Quodvultdeus (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "what God wills", died 450 AD) was a fifth-century

Church Father The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...

and

Bishop of Carthage The Archdiocese of Carthage, also known as the Church of Carthage, was a Latin Catholic diocese established in Carthage, Roman Empire, in the 2nd century. Agrippin was the first named bishop, around 230 AD. The temporal importance of the city of ...

who was exiled to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. He was known to have been living in

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

around 407 and became a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

in 421 AD. He corresponded with

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

, who served as Quodvultdeus' spiritual teacher.Patron Saints Index: Saint Quodvultdeus
Augustine also dedicated some of his writings to Quodvultdeus. Quodvultdeus was exiled when

was captured by the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...

led by King

Gaiseric Gaiseric ( – 25 January 477), also known as Geiseric or Genseric ( la, Gaisericus, Geisericus; reconstructed Vandalic: ) was King of the Vandals and Alans (428–477), ruling a kingdom he established, and was one of the key players in the diff ...

, who followed

Arianism Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...

. Tradition states that he and other churchmen (such as

Gaudiosus of Naples Saint Gaudiosus of Naples or Gaudiosus the African ( la, Sanctus Gaudiosus Africanus) was a bishop of Abitina ( Abitine, Abitinia; '' Abitinae article'') in Africa Province during the 5th century AD Abitina was a village near Carthage in prese ...

) were loaded onto leaky ships that landed at Naples around 439 AD and Quodvultdeus established himself in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. He would go on to convert dozens of Arian

Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...

to the

orthodox Christian Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churche ...

faith during his lifetime. One of the mosaic burial portraits in the Galleria dei Vescovi in the

Catacombs of San Gennaro The Catacombs of San Gennaro are underground paleo-Christian burial and worship sites in Naples, Italy, carved out of tuff, a porous stone. They are situated in the northern part of the city, on the slope leading up to , consisting of two levels ...

depicts Quodvultdeus.

Writings

None of the surviving writings by Quodvultdeus were transmitted under his name. While ''Liber promissionum et praedicatorum Dei'' was attributed to

Prosper of Aquitaine Prosper of Aquitaine ( la, Prosper Aquitanus; – AD), a Christian writer and disciple of Augustine of Hippo, was the first continuator of Jerome's Universal Chronicle. Life Prosper was a native of Aquitaine, and may have been educated at B ...

already in the 6th century, Quodvultdeus's sermons came down to us in

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

collections. In 1914

Germain Morin Germain Morin (1861–1946) was a Franco-Belgian Benedictine historical scholar, patrologist, and liturgiologist, of the Beuronese Congregation. Life Born at Caen in Normandy, he entered the Abbey of St. Benedict at Maredsous, Belgium, in 1882 an ...

was the first to suppose that 12 sermons by Pseudo-Augustine were actually written by Quodvultdeus. In 1920

Desiderius Franses Desiderius, also known as Daufer or Dauferius (born – died ), was king of the Lombards in northern Italy, ruling from 756 to 774. The Frankish king of renown, Charlemagne, married Desiderius's daughter and subsequently conquered his realm. Des ...

showed this hypothese to be highly plausible.D. Franses. ''Die Werke des hl. Quodvultdeus''. Munich, 1920.

List of writings

*''Liber promissionum et praedicatorum Dei'' ("Book of promises and predictions of God") *Thirteen sermons: #''Contra iudaeos, paganos et arrianos'' ("Against Jews, Pagans and Arians") #''Adversus quinque haereses'' ("On five heresies") #''De symbolo I'' ("On the creed I") #''De symbolo II'' ("On the creed II") #''De symbolo III'' ("On the creed III") #''De quattuor virtutibus caritatis'' ("On the four virtues of love") #''De cantico novo'' ("On the new song") #''De ultima quarta feria'' ("On the last Wednesday") #''De cataclismo'' ("On the cataclysm") #''De tempore barbarico I'' ("On barbaric times I") #''De accedentibus ad gratiam I'' ("On the approach to grace I") #''De accedentibus ad gratiam II'' ("On the approach to grace II") #''De tempore barbarico II'' ("On barbaric times II") *Two letters to Augustine (Ep. CCXXI and CCXXIII)

Editions and Translations

* René Braun: ''Opera Quodvultdeo Carthagiensi Episcopo Tributa'' ( CCSL 60). Brepols, Turnhout 1976. * René Braun: Quodvultdeus. ''Livre des promesses et des prédictions de Dieu'' ( SC 101-102). Éditions du Cerf, Paris 1964. *Quodvultdeus of Carthage. ''The Creedal Homilies'', translation and commentary by

Thomas Macy Finn Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, 2004 ( ACW 60).

References

Bibliography

* Quodvultdeus of Carthage : ''The Creedal Homilies : conversion in fifth-century North Africa'', Thomas Macy Finn (translation and commentary), New York : Newman Press, 2004, p. 137.

External links

*
Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes

{{Authority control Saints from the Vandal Kingdom Italian Roman Catholic saints 450 deaths 5th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown 5th-century Latin writers 5th-century bishops of Carthage