of the Ethiopian Church
  8. ^ Athanasius, Epistola ad Constantinum
  9. ^ "Letter of Constantius to the Ethiopians against Frumentius", Bible Suite, Christian Booksheld
  10. ^ "Frumentius of Axum", Blackwell Reference Online
  11. ^ Budge, E. A. Wallis. Synaxarium: The Bool of the Saints of The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (PDF). p. 222. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 January 2017.
  12. ^ "Date of Feast/Consecration as Bishop of Ethiopia". Archived from the original on 19 January 2008. Retrieved 24 November 2007.
  13. ^ "Friday, November 30, 2018". goarch.org. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  14. ^ Martyrologium Romanum, Editio Altera (Citta del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2004), p. 401 (#5 on 20 July). "In Æthiopia, sancti Frumentii, episcopi, qui primum ibi captivus, deinde, episcopus a sancto Athanasio ordinatus, Evangelium in ea regione propagavit."

Sources

[edit]
  • Martyrologium Romanum, Editio Altera (Citta del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2004), p. 401
[edit]