Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

Saint Felix IV (died Sept. 22, 530, Rome; feast day January 30) was the pope from 526 to 530. He was elected on July 12 as the choice of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, who had imprisoned Felix’ predecessor, St. John I, and who died shortly after Felix’ consecration. The new pope ended the controversy over grace at the second Council of Orange (529) by condemning Semi-Pelagianism, which maintained that the beginning of faith results from human effort rather than grace (see Orange, councils of; Semi-Pelagianism). Felix converted a pagan temple at Rome into the Church of SS. Cosmas and Damian. To avoid a disputed succession, Felix named the archdeacon Boniface (Pope Boniface II) as his successor.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.
By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.