FRUMENTIUS, St. — Apostle of Abyssinia and first bishop of Aksum. Born in Tyre about 320, he arrived in Abyssinia unexpectedly. While still a young student in India with his brother Aedesius under the philosopher Meropius of Tyre, on their return voyage they landed at an Abyssinian port, probably Adulis. A quarrel broke out between the travelers and the natives, who massacred the entire crew, sparing only the two young men, whom they took as slaves to the court of Aksum. There Frumentius was appointed treasurer and Aedesius royal scribe; they soon won the favor of the king, so that at his death they were begged by the queen to remain and help her govern the kingdom and educate the young heir. They acceded to the queen’s wishes.
Frumentius was invested with great authority, which he used to promote the religious practice among the Christian merchants in the kingdom, setting an example by building a church. When the prince came of age, they were allowed to return home. Aedesius went directly to Tyre, where he settled and became a priest. Frumentius passed through Alexandria to report to St. Athanasius the hopes of the Church of Aksum and to ask him to send a bishop. Athanasius judged Frumentius the most suitable for this purpose, ordained him bishop, and sent him back to Aksum, where he exercised his sacred ministry with great success until his death about 380, winning the conversion of many natives and of King Ezana himself. Four inscriptions of this king have been found: the first three show him still a pagan, the fourth as a Christian. The same evolution is evident from the coins. The Arian Emperor Constantius sought to sow discord and bring Abyssinia into Arianism by writing in 356 a letter to King Aezanas (Ezana) and his brother Saezanas, in which he attacked Athanasius and asked them to send Frumentius to Alexandria to be instructed in the faith by the Arian bishop George. Indeed, according to Philostorgius, he even sent Bishop Theophilus to promote Arianism there, but without any result.
The chronology remains somewhat uncertain, since the date of Frumentius’s arrival in Aksum and that of his episcopal ordination cannot be fixed precisely. Unlikely is the report of Rufinus, who makes him consecrated before 320. The Bollandists adduce plausible arguments to show that Frumentius arrived in Aksum about 340, went to Alexandria about 347, and returned to Abyssinia only about 351–352.
Rufinus, having heard the story from Aedesius himself, remains the principal source, which was drawn upon by Socrates, Sozomen, Theodorus, and the Eastern *Sinasari*. Feast: 27 Oct.