Saint Frumence
Évêque
(IVe siècle)
Saint Frumence était encore enfant, lorsque le philosophe romain Mérope, son oncle, l'emmena, lui et son frère Édèse, dans un voyage qu'il fit en Éthiopie. Son voyage achevé, il s'embarqua pour revenir dans sa patrie. Le navire qui le portait avec ses neveux s'arrêta dans un certain port pour y faire les provisions nécessaires à l'équipage. Les barbares du pays pillèrent le navire, et passèrent au fil de l'épée tous ceux qui le montaient.
Frumence était alors assis sur le rivage, sous un arbre, avec son frère, et préparait sa leçon. Les barbares eurent pitié de leur innocence, de leur candeur et de leur beauté et les conduisirent à leur roi. Le prince éthiopien s'intéressa à leur sort et prit un soin particulier de leur éducation; il fit Édèse son échanson, et Frumence son trésorier et son secrétaire d'État. Étant près de mourir, il leur donna la liberté; mais la reine les pria de rester et de continuer à l'aider de leurs conseils jusqu'à ce que l'héritier du trône fût en âge de régner.
Frumence profita de son autorité pour disposer ce peuple à recevoir la connaissance de l'Évangile, et fit bâtir une église pour les réunions des nouveaux chrétiens. Quand le prince eut atteint sa majorité, Frumence résigna entre ses mains l'administration du royaume et demanda la permission de retourner dans sa patrie.
Arrivé à Alexandrie, il alla trouver saint Athanase, lui raconta son histoire, lui parla de la chrétienté naissante de l'Éthiopie, des bonnes dispositions de ses habitants, et le supplia d'envoyer un évêque et des prêtres pour travailler à la conversion du peuple entier. Athanase, plein de joie et d'admiration, lui dit: "Qui mieux que vous peut accomplir cette oeuvre?" Il l'éleva promptement au sacerdoce et à l'épiscopat et l'envoya prêcher l'Évangile.
L'évêque fut accueilli avec bonté par le prince, qui se convertit et aida lui-même à éclairer la nation entière. Frumence fit bâtir de nombreuses églises. Ses miracles ne contribuèrent pas peu au succès de sa mission. Il eut à souffrir des menées des hérétiques ariens, qui cherchèrent à nuire à son apostolat; mais il demeura toujours invincible champion de la foi de Nicée et eut l'honneur d'être appelé par le grand Athanase: Père du salut. Le saint évêque continua d'édifier l'Église d'Éthiopie par ses discours, ses vertus et ses miracles, jusqu'à sa mort, à l'âge d'environ cent ans.
Abbé L. Jaud, Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, Tours, Mame, 1950
SOURCE : http://magnificat.ca/cal/fr/saints/saint_frumence.html
Saint Frumence de Tyr, l'apotre de l'Éthiopie
Saint Frumence est né à Tyr vers l'an 315. On ne connait pas ses parents, ni l'histoire de son enfance, mais les historiens estiment que vers l'année 330, sous le règne de l’empereur romain Constantin, un certain Meropius ou Mérope, philosophe, médecin de profession et fervent chrétien, partit de Tyr pour faire un voyage d'exploration et d'évangélisation sur les côtes du sud de la mer Rouge vers l'Inde. Il amène avec lui ses deux élèves préférés, Edèse et Frumence.
Un jour, sur le chemin du retour, leur navire aborda dans un port éthiopien, très probablement Adoulis, aujourd'hui en Érythrée. L'Ethiopie était beaucoup plus étendu qu'il ne l'est de nos jours, il s'étendait sur les deux rives de la mer Rouge, allant jusqu'aux confins de l'Egypte; à l'Ouest et au Sud, il était limité par le Soudan et l'océan Indien. Mérope et tout l'équipage furent massacrés, probablement pour voler la cargaison, par les indigènes. La piraterie fait partie jusqu'aujourd'hui de cette partie de l'Afrique. En plus la paix ne régnait pas à cette époque entre les Romains et les Aksoumites. Frumence et son frère échappèrent heureusement au massacre, peut-être à cause de leur jeunesse. Conduits à la cour pour être vendus comme esclaves, ils plurent au roi qui les attacha à son service. Le plus jeune, Edèse (connu en Ethiopie sous le nom de Sydracos), reçut la charge d'échanson royal; à Frumence, le monarque confia la surveillance des archives, la direction du palais et le trésor; il reçut le nom de Feriemenaios. Les deux jeunes esclaves s'acquittèrent de leur mieux de ces fonctions si délicates. Afin de récompenser leurs loyaux services, le souverain d'Aksoum rendit la liberté aux deux frères peu de temps avant sa mort.
