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Frumentius

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Saint

Frumentius
Saint Frumentius
Confessor
Bishop of Axum
Apostle to Ethiopia
Born4th century
Tyre,Phoenice,Byzantine Empire(modern-dayLebanon)
Diedc.383
Kingdom of Aksum
Venerated inEastern Orthodox Church
Oriental Orthodoxy
Catholicism
Anglican Communion
Feast
PatronageKingdom of Aksum
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Frumentius
This article containsEthiopic text.Without properrendering support,you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbolsinstead of Ethiopic characters.

Frumentius(Ge'ez:ፍሬምናጦስ;died c. 383) was aPhoenicianChristian missionaryand the firstbishopofAxumwho broughtChristianityto theKingdom of Aksum.[1]He is sometimes known by other names, such asAbuna( "Our Father" ) andAba Salama( "Father of Peace" ).[2]

He was ethnically aPhoenician,according toRufinus,born inTyre,modern day Lebanon.[3][4][5][6]As a boy, he was captured with his brother on a voyage, and they became slaves to theKing 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 toAlexandria,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.[7]

Biography

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According to the fourth-century historianTyrannius 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 ofTyre(now inLebanon) on a voyage to 'India'.[8]When their ship stopped at one of the harbors of theRed Sea,local people massacred the whole crew, sparing the two boys, who weretaken as slavesto 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. Thewidowed 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 Christianmerchantspresent 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";[9]later they converted some of the natives.[1]

When the prince came of age, Edesius returned toTyre,where he stayed and was ordained a priest.[8]Frumentius, eager for the conversion of Ethiopia, accompanied his brother as far asAlexandria,where he requestedAthanasius,Patriarch of Alexandria,to send a bishop and some priests asmissionariesto Ethiopia. By Athanasius' own account, he believed Frumentius to be the most suitable person for the job and consecrated him as bishop,[10]traditionally in the year 328, or according to others, between 340 and 346.

Frumentius returned to Ethiopia, where he erected hisepiscopal seeatAxum,then converted and baptized KingEzana,who built many churches and spread Christianity throughout Ethiopia. Frumentius established the first monastery of Ethiopia, calledDabba SelamainDogu'a Tembien.The people called FrumentiusKesate Birhan(Revealer of Light) andAbba Salama(Father of Peace). He became the firstAbune,a title given to the head of theEthiopian Church.

In about 356, the EmperorConstantius IIwrote to King Ezana and his brotherSaizana,requesting them to replace Frumentius as bishop withTheophilos the Indian,who supported theArian position,as did the emperor. Frumentius had been appointed by Athanasius, a leading opponent of Arianism. The king refused the request.[11][12]

Ethiopian traditions credit him with the firstGe'eztranslation of the New Testament, and being involved in the development ofGe'ez scriptfrom anabjad(consonantal-only) into anabugida(syllabic).

Feast date

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The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church andEritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Churchcelebrate the feast of Abba Salama's consecration onTaḫśaś (the 4th month of Ethiopian or Coptic calendar) 18and departure Hamle (the 11th month of Ethiopian or Coptic calendar) 26.[13]

TheCoptic Orthodox Church of Alexandriacelebrates the feast of Frumentius on 18 December,[14]theEastern Orthodox Churchon 30 November[15]and theCatholic Churchon 20 July.[16]

Patronage

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

He is the patron saint ofSt Frumentius Theological College,the Tigrayan Seminary in Ethiopia.

See also

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References

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  1. ^abAdejumobi, Saheed A. (2007).The History of Ethiopia.Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 171.ISBN978-0-313-32273-0.
  2. ^Alban Butler; Paul Burns (1995).Butler's Lives of the Saints.p. 191.ISBN0-86012-259-X.
  3. ^Mullen, Roderic L. (2004).The Expansion of Christianity: A Gazetteer of Its First Three Centuries.Brill. p. 331.ISBN978-90-47-40232-9.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.
  4. ^Villa, Massimo (2017)."Frumentius in the Ethiopic sources: Mythopoeia and text-critical considerations".Rassegna di Studi Etiopici.1(3): 87–111.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.
  5. ^Felshman, Jeffrey (1996). "Chapter 73: Gonder (Gonder, Ethiopia)". In Ring, Trudy; Watson, Noelle; Schellinger, Paul (eds.).Middle East and Africa International Dictionary of Historic Places.Vol. 4. Taylor & Francis. pp. 278–302.ISBN9781134259939.
  6. ^Kebede, Ashenafi (Spring 1980)."The Sacred Chant of Ethiopian Monotheistic Churches: Music in Black Jewish and Christian Communities".The Black Perspective in Music.8(1): 21–34.doi:10.2307/1214519.
  7. ^Stuart Munro-Hay (2002).Ethiopia, the Unknown Land.IB Tauris. p. 20.
  8. ^abChisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)."Frumentius".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 11 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 270.
  9. ^CardinalPaulos TzaduaonSt. Frumentius and the Liturgy of the Ethiopian Church
  10. ^Athanasius,Epistola ad Constantinum
  11. ^"Letter of Constantius to the Ethiopians against Frumentius",Bible Suite, Christian Booksheld
  12. ^"Frumentius of Axum",Blackwell Reference Online
  13. ^Budge, E. A. Wallis.Synaxarium: The Bool of the Saints of The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church(PDF).p. 222. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 10 January 2017.
  14. ^"Date of Feast/Consecration as Bishop of Ethiopia".Archived fromthe originalon 19 January 2008.Retrieved24 November2007.
  15. ^"Friday, November 30, 2018".goarch.org.Retrieved30 November2018.
  16. ^Martyrologium Romanum, Editio Altera(Citta del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2004), p. 401 (#5 on July 20). "In Æthiopia, sancti Frumentii, episcopi, qui primum ibi captivus, deinde, episcopus a sancto Athanasio ordinatus, Evangelium in ea regione propagavit."

Sources

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