Hieromartyr Felix of Lycaonia, Bishop of Spoleto

Hieromartyr Felix held the episcopal see of the city of Spoleto in Italy. During the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian (r. 284-305), when the authorities demanded the surrender and burning of the sacred books, Bishop Felix refused to comply with the edict and was exiled to Lycaonia (Asia Minor) for this. There, together with his companions — the presbyter Januarius, and Fortunatus (Furtunianus) and Septiminus — he was beheaded around 304. Veneration of this group of four martyrs is reflected in the Balkan fresco tradition — notably in the Church of Christ Pantocrator at Dečani (Kosovo, Serbia, c. 1350) and in the related cycle at Gračanica Monastery (c. 1318). His memory is kept on April 16 per the Greek Synaxarion; this date does not appear in the current calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church.

NOTE: the original entry correctly identified "Filik" as a form of the name Felix, but mistakenly assumed identification with the well-known Hieromartyr Felix of Terracina (whose companions — Caesarius and Julian — do not match those depicted in the fresco). The exact match of companion names ("Felix, Fortunatus, Septiminus, Januarius") allowed precise identification of the saint as Felix of Lycaonia, Bishop of Spoleto.