Après le décés du roi, les jeunes gens voulurent alors rentrer à Tyr mais la reine¬mère, dont le fils, Tzahem, était trop jeune pour régner, leur demanda de demeurer avec elle pour l'aider dans l'éducation de son enfant et le gouvernement du royaume. Ils y consentirent. Frumence occupa à la cour une situation très importante et acquit sur l'impératrice et le jeune prince une influence considérable. Il profita de cet état de choses pour assurer le libre exercice de la religion chrétienne aux négociants byzantins ou romains qui fréquentaient les principaux marchés d'Ethiopie. Il les engagea à se fixer des lieux de réunion, à se construire des oratoires où ils prieraient Dieu en commun. Plus tard, il fit bâtir une église. Où fut-elle élevée? On peut supposer que c'était dans un port du royaume, puisqu'elle était surtout destinée aux chrétiens venus de l'étranger et que leurs affaires appelaient en Ethiopie. Or, à Massaouah, il y a un édifice, aujourd'hui converti en mosquée, qui passe pour avoir été bâti par Frumence. Lorsque Massaouah était encore chrétienne, cet édifice était une église dédiée à la Sainte Vierge et jouissait d'un droit d'asile qui a été respecté depuis par les conquérants musulmans, même à l'égard des chrétiens et des idolâtres.
Lorsque le jeune prince eut atteint l'âge requis pour régner, les deux tuteurs lui remirent les rênes du pouvoir et obtinrent de lui l'autorisation de gagner I'Egypte. C'était aux environs de l'année 345. Arrivés en Égypte, les deux frères se séparèrent. Edèse s'en revint seul à Tyr. A son arrivée, il décrivit avec enthousiasme, et émotion, leurs années d'exil et le merveilleux projet de son inséparable compagnon et il reçut la prêtrise. Puis la vie reprit pour lui son cours normal, et l'Éthiopie ne fut plus qu'un souvenir très cher, souvent présent à son esprit.
Mais Frumence, par une inspiration particulière de la Providence, alla à Alexandrie trouver saint Athanase qui avait été récemment rétabli sur le siège patriarcal. Il lui raconta les péripéties de son séjour dans le royaume d'Aksoum, la bienveillance des princes envers les chrétiens, les progrès que la foi avait déjà faits dans ce pays. Enfin, il supplia le patriarche d'envoyer un évêque et des prêtres pour travailler à l'évangélisation.
- Frumence, cet évêque que vous me demandez, je l'ai là sous la main, et personne au monde n'est plus qualifié que lui pour christianiser ce pays, et baptiser sa reine. Lui dit Saint Athanase.
Et devant son regard interrogateur, il poursuivit: - C'est vous, et vous seul, qui ferez de l'Éthiopie ce bastion avancé du christianisme en Afrique.
-Mais, si j'aime cette patrie de toutes mes forces, je ne suis qu'un simple fidèle de l'Eglise, incapable de tenir ce rôle écrasant.
- Qu'à cela ne tienne, il vous sera plus aisé de devenir évêque, qu'à moi de trouver un prélat aussi capable que vous de mener à bien cette tâche. Vous avez ma confiance, et Dieu vous viendra en aide.
Frumence ne pensait plus qu'à son prochain voyage, et à la mission qui l'attendait. Il étudia avec zèle, devint un théologien accompli, fut ordonné prêtre et reçut enfin sa mitre d'Evêque. Son rêve était devenu réalité, et sa promesse à la reine Sophie, son unique raison de vivre.
La famille royale accueillit son retour avec une joie difficile à décrire. Il instruisit, en même temps que la Reine et son fils, toute la cour; et bientôt tout le pays, suivant l'exemple royal, demanda à entendre la parole du Christ, et à recevoir le baptême.
La croix régnait sur l'Éthiopie, et devait y rester plantée au-delà de sa mort. Le grand apôtre de I'Ethiopie mourut vers 380 probablement à Aksoum. Il était âgé de soixante-dix ans environ. Un sanctuaire fut érigé en son honneur à quelques lieues d'Aksoum, à Maï Gouagoua : d'où le nom de Frérnona donné à la localité. Au XVIIe siècle, les Pères Jésuites y avaient une de leurs missions. Aujourd'hui, le pays est devenu domaine et résidence de l'évêque, chef de l'Eglise éthiopienne.
