ST. FELIX - 'APOSTLE OF THE EAST ANGLES'

 St. Felix Apostle of the East Angles - b.???? d.647

Soham is associated with a premier saint quoted in the annals of English Church history. He was St. Felix (meaning happy or joyful). In 613 AD Sigebert, the exiled son of Redwald, the first Christian King of East Anglia, succeeded his brother Earpwald as King. Sigebert, who had been converted to Christianity in France brought with him to East Anglia, Bishop Felix of Burgundy, who was later consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury as the ‘Apostle of the East Angles’. Felix is renowned as a great missionary and became the first Bishop of the East Angles. King Sigebert allowed him to establish his see at Domnoc, or Dommoc-ceastre. There has always been uncertainty about the location of Domnoc, many historians believe it to be what was once the seaside port of Dunwich in Suffolk, which is now lost to the sea, but modern research has revealed that Domnoc may in fact be Soham. Domnoc had been a Roman station and, besides the advantage of its port, its walls may still have been strong enough to afford some protection for the new Bishop. It was, moreover, connected with the interior by ancient roads. 

St. Felix is said to have founded a monastery at Soham around 630 AD and was consecrated by Archbishop Honorius in 631 AD. According to the chronicler of the times his episcopate was full of happiness for the cause of Christianity and the admirable historian, Bede, described his work with an allusion to the good omen of his name. Bede wrote that St. Felix "delivered all the province of East Anglia from long-standing unrighteousness and unhappiness. As a pious cultivator of the spirited field, he found abundant faith in a believing people. In no part of England was Christianity more favourably introduced".

Bede continues: "He (St. Felix) did not fail in his purpose and like a good farmer reaped a rich harvest of believers. He delivered the entire province from its age-old wickedness and infelicity and brought it to the Christian faith and works of righteousness, and in full accord with the significance of his own name, guided it towards eternal felicity".

An important feature of his mission was the combination of education with religion by means of a school such as existed at Canterbury in connection with the house of SS. Peter and Paul. This school, for which Felix provided teachers "after the model of Kent" was probably attached to the primitive East Anglian Cathedral but its actual location is not known.

"He had the see of his bishopric appointed him in the city Domnoc, and having presided over the same province with pontifical authority for seventeen years, he ended his days there in peace." Whether this was in Soham or Dunwich we cannot be certain. St. Felix died on the 8th March 647 AD and is represented as a Bishop with three rings on his right hand.

For 200 years the monastic settlement at Soham thrived until around 870 AD when the Danes made their destructive progress across the region, they destroyed the Abbey, stealing its treasures, killing the monks and burning the buildings to the ground.  The Abbey was never rebuilt, and the actual site remains a mystery, although, in 1120 AD, William de Malmsebury records that the ruins here were still visible.
Except for traces of Saxon masonry in the Norman Church of St Andrew, no physical evidence for the Abbey survives above ground.  Stone remains may well have been exported to assist in the rebuilding of the more easily defended monastery of St Etheldreda at Ely, which was brought down at the same time.

In King Canute's time, about 1031 AD. St. Felix's remains were removed by a monk named Etheric to Ramsey in Huntingdonshire, and there solemnly enshrined by Abbot Ethelstan. While the relic was being carried across the water a miracle is said to have happened. A chronicler at Soham or Ramsey wrote:

"In those days (circa 1020 AD) St. Felix, formerly Bishop of East Anglia lay buried in the royal manor of Soham for at this place the saint while still alive had built and dedicated a beautiful church and gathered together a goodly company of monks. When this same church (or monastery) had been utterly destroyed and the monks killed by the Danes, this saintly man had met with less reverence and honour. This continued up to the time of King Canute, when Etheric, hearing of it, pointed out to Abbot Athelstan and the monks of Ramsey how, by the expenditure of a little labour, they might win for themselves inexhaustible riches and so urged them by the spur of self interest to carry out his purpose".

"Athelstan therefore taking with him Agerinus, his prior, set out by water for Soham which possessed the relic of such value, and overawing by the combined authority of the King and bishop the resistance of those who were for opposing him, he placed the sacred remains and bones of the saint on board and began his voyage homeward to Ramsey amid the strains of joyous psalmody. The men of Ely, however, on hearing of this, grudging us so valuable a relic, manned their boats with a strong band, hoping by their large numbers to carry off from the smaller party the remains which they had removed from Soham."

"In order that it might be clearly seen that the removal was taking place by Divine than by human wishes, it came to pass that just as the ships of either party were approaching one another under a bright and cloudless sky, suddenly, to the discomfiture of the large force and the benefit of the smaller, a dense fog arose which separated the two parties. And so, while their adversaries were vainly wandering in different directions, our boat was carried onward in a straight course and safely deposited by the aiding waters on the bosom of our native shore".

"You may find it hard to believe this miracle ... yet, reader, you are compelled to suspect it by no necessity as long as you are at all events convinced of the undoubted fact that the remains of St. Felix were, on King Canute's yielding to the prayers of Bishop Etheric, transferred from the aforesaid town of Soham to the church at Ramsey and reburied with great reverence; and there, even to this day, does that holy man bestow on worshippers many benefits. If you desire further to learn anything of his origin, his life or his good deeds, you must consult Bede who has composed a history of the English in admirable style, and among other men of the highest sanctity whom he there commends, has deemed the praise of our saint worthy of praise".

By his presence at Soham all those centuries ago the town can take pride in its former importance as a renowned Christian centre.

 Stained Glass Window in St. Andrew's Church Depicting St. Felix 

 In Memory of Wallace Turner
 20th October 1914-22nd May 2000

A stained glass window in St. Andrew's Church in memory of the late Wallace Turner was unveiled and dedicated at a special service held on Sunday 8th September 2002. Some 400 people packed into the church to see the new window which features St. Felix, who founded the monastery in Soham, and to hear Irish singing sensation, Daniel O'Donnell - Wallace's favourite singer - perform during the service. Mr Turner, known to many Soham people as 'Wal', who passed away on 22nd May 2000. The weekend also saw the 50th Wedding Anniversary of Wal's daughter Winnie and her husband Eric Day. Many Congratulations to both of them. The new window was formally dedicated to the greater glory of God on the Saturday 14th September 2002.

The designer, Helen Whittaker has written the following description of the window:-

"The focal point of the window is a life-size representation of St. Felix, vested as a bishop. He is shown holding a book in one hand and his other hand is raised in blessing. The middle panels of the flanking lights show the good works of St. Felix. The left panel depicts St Felix and Sigbert planning the education of the people, with the arms of the University of Cambridge beneath: the right panel depicts the foundation of an Abbey. In the background is the church of St. Andrew's, which was founded after the Abbey was destroyed by the Danes in 870, with the arms of the Diocese of Ely below it. The See of Dunwich is represented by the rock upon which St. Felix stands. The Tree of Knowledge is shown rooted in the soil of East Anglia, represented by local scenes at the bottom of the side lights. The Tree rises, through the decorative borders, to the tracery lights, which are filled with leaves. Here can be seen the emblems of the four Evangelists."