After the collapse of the western half of the Roman
Empire in the fifth century,Western Europe entered
a period of cultural decline and political disunity.
The Christian Church, however, remained intellectually
active, producing a large number of important
theologians. One of these was Saint Fulgentius.
Fulgentius was born in the city of Telepte,
North Africa, and received an excellent education
in the Greek and Latin classics; it is believed he
memorized all of HOMER’s works.After beginning a
political career, he abruptly took monastic vows
and became a monk. Although he traveled
throughout the Mediterranean, he lived in voluntary
poverty for the rest of his life.
The early centuries of the Christian Church
were a time of tremendous theological controversy
and debate, as proponents of rival interpretations
of Christianity struggled with one another for supremacy.
Fulgentius was deeply involved in these
intellectual quarrels,writing numerous theological
treatises to promote his views of scripture. He believed
fervently in the ideas of St. AUGUSTINE and
accepted the absolute damnation of all nonbelievers,
as can be seen in the three books that make up
his Ad Monimum. He also struggled mightily
against the Arian sect of Christianity, writing numerous
sermons against them, including Contra
Arianos liber unus (A Work Against Arians), which
still exists today. By the time of his death, these
struggles were not yet over, but they would end in
triumph for the forces Fulgentius supported.
His best-known work, still extant, is “De Fide”
(“Of Life”), about the matter of “true” faith. His
“Liber ad Victorem” and “Liber ad Scarilam de Incarnatione”
concern the religious view at the time
of incarnation and the Holy Trinity. These, along
with his other existing works, make Fulgentius one
of the leading theologians of his day.
An English Version of Works by
Saint Fulgentius
Fulgentius: Selected Works. Translated by Robert B.
Eno. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of
America Press, 1997.
A Work about Saint Fulgentius
Ferguson, Thomas S. Visita Nos: Reception, Rhetoric,
and Prayer in a North African Monastery, Vol. 203.
New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 1999.