Mais combien d'Ethiopiens savent que cette Croix qu'ils vénèrent, et fêtent chaque année en grande pompe, dans un grand élan de ferveur et d'amour, ce symbole du Christ qui les unit tous, et qu'ils nomment « maskal », c'est à Frumence de Tyr, esclave et évêque, qu'ils la doivent.
SOURCE : http://orient.chretien.free.fr/FrumenceTyr.htm
Saint Frumence
un des apôtres de l'Ethiopie au IVe siècle (✝ v. 360)
l'un
des apôtres de l'Ethiopie où il est nommé: abba Salama.
l était originaire de l'Inde, et, avec un de ses amis, "explorateur philosophe" selon ce que nous en savons par l'historien Rufin (Patrologie latin. 21) il pénétra en Haute Ethiopie. A leur retour faisant escale à Massouah, sur la côte égyptienne, ils furent emmenés comme esclaves du roi à Aksoum la capitale. Sa conduite lui permit quelque liberté ce dont il profita pour annoncer l'Evangile. Libéré par la régente Amida, il fut ordonné prêtre puis, à la demande de la communauté chrétienne, il fut sacré évêque par saint Athanase d'Alexandrie. Il retourna en Abyssinie et les fidèles l'appelèrent "le révélateur de la lumière".
Originaire de Tyr, en Phénicie, il fut enlevé par des pirates avec son frère Edessios. Frumence se fit remarquer à la cour royale d'Abyssinie et devint même économe du palais. Il se rendit près de saint Athanase, patriarche d'Alexandrie qui l'ordonna évêque et c'est ainsi qu'il devint le premier évêque du royaume d'Axoum.
(fêté également le 30 novembre)
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/8725/Saint-Frumence.htmll était originaire de l'Inde, et, avec un de ses amis, "explorateur philosophe" selon ce que nous en savons par l'historien Rufin (Patrologie latin. 21) il pénétra en Haute Ethiopie. A leur retour faisant escale à Massouah, sur la côte égyptienne, ils furent emmenés comme esclaves du roi à Aksoum la capitale. Sa conduite lui permit quelque liberté ce dont il profita pour annoncer l'Evangile. Libéré par la régente Amida, il fut ordonné prêtre puis, à la demande de la communauté chrétienne, il fut sacré évêque par saint Athanase d'Alexandrie. Il retourna en Abyssinie et les fidèles l'appelèrent "le révélateur de la lumière".
Originaire de Tyr, en Phénicie, il fut enlevé par des pirates avec son frère Edessios. Frumence se fit remarquer à la cour royale d'Abyssinie et devint même économe du palais. Il se rendit près de saint Athanase, patriarche d'Alexandrie qui l'ordonna évêque et c'est ainsi qu'il devint le premier évêque du royaume d'Axoum.
(fêté également le 30 novembre)
Saint Frumence, Archévêque d'Inda (Ethiopie, anciennement Abysssinie), était natif de Tyr. Par divine Providence, étant encore enfant, il vint en Abyssinie. Grandissant près de la cour impériale, il devint un ami et un conseiller principal de l'empereur, et par la suite, le tuteur de son fils, qui héritera du trône étant encore mineur, après le décès de son père. Avec le consentement du nouvel empereur, Saint Frumence fit le voyage vers son pays natal puis visita Alexandrie et son patriarche, Saint Athanase. Avec la bénédiction de ce dernier, il fut sacré comme premier évêque d'Abyssinie, et il revint dans ce pays où il avait grandit depuis son enfance. A son retour, Saint Frumence commença à accomplir des miracles, amenant nombre de gens à l'Eglise. L'empereur lui dit, "Tu as vécu longtemps parmi nous, mais jamais nous ne t'avons vu accomplir de telles merveilles. Comment est-ce possible à présent?" Le saint répondit, "Je ne suis pas en cause, mais c'est la grâce de la prêtrise". Alors l'empereur et nombre de ses sujets reçurent le saint Baptême. Ayant accomplit la tâche apostolique de convertir la nation Abyssinienne au Christ, Saint Frumence guida de nombreuses années durant, avec zèle et fruit, l'Eglise qui lui était confiée par Dieu, puis partit en paix vers le Seigneur alors qu'il était fort âgé.
