FELIX IV, POPE. — Reigned from 526 to 530. Born in the Sannio region to a certain Castorius, he was elevated to the supreme pontificate under the influence of Theodoric, king of the Goths, who thus struck a blow at the free election of the Pope. However, after Theodoric’s death, Felix was freely elected, accepted, and peacefully consecrated.
He wrote to Caesarius of Arles, sending him *Capitula* on Grace and free will, drawn from the works of the Fathers and particularly from St. Augustine, condemning Pelagius, Celestine, and Julian of Eclanum. Having obtained from Amalasuntha the *templum sacrae urbis*, he transformed it fittingly into a Christian church by adding an apse adorned with a most beautiful mosaic; to this structure, which he dedicated in honor of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, he joined the small temple of Romulus, son of Maxentius, to form the atrium. There he is depicted in the apse mosaic offering the transformed building (Wilpert, *Mosaici*, pl. 102). Before his death, Felix, fearing the danger of strife and division among factions over the election of his successor, resorted to an unprecedented measure: he himself designated his successor in the person of the archdeacon Boniface. The opposing faction elected Dioscorus; but since he died after a few months, Boniface was unanimously recognized and revered as the legitimate Pope, thus averting a schism. Felix died in September 530 and was buried in St. Peter’s.