Quodvultdeus

Quodvultdeus (Latin for "what God wills", died c. 450 AD) was a fifth-century church father and bishop of Carthage who was exiled to Naples. He was known to have been living in Carthage around 407 and became a deacon in 421 AD. He corresponded with Augustine of Hippo, who served as Quodvultdeus' spiritual teacher.[1] Augustine also dedicated some of his writings to Quodvultdeus.[1]

Saint Quodvultdeus
Portrait of Quodvultdeus, 5th-century mosaic, Catacombs of San Gennaro
Died~450 AD
Neapolis, Western Roman Empire
Venerated inCatholic Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
Feast26 October (Roman calendar); 8 January (calendar of Carthage); 19 February (calendar of Naples)

Quodvultdeus was exiled when Carthage was captured by the Vandals led by King Genseric, who followed Arianism. Tradition states that he and other churchmen (such as Gaudiosus of Naples) were loaded onto leaky ships that landed at Naples around 439 AD and Quodvultdeus established himself in Italy.[1] He would go on to convert dozens of Arian Goths to Orthodoxy in his lifetime.

One of the mosaic burial portraits in the Galleria dei Vescovi in the Catacombs of San Gennaro depicts Quodvultdeus.[2]

Writings
Opening page of a 9th-century manuscript of the Sermon against Jews, Pagans and Arians by Quodvultdeus, erroneously attributed to Augustine of Hippo (Bavarian State Library Clm 14098, f. 61v)

Twelve sermons by Quodvultdeus survive:

  • Three De symbolo ("On the creed")
  • Two De tempore barbarico ("On barbaric times")
  • Two De accedentibus ad gratiam ("On the approach to grace")
  • Adversus quinque haereses ("On five heresies")
  • De cataclismo ("On the cataclysm")
  • De ultima quarta feria ("On the last Wednesday")
  • De cantico novo ("On the new song")
  • Contra iudaeos, paganos et arrianos ("Against Jews, Pagans and Arians")

He also wrote:

  • Liber promissionum et praedicatorum Dei ("Book of promises and predictions of God")

References
  1. Patron Saints Index: Saint Quodvultdeus Archived April 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Gillian MacKie, Early Christian Chapels in the West (University of Toronto Press, 2003), 31.

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.
  • Hubertus Drobner (1994). "Quodvultdeus". In Bautz, Traugott (ed.). Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) (in German). 7. Herzberg: Bautz. cols. 1137–1142. ISBN 3-88309-048-4.
  • Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes
  • Lewis E 20 De quattuor virtutibus caritatis (On the four virtues of charity) at OPenn
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