SOURCE : http://www.religion-orthodoxe.com/article-saint-frumence-iveme-siecle-93239958.html
St. Frumentius
Called “Abuna” or “the father” of Ethiopia, sent to that land by St. Athanasius. Frumentius was born in Tyre, Lebanon.
According to a 4th century historian, who cites St. Frumentius’ brother St. Aedesius as his authority, while still children Frumentius and Aedesius accompanied their uncle Metropius on a voyage to Ethiopia. When their ship stopped at one of the harbors of the Red Sea, the locals massacred the whole crew, with the exception of the two boys, who were taken as slaves to the King of Aksum.
At the royal court at Aksum (Axum), they soon attained high positions. St. Aedesius was royal cup bearer, and St. Frumentius was a secretary. They introduced Christianity to that land. When Abreha and Asbeha inherited the Ethiopian throne from their father, St. Frumentius went to Alexandria, Egypt, to ask St. Athanasius to send a missionary to Ethiopia. He was consecrated a bishop and converted many more upon his return to Aksum. Frumentius and St. Aedesius are considered the apostles of Ethiopia.
Edesius and Frumentius
Tyrian Greeks
of the fourth century, probably brothers, who introduced Christianity into Abyssinia; the latter a saint and first Bishop of Axum, styled the Apostle
of Abyssinia, d. about 383. When still mere boys they
accompanied their uncle Metropius on a voyage to Abyssinia. When their ship stopped at one of the harbours of the Red Sea, people of the neighbourhood massacred the whole crew, with the
exception of Edesius and Frumentius, who were taken as slaves
to the King of Axum. This occurred about 316. The two boys soon
gained the favour of the king, who raised them to positions of trust
and shortly before his death gave them their liberty. The widowed queen, however, prevailed upon them to remain at the court and assist
her in the education of the young prince Erazanes 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, who were temporarily in the country, to practise their faith openly by meeting at places of public worship;
later they also converted some of the natives.
When the prince came of age Edesius returned to his friends and
relatives at Tyre and was ordained priest, but did not return to Abyssinia. Frumentius, on the other hand, who was eager for the conversion
of Abyssinia, accompanied Edesius as far as Alexandria,
where he requested St. Athanasius to send a bishop and some priests to Abyssinia. St. Athanasius considered Frumentius
himself the most suitable person for bishop and consecrated him in 328, according to others between
340-46. Frumentius returned to Abyssinia, erected his episcopal see at Axum, baptized King Aeizanas,
who had meanwhile succeeded to the throne,
built many churches, and spread the Christian Faith throughout Abyssinia. The people called him Abuna (Our Father) or Abba Salama
(Father of Peace), titles still given to the head of the Abyssinian Church. In 365 Emperor
Constantius addressed a letter to King Aeizanas
and his brother Saizanas in which he vainly requested them to
substitute the Arian bishop Theophilus for Frumentius
(Athanasius, "Apol. ad Constantium" in P.G., XXV, 631). The Latins
celebrate the feast of Frumentius
on 27 October, the Greeks on 30 November,
and the Copts on 18 December. Abyssinian tradition credits
him with the first Ethiopian translation of
the New Testament.
Sources
RUFINUS, Historia Ecclesiastica, lib. I, cap. ix, in P.L., XXI, 478-80; Acta SS. Oct., XII, 257-70; DUCHESNE, Les missiones chrétienne au Sud de l'empire romain in Mélanges d'archéologie et d'histoire (Rome, 1896), XVI, 79-122; THEBAUD, The Church and the Gentile World (New York, 1878), I, 231-40; BUTLER, Lives of the Saints, 27 Oct.; BARING-GOULD, Lives of the Saints (London, 1872), 27 Oct.
Ott, Michael. "Edesius and Frumentius." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 28 Oct. 2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05281b.htm>.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05281b.htm
A CERTAIN philosopher named Metrodorus, out of curiosity and a desire of
seeing the world, and improving his stock of knowledge, made several voyages,
and travelled both into Persia, and into Farther India, which name the ancients
gave to Ethiopia. 1 At his return he presented
Constantine the Great, who had then lately made himself master of the East,
with a quantity of diamonds and other precious stones and curiosities, assuring
that prince his collection would have been much more valuable, had not Sapor,
king of Persia, seized on the best part of his treasure. His success encouraged
Meropius, a philosopher of Tyre, to undertake a like voyage upon the same
motive. But God, who conducts all the steps of men, even when they least think
of him, raised in him this design for an end of infinitely greater importance
and value than all the diamonds which the philosopher could bring back.
