Saint Fulgentius of Cartagena
| Saint Fulgentius of Cartagena | |
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Image of St.Fulgentius in the major church of Cartagena. Sculpture by Francisco Salzillo. 18th century.
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| Born | 6th century Cartagena, Hispania |
| Died | c. 630 Astigi, Hispania |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Feast | 14 January |
Saint Fulgentius of Cartagena (Spanish: San Fulgencio de Cartagena), born in Cartagena in the 6th century and died in 630, was Bishop of Ecija (Astigi), in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula, comprising modern Spain and Portugal).
Like his brothers Leander of Seville and Isidore of Seville, two Archbishops of Seville, of whom the first was older and the second younger than Fulgentius, he consecrated himself to the service of the Church. A sister of the three was St. Florentina. Their father Severianus lived at first in Cartagena; he was a Roman, and, according to later though doubtful information, an imperial prefect.
Exact data regarding the life of Fulgentius are wanting, as he is mentioned only occasionally in contemporary sources. Leander, in his "Libellus" on the religious life written for his sister Florentina states that he has sent Fulgentius back to his native town of Cartagena, which he now regrets as he fears that harm may befall him, and he requests Florentina to pray for him. What the danger was to which Fulgentius was exposed we have no means of knowing. Probably through the influence of Leander, who was made Archbishop of Seville in the year 584 and who played an important part in the affairs of the Visigothic Kingdom, Fulgentius became Bishop of Astigi (Ecija), in the ecclesiastical province of Seville.
As Leander died in 600 and Pegasius is shown to have still been Bishop of Ecija in 590, we may safely assume that Fulgentius was chosen bishop between 590 and 600.
In 610 he signed the decree of the King Gundemaro (610-614) which established the province of Toledo by separating territory from that of Cartagena, then under the rule of the Byzantines.
Isidore, who succeeded to the Archbishopric of Seville upon the death of his brother Leander, dedicated to Fulgentius "his lord, the servant of God", his work on the offices of the Church, "De ecclesiasticis officiis". In fact it was at the solicitation of Fulgentius that he wrote this account of the origin and authors of the Liturgy.
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