Frumentius

Life events

1. Other — 316

   Frumentius and his brother Edesius, as children, accompanied their uncle Meropius of Tyre on a voyage toward 'India'; when the ship stopped at a Red Sea harbor on the return, the crew was massacred and the two boys were taken as slaves to the King of Axum.

2. Other

   At the Aksumite court, Edesius became cupbearer and Frumentius secretary and treasurer; after the king's death the widowed queen persuaded them to remain and administer the kingdom during the minority of the young heir Ezana, during which time Frumentius encouraged Christian merchants to practice their faith openly and began converting some of the local population.

3. Pilgrimage — 328

   After Ezana came of age, Frumentius traveled to Alexandria and appealed to Patriarch Athanasius to send a bishop and missionary priests to Ethiopia; Athanasius judged Frumentius himself the most suitable candidate.

4. Consecrated — 328

   Athanasius consecrated Frumentius as the first bishop of Axum, traditionally dated to 328 CE, though some scholars place the event between 340 and 346.

5. Other

   Frumentius returned to Axum, established his episcopal see there, converted and baptized King Ezana, and founded the first Ethiopian monastery, Dabba Selama, in Dogu'a Tembien.

6. Council — 356

   The Arian emperor Constantius II wrote to King Ezana and his brother Saizana requesting that Frumentius be replaced as bishop by Theophilos the Indian, who supported Arianism; King Ezana refused.

7. Died — 383

   Frumentius died c. 383; the biography is preserved through Tyrannius Rufinus, who cited Edesius as his direct eyewitness source.

Relationships

Documented claims

• The primary narrative of Frumentius derives from the fourth-century historian Tyrannius Rufinus (Historia Ecclesiastica x.9), who names Frumentius' brother Edesius as his direct eyewitness source. (likely)
• Frumentius became the first Abuna — the title for the head of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in Ethiopia — and his appointment by Athanasius established the tradition that the Patriarch of Alexandria appoints Ethiopian bishops. (likely)
• Ethiopian tradition credits Frumentius with involvement in developing the Geez script from an abjad (consonant-only) into an abugida (syllabic writing system) and with producing the first Geez translation of the New Testament. (legendary)
• Multiple traditions observe different feast days: Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo on 18 Tahsas and 26 Hamle; Coptic Orthodox on 18 December; Eastern Orthodox on 30 November; Roman Catholic on 20 July. (certain)
• The Aksumite people gave Frumentius two Ethiopian epithets: Kesate Birhan (Revealer of Light) and Abba Salama (Father of Peace), the latter also rendered in Arabic as Aba Salama. (likely)