Meropius carried with him two of his nephews, Frumentius and Edesius, with
whose education he was intrusted. In the course of their voyage homewards the
vessel touched at a certain port to take in provisions and fresh water. The
barbarians of that country, who were then at war with the Romans, stopped the
ship, and put the whole crew and all the passengers to the sword, except the
two children, who were studying their lessons under a tree at some distance.
When they were found, their innocence, tender age, and beauty, pleaded strongly
in their favour, and moved the barbarians to compassion; and they were carried
to the king, who resided at Axuma, formerly one of the greatest cities in the
East, now a poor village in Abyssinia, called Accum, filled with ruins of
stately edifices, and sumptuous obelisks which seem to have been funeral
monuments of the dead, though none of the inscriptions are now intelligible. 2 The prince was charmed with the wit
and sprightliness of the two boys, took special care of their education; and,
not long after, made Edesius his cup-bearer, and Frumentius, who was the elder,
his treasurer and secretary of state, intrusting him with all the public
writings and accounts. They lived in great honour with this prince, who, on his
death-bed, thanked them for their services, and, in recompence, gave them their
liberty. After his demise, the queen, who was left regent for her eldest son,
entreated them to remain at court, and assist her in the government of the
state, wherein she found their fidelity, abilities, and integrity her greatest
support and comfort. Frumentius had the principal management of affairs, and
desiring to promote the faith of Christ in that kingdom, engaged several
Christian merchants, who traded there, to settle in the country, and procured
them great privileges, and all the conveniences for their religious worship,
and by his own fervour and example strongly recommended the true religion to
the infidels. When the young king, whose name was Aizan, came of age, and took
the reins of government into his own hands, the brothers resigned their posts,
and though he invited them to stay, Edesius went back to Tyre, where he was
afterwards ordained priest. But Frumentius having nothing so much at heart as
the conversion of the whole nation, took the route of Alexandria, and entreated
the holy archbishop, St. Athanasius, to send some pastor to that country, ripe
for a conversion to the faith. St. Athanasius called a synod of bishops, and by
their unanimous advice ordained Frumentius himself bishop of the Ethiopians,
judging no one more proper than himself to finish the work which he had begun. 3 Frumentius, vested with this sacred
character, went back to Axuma, and gained great numbers to the faith by his
discourses and miracles: for seldom did any nation embrace Christianity with
greater ardour, or defend it with greater courage. King Aizan and his brother
Sazan, whom he had associated in the throne, received baptism, and, by their
fervour, were a spur to their subjects in the practice of every virtue and
religious duty. The Arian Emperor Constantius conceived an implacable jealousy
against St. Frumentius, because he was linked in faith and affection with St.
Athanasius; and when he found that he was not even to be tempted, much less
seduced by him, he wrote a haughty letter to the two converted kings, in which
he commanded them with threats, to deliver up Frumentius into the hands of
George, the barbarous invader of the see of Alexandria. This letter was
communicated by them to St. Athanasius, who has inserted it in his apology to
Constantius. Our holy bishop continued to feed and defend his flock till it
pleased the Supreme Pastor to recompense his fidelity and labours. The Latins
commemorate him on the 27th of October; the Greeks on the 30th of November. The
Abyssinians honour him as the apostle of the country of the Axumites, which is
the most considerable part of their empire. 4 They also place among the saints
the two kings Aizan, whom they call Abreha and Sazan, whose name in their
modern language is Atzbeha. St. Frumentius they call St. Fremonat.
In every age, from Christ down to this very time, some new nations have been added to the fold of Christ, as the annals of the church show; and the apostacy of those that have forsaken the path of truth, has been repaired by fresh acquisitions. This is the work of the Most High; the wonderful effect of all-powerful grace. It is owing to the divine blessing that the heavenly seed fructifies in the hearts of men, and it is God who raises up, and animates with his spirit zealous successors of the apostles, whom he vouchsafes to make his instruments in this great work. We are indebted to his gratuitous mercy for the inestimable benefit of this light of faith. If we correspond not faithfully, with fear and trembling, to so great a grace, our punishment will be so much the more dreadful.
