Felix

Felix was a Burgundian bishop who evangelized the Kingdom of East Anglia in the seventh century, establishing his see at Dunwich on the Suffolk coast. Sent at the request of King Sigeberht, who had been converted during exile in Gaul, Felix preached for seventeen years, converting the kingdom and founding schools modeled on those of Kent. His legacy is preserved in the town of Felixstowe, which bears his name, though Dunwich itself has been largely lost to coastal erosion.

Bede provides almost no miracle tradition for Felix, describing his work in straightforwardly historical terms. Later medieval sources — particularly the 12th-century Liber Eliensis — developed Felix's hagiography, but these are distant from the events and were produced in contexts that served the interests of the Ely monastic community.

The loss of Dunwich to coastal erosion from the medieval period onward has meant that physical traces of Felix's legacy have disappeared, though underwater archaeology has located elements of the medieval town. The town of Felixstowe preserves his name.

Felix was a bishop from Burgundy who arrived in England around 630. According to Bede, he came at the invitation of King Sigeberht of East Anglia, who had been baptized during his years of exile in Gaul and wanted a bishop to complete the conversion of his kingdom.

Archbishop Honorius of Canterbury sent Felix to East Anglia, where he established his episcopal seat at Dunwich — then a significant coastal town, now largely lost to the sea. From there, Felix conducted a systematic mission that Bede describes as entirely successful: he 'freed all that province from its long wickedness and unhappiness, bringing it to the faith and the works of righteousness and to the gift of everlasting happiness.'

Felix founded a school modeled on the schools of Kent (themselves modeled on Frankish and Italian precedents) where East Anglian boys could be trained for the priesthood. He also worked alongside the Irish monk Fursey, who established a monastery at Burgh Castle — a collaboration between Roman and Celtic traditions characteristic of the period.

• Bishop
• Missionary