Felix became bishop of the northern Italian diocese of Brescia around the year 617. In the early years of his episcopate, he was able to erect several new churches with the assistance of the Catholic Lombard queen, Theodolinda. The accession of King Rotharis to the Lombard throne in 636 was to be a cause of great challenges for Felix. Rotharis, an adherent of the Arian heresy that denied the divinity of Christ, sought to impose Arianism upon the region, going so far as to appoint an Arian bishop in contravention of Felix's authority. Felix energetically battled the spread of this heresy through his exhortations to the people in sermons and in personal conversations. A series of natural calamities in Brescia, beginning with an earthquake, gave added effectiveness to the bishop's admonitions summoning the people to penitence. At the same time, Felix pleaded to God on behalf of the people for an end to the city's misfortunes.
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