Note 1. The Ethiopians are so called in Greek, from the black colour of their skin. Herodotus and other ancients mention some in Asia, near the Araxis, &c. and others in Africa, where their territories reached from the Red Sea above Egypt beyond the equator, and very far to the west, taking in all the middle parts of Africa. Probably an early colony from Asia mingled with these Africans. Whence Ethiopia above Egypt is often called by the ancients, India, no less than the Southern Asia. Blacks anciently peopled many of the southern islands of Asia: perhaps passed from thence into Africa. Huet (Diss. on Paradise) shows against Bochart, that Chus, son of Cham, was father of the Madianites, and also (by his descendants at least) of the Ethiopians.
The Ethiopians anciently disputed antiquity and science, especially in astronomy, with the Egyptians. Lucian observes (Astrol.) that their open southern country was most proper for observing the stars. Their manners were then most pure, as was their doctrine on morality, according to the remark of Abbé Marsy from Diodorus Siculus, &c. If their science of the heavens exceeded general observations of the seasons, of the annual revolution of the sun, the monthly changes or phases of the moon, and the like, it was in the lapse of time buried in oblivion, and Ethiopia sunk into that state of barbarism which, to this day, has ever covered the whole face of Africa, except Egypt, and those parts which successively two Phenician colonies and afterwards the Romans cultivated.
Abyssinia, called by the ancients Ethiopia under Egypt, is thought to have taken its name from Habasch, a supposed son of Chus, or, from that word which in Hebrew (the original language of Palestine and Arabia) signifies a Mixture or a Stranger. For a colony of Sabæans passed hither about the time of Solomon, from the southern point of Arabia, and the country lower towards the Red Sea, which, beyond the sandy coast, is the most fruitful and delightful part of Arabia Felix, now rich in the best coffee about Mocca, and bordering on the only province in the world which produces true frankincense. These Sabæans mixed with the first inhabitants of Abyssinia, as their histories mention, and as appears in the features and many ancient customs, in which the Abyssinians resemble the Arabs more than the Ethiopians. The Abyssinians imbibed the Eutychian heresy from Dioscorus, the heretical patriarch of Alexandria, to which they still adhere. The Jesuits and other missionaries converted many in this kingdom to the Catholic faith, and the great and good Emperor Zadenghel himself, who was slain fighting against rebels that took up arms in defence of their ancient heresy in 1604, and his successor, Negus Susnejos, surnamed Sultan-Saghed, who, after a troublesome reign of twenty-five years, died constant in the Catholic faith, in 1632. His son and successor, Basilides Sultan-Saghed, a zealous Eutychian, by law banished all the missionaries and Portuguese, and forbid the Catholic religion. Many who, out of charity for their converts staid behind, were crowned with martyrdom with many of the converts. Several attempts have been since made by missionaries to find admittance; but always without success, so strictly are the frontiers guarded. In the prosperous times of this mission several Jesuits were successively ordained Latin patriarchs of Ethiopia. See Modern Universal Hist. vol. 15, 8vo. and Hist. d’Asie, Afrique, et Amerique, par. M. L. A. R. t. 11, p. 12, 28. &c. [back]
Note 2. See Ludolf, Hist. Æthiop. M. Almeida, Hist. of Higher Ethiopia, and Thevenot. [back]
Note 3. The Abyssinians or Ethiopians received the first seeds of the faith from the eunuch of their queen, who being baptized by St. Philip the Deacon, (Act. viii. 7.) afterwards initiated many of his countrymen in the Christian religion, as Eusebius assures us. (l. 2, c. 1.) See the Bollandists, (t. 1, Junij. p. 618.) Tillemont, (t. 2, p. 72, et 531.) Job Ludolf, (Hist. Æthiop. l. 3, c. 4.) But the Abyssinians acknowledge that they owe their conversion principally to St. Frumentius. They were in later ages engaged in the Eutychian heresy, and to this day believe only one nature in Christ. In the sixteenth century their king sent an embassy to Pope Clement VII. Several missions have been established in that country. The Jesuits were sent thither by Gregory XIII. but were all banished in 1636. The success of several other missions of Capuchins and others had been prosperous for some time, but failed in the end: and in 1670, several missionaries suffered martyrdom in that country. Others are from time to time sent thither from Rome. See Ludolph, Renaudot, (Apol. pour l’Hist. des. Patr. Alexandr. p. 162.) Fabricius, (Salut. Lux. Evang. c. 45.) Cerri, secretary to the Congr. de Propagandâ Fide, (Istruzione dello stato della Congr. di Prop. Fide, in 1670, p. 122.) La Croze (Hist. du Christianisme d’Ethiope et d’Armenie, at the Hague, in 1739) commits many gross mistakes in his account of these missions in Abyssinia. [back]
Note 4. Axuma was capital of all Ethiopia: now called Accum, reduced to a village since the kings of Abyssinia reside at a great distance: small and in ruins, it is called the only city in Abyssinia. It is forty-two leagues from Adala, two miles from the Red Sea, the ancient great sea-port of all Ethiopia. Obelisks, ancient inscriptions in characters entirely unknown, neighbouring vast and magnificent vaults for burying-places, like those near Memphis, &c. are proofs of its ancient magnificence. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume X: October. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/10/271.html
Saint Frumentius of
Ethiopia
SOURCE : http://catholicsaints.info/saint-frumentius-of-ethiopia/
St. Frumentius, Apostle of Ethiopia, Bishop and
Confessor
See Rufinus, Hist. l. 1, c. 19. Theodoret, l. 1, c.
