Saint Frumentius was a fourth-century missionary, by origin a Christian of Tyre in Phoenicia, who is venerated as the apostle and first bishop of the kingdom of Aksum in Ethiopia (anciently Abyssinia). Brought to the country as a youth, he rose to prominence at the royal court, oversaw the spread of the faith there, and was afterward consecrated bishop by Saint Athanasius the Great of Alexandria. The Orthodox Church commemorates him on November 30.
According to the tradition reflected in the historians, Frumentius came to Aksum while still a child. He grew up near the imperial court and became a trusted counselor of the Abyssinian emperor, and afterward tutor to the emperor's son, who succeeded to the throne as a minor on his father's death. From this position of influence Frumentius encouraged the practice of Christianity in the kingdom.
With the consent of the young emperor, Frumentius journeyed first to his native land and then to Alexandria, where he laid the needs of the Abyssinian church before the patriarch Saint Athanasius the Great. With Athanasius's blessing he was consecrated bishop and returned to the country that had sheltered him from childhood. The synaxarion relates that after his return he performed miracles, and that the emperor and many of his subjects received holy Baptism. Having converted the Abyssinian nation to Christ, he guided its Church for many years and reposed in great old age.
Frumentius is honored in Ethiopian tradition under the title abuna, meaning 'Our Father,' a designation still borne by the patriarch of the Ethiopian Church; he is also remembered by the names Abba Salama ('Father of Peace') and Kesate Birhan ('Revealer of Light').
