Saint Felix and Saint Adauctus

Saint Felix Saint Félix Priest from Burgundy who became the apostle of East Anglia and Bishop of Dunwich. was a priest of the Church of Rome. Arrested during the time of the persecution of Diocletian, he was sent to the tribunal of Dracus, prefect of the city, who had him taken to the temple of Serapis to offer incense to that goddess. Felix blew against the face of the statue, which was of bronze, and caused it to fall. From there he was led before those of Mercury and Diana, which he overturned in the same manner. The judge then had him stretched on the rack to make him say by what virtue he had broken the statues of the gods to pieces: "Do not think," said Felix to the prefect, "that it is by any pact with the demon; I did it by the confidence I have in the Almighty, and by the power that Jesus Christ has given me over your false divinities." The prefect, at this answer, flew into a great fury and ordered that he be led out of the city, on the road to Ostia, where there was a tree consecrated to the idols and a small temple below it. As soon as Felix arrived there, he blew against this tree, and said to it: "I command you, in the name of Jesus Christ, to uproot yourself this very hour, to fall upon this temple, and to break it to pieces with the altar and its simulacrum." At these words, the tree came out of the ground with its roots, and, falling upon the temple, it crushed it so much that no vestige of it remained standing. The matter having been reported to the judge by one of his officers, he condemned Felix to be beheaded, and ordered that his body be exposed on the main road to be the prey of wild beasts. As they were about to proceed with this execution, there appeared a Christian unknown to men, but known to God; having learned that they were putting Felix to death because he had not wanted to renounce Jesus Christ, he began to cry out with all his might: "I am of the same faith as the one you are about to put to death, and I confess like him that my Lord Jesus Christ is the true God. I shall therefore die with him: for I would rather be put to death in his company, in order to live eternally with my Savior Jesus, than to embrace the religion of your cruel emperors, and burn with them in hell for all eternity." This happy encounter greatly rejoiced Felix. He thanked God that He was giving him such a generous companion in his martyrdom. After having prayed together, and having given each other the kiss of peace, they were beheaded. The faithful, not being able to know the name of this Christian who had so generously given himself up to martyrdom, gave him that o Adaucte Martyr companion of Saint Felix. f Adauctus, that is to say added, because he had joined Saint Felix to die with him.