22. St. Athan. Apol. 1, p. 696. Socrates, l. 1, c. 19. Sozomen, l. 2, c. 24.
Hermant, Vie de S. Athanase, t. 2, p. 240. Tillemont, t. 7, p. 284; t. 8, p.
13. Montfaucon, Vit. S. Athan. p. 15, t. 1, Op. S. Athan. Job Ludolf, (who died
at Francfort, in 1704, and is famous for his travels and skill in the Ethiopian
and other Oriental languages) Hist. Æthiop. l. 3, c. 7, n. 17, et Comment. in
eandem Hist. p. 280. Le Quien, Or. Chr. t. 2, p. 643.
Fourth Age.
In every age, from Christ down to this very time, some new nations have been added to the fold of Christ, as the annals of the church show; and the apostacy of those that have forsaken the path of truth, has been repaired by fresh acquisitions. This is the work of the Most High; the wonderful effect of all-powerful grace. It is owing to the divine blessing that the heavenly seed fructifies in the hearts of men, and it is God who raises up, and animates with his spirit zealous successors of the apostles, whom he vouchsafes to make his instruments in this great work. We are indebted to his gratuitous mercy for the inestimable benefit of this light of faith. If we correspond not faithfully, with fear and trembling, to so great a grace, our punishment will be so much the more dreadful.
Note 1. The Ethiopians are so called in Greek, from the black colour of their skin. Herodotus and other ancients mention some in Asia, near the Araxis, &c. and others in Africa, where their territories reached from the Red Sea above Egypt beyond the equator, and very far to the west, taking in all the middle parts of Africa. Probably an early colony from Asia mingled with these Africans. Whence Ethiopia above Egypt is often called by the ancients, India, no less than the Southern Asia. Blacks anciently peopled many of the southern islands of Asia: perhaps passed from thence into Africa. Huet (Diss. on Paradise) shows against Bochart, that Chus, son of Cham, was father of the Madianites, and also (by his descendants at least) of the Ethiopians.
The Ethiopians anciently disputed antiquity and science, especially in astronomy, with the Egyptians. Lucian observes (Astrol.) that their open southern country was most proper for observing the stars. Their manners were then most pure, as was their doctrine on morality, according to the remark of Abbé Marsy from Diodorus Siculus, &c. If their science of the heavens exceeded general observations of the seasons, of the annual revolution of the sun, the monthly changes or phases of the moon, and the like, it was in the lapse of time buried in oblivion, and Ethiopia sunk into that state of barbarism which, to this day, has ever covered the whole face of Africa, except Egypt, and those parts which successively two Phenician colonies and afterwards the Romans cultivated.
