Pope Felix IV, ascended to the papal throne on July 12, AD 526, as the fifty-fourth Pope of the Holy Catholic Church.
His pontificate is chiefly remembered for his unwavering support of Caesarius, the Bishop of Als, and his resolute stance against the heresy of Semipelagianism, a theological controversy that threatened to divide the Church.
During this tumultuous period, a group of monks in southern France, led by the monk Cassian, propagated the heresy of Semi-Pelagianism, leading many faithful astray with their false teachings. Semi-Pelagianism posited that all individuals, equal in the eyes of God, possessed an equal capacity to receive His grace. However, they believed that fluctuations in the availability of God's grace were contingent upon fluctuations in an individual's disposition toward it. According to this heretical doctrine, while God's grace was indeed necessary for salvation and good deeds, faith could be generated through human effort alone, without reliance on God's grace.
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In this trying time, Caesarius, a devoted disciple of St. Augustine and the esteemed bishop of Als, emerged as a staunch opponent of this heresy. Caesarius collected nineteen chapters from St. Augustine's writings on the topic of God's grace and presented them to Pope Felix IV. Pope Felix approved eight chapters from this compilation and supplemented them with his own theological insights, derived from Augustine's teachings. This composite study received official endorsement during a council meeting held in Orange in July AD 529.
Pope Felix IV's legacy extends beyond his theological contributions. As his health declined on his deathbed, he summoned representatives of the clergy and his political advisors, instructing them to select his archdeacon Boniface as his successor. With a symbolic gesture of pastoral authority, Pope Felix granted Boniface the pallium, stipulating that it would be returned should he recover. Furthermore, he published an edict in Rome, advocating for Boniface's election, and sent a copy of this decree to the royal court in Ravenna.
However, Pope Felix's plan faced resistance from a majority of the Senate, which rejected his proposal. Instead, the Senate issued a proclamation, decreeing that discussions regarding a pope's successor should be off-limits during his lifetime, and that no successor should be acknowledged until after the pope's passing.
Upon Pope Felix IV's demise on September 22, AD 530, his physical remains were interred in the portico of St. Peter's Basilica, a final resting place befitting his influential role in shaping the Church's theological and institutional history.
-edit&transl. SM