Abyssinia, called by the ancients Ethiopia under Egypt, is thought to have taken its name from Habasch, a supposed son of Chus, or, from that word which in Hebrew (the original language of Palestine and Arabia) signifies a Mixture or a Stranger. For a colony of Sabæans passed hither about the time of Solomon, from the southern point of Arabia, and the country lower towards the Red Sea, which, beyond the sandy coast, is the most fruitful and delightful part of Arabia Felix, now rich in the best coffee about Mocca, and bordering on the only province in the world which produces true frankincense. These Sabæans mixed with the first inhabitants of Abyssinia, as their histories mention, and as appears in the features and many ancient customs, in which the Abyssinians resemble the Arabs more than the Ethiopians. The Abyssinians imbibed the Eutychian heresy from Dioscorus, the heretical patriarch of Alexandria, to which they still adhere. The Jesuits and other missionaries converted many in this kingdom to the Catholic faith, and the great and good Emperor Zadenghel himself, who was slain fighting against rebels that took up arms in defence of their ancient heresy in 1604, and his successor, Negus Susnejos, surnamed Sultan-Saghed, who, after a troublesome reign of twenty-five years, died constant in the Catholic faith, in 1632. His son and successor, Basilides Sultan-Saghed, a zealous Eutychian, by law banished all the missionaries and Portuguese, and forbid the Catholic religion. Many who, out of charity for their converts staid behind, were crowned with martyrdom with many of the converts. Several attempts have been since made by missionaries to find admittance; but always without success, so strictly are the frontiers guarded. In the prosperous times of this mission several Jesuits were successively ordained Latin patriarchs of Ethiopia. See Modern Universal Hist. vol. 15, 8vo. and Hist. d’Asie, Afrique, et Amerique, par. M. L. A. R. t. 11, p. 12, 28. &c. [back]
Note 2. See Ludolf, Hist. Æthiop. M. Almeida, Hist. of Higher Ethiopia, and Thevenot. [back]
Note 3. The Abyssinians or Ethiopians received the first seeds of the faith from the eunuch of their queen, who being baptized by St. Philip the Deacon, (Act. viii. 7.) afterwards initiated many of his countrymen in the Christian religion, as Eusebius assures us. (l. 2, c. 1.) See the Bollandists, (t. 1, Junij. p. 618.) Tillemont, (t. 2, p. 72, et 531.) Job Ludolf, (Hist. Æthiop. l. 3, c. 4.) But the Abyssinians acknowledge that they owe their conversion principally to St. Frumentius. They were in later ages engaged in the Eutychian heresy, and to this day believe only one nature in Christ. In the sixteenth century their king sent an embassy to Pope Clement VII. Several missions have been established in that country. The Jesuits were sent thither by Gregory XIII. but were all banished in 1636. The success of several other missions of Capuchins and others had been prosperous for some time, but failed in the end: and in 1670, several missionaries suffered martyrdom in that country. Others are from time to time sent thither from Rome. See Ludolph, Renaudot, (Apol. pour l’Hist. des. Patr. Alexandr. p. 162.) Fabricius, (Salut. Lux. Evang. c. 45.) Cerri, secretary to the Congr. de Propagandâ Fide, (Istruzione dello stato della Congr. di Prop. Fide, in 1670, p. 122.) La Croze (Hist. du Christianisme d’Ethiope et d’Armenie, at the Hague, in 1739) commits many gross mistakes in his account of these missions in Abyssinia. [back]
Note 4. Axuma was capital of all Ethiopia: now called Accum, reduced to a village since the kings of Abyssinia reside at a great distance: small and in ruins, it is called the only city in Abyssinia. It is forty-two leagues from Adala, two miles from the Red Sea, the ancient great sea-port of all Ethiopia. Obelisks, ancient inscriptions in characters entirely unknown, neighbouring vast and magnificent vaults for burying-places, like those near Memphis, &c. are proofs of its ancient magnificence. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume X: October. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/10/271.html
Saint Frumentius of
Ethiopia
Also known as
- Apostle to Ethiopia
- Abuna of Ethiopia
- Father of Ethiopia
- Fremonat
- 27 October (Roman Catholic)
- 1 August (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church)
- 30 November (Eastern Orthodox Churches)
- 18 December (Coptic Orthodox Church)
Profile
Brother of Saint
Aedeius. Student of the philosopher Meropius. While on a voyage on the Red Sea, their ship wrecked on the Ethiopian shore, and only Frumentius and Aedeius survived. They were
taken to the king at Axum as a curiosity, and became members of the court, Frumentius serving as secretary. When the king died they stayed as part of the queen‘s court. She permitted them to introduce Christianity to the country, and open trade between Ethiopia and the west. Frumentius convinced Saint
Athanasius of Alexandria to send missionaries from Alexandria, Egypt, and was himself consecrated as bishop of Ethiopia. Converted many, including the princes Ezana and Sheazana, and established a firm foothold in Ethiopia for the faith.
Born
- early 4th century, Tyre (modern Sur, Lebanon)
SOURCE : http://catholicsaints.info/saint-frumentius-of-ethiopia/
