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Eusebius, Saint (2)

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Eusebius, Saint

Bishop of Vercelli, b. in Sardinia c. 283; d. at Vercelli, Piedmont, 1 August, 371. He was made lector in Rome, where he lived some time, probably as a member or head of a religious community (Spreitzenhofer, Die Entwickelung des alten Mönchtums in Italien, Vienna, 1894, 14 sq.), Later he came to Vercelle, the present Vercelli, and in 340 was unanimously elected bishop of that city by the clergy and the people. He received episcopal consecration at the hands of Pope Julius I on 15 December, of the same year. According to the testimony of St. Ambrose (Ep. lxiii, Ad Vercellenses) he was the first bishop of the West who united monastic with clerical life. He led with the clergy of his city a common life modelled upon that of the Eastern cenobites (St. Ambrose, Ep. lxxxi and Serm. lxxxix). For this reason the Canons Regular of St. Augustine honour him along with St. Augustine as their founder (Proprium Canon. Reg., 16 December).

In 364 Pope Liberius sent Eusebius and Bishop Lucifer to Cagliari to the Emperor Constantius, who was then at Arles in Gaul, for the purpose of inducing the emperor to convoke a council which should put an end to the dissentions between the Arians and the orthodox. The synod was held in Milan in 355. At first Eusebius refused to attend it because he foresaw that the Arian bishops, who were supported by the emperor, would not accept the decrees of the Nicene council and would insist upon the condemnation of St. Athanasius. Being pressed by the emperor and the bishops to appear at the synod, he came to Milan, but was not admitted to the synod until the document condemning St. Athanasius had been drawn up and was awaiting the signature of the bishops. Eusebius vehemently protested against the unjust condemnation of St. Athanasius and, despite the threats of the emperor, refused to attach his signature to the document. As a result he was sent into exile, first to Scythopolis in Syria, where the Arian bishop Patrophilus, whom Eusebius calls his jailer, (Baronius, Annal., ad ann. 356, n. 97), treated him very cruelly; then to Cappodocia, and lastly to Thebaid. On the accession of the Emperor Julian, the exiled bishops were allowed to return to their sees, in 362. Eusebius, however, and his brother-exile Lucifer did not at once return to Italy. Acting either by force of their former legatine faculties or, as is more probable, having received new legatine faculties from Pope Liberius, they remained in the Orient for some time, helping to restore peace in the Church. Eusebius went to Alexandria to consult with St. Athanasius about convoking the synod which in 362 was held there under their joint presidency. Besides declaring the Divinity of the Holy Ghost and the orthodox doctrine concerning the Incarnation, the synod agreed to deal mildly with the repentant apostate bishops, but to impose severe penalties upon the leaders of several of Arianizing factions. At its close Eusebius went to Antioch to reconcile the Eustathians and the Meletians. The Eustathians were adherents of the bishop St. Eustatius, who was deposed and exiled by the Arians in 331. Since Meletius’ election in 361 was brought about chiefly by the Arians, the Eustathians would not recognize him, although he solemnly proclamed his orthodox faith from the ambo after his episcopal consecration. The Alexandrian synod had desired that Eusebius should reconcile the Eustathians with Bishop Meletius, by purging his election of whatever might have been irregular in it, but Eusebius, upon arriving at Antioch found that his brother-legate Lucifer had consecrated Paulinus, the leader of the Eustathians, as Bishop of Antioch, and thus unwittingly had frustrated the pacific design. Unable to reconcile the factions at Antioch, he visited other Churches of the Orient in the interest of the orthodox faith, and finally passed through Illyricum into Italy. Having arrived at Vercelli in 363, he assisted the zealous St. Hilary of Poitiers in the suppression of Arianism in the Western Church, and was one of the chief opponents of the Arian Bishop Auxientius of Milan. The church honours him as a martyr and celebrates his feast as a semi-double on 16 December. In the “Journal of Theological Studies” (1900), I, 302-99, E.A. Burn attributes to Eusebius the “Quicumque”. (SEE ATHANSIAN CREED)

Three short letters of Eusebius are printed in Migne, P.L., XII, 947-54 and X, 713-14. St. Jerome (De vir. ill., c. lvi, and Ep. li, n. 2) ascribes to him a Latin translation of a commentary on the Psalms, written originally in Greek by Eusebius of Cæsarea; but this work has been lost. There is preserved in the cathedral at Vercelli the “Codex Vercellensis”, the earliest manuscript of the old Latin Gospels (codex a), which is generally believed to have been written by Eusebius. It was published by Irico (Milan 1748) and Bianchini (Rome, 1749), and is reprinted in Migne, P.L. XII, 9-948; a new edition was brought out by Belsheim (Christiania, 1894). Kr&#252ger (Lucifer, Bischof von Calaris”, Leipzig, 1886, 118-30) ascribes to Eusebius a baptismal oration by Caspari (Quellen sur Gesch, Des Taufsymbols, Christiania, 1869, II, 132-40). The confession of faith “Des. Trinitate confessio”, P.L., XII, 959-968, sometimes ascribed to Eusebius is spurious.

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BUTLER, Lives of the Saints, 15 Dec.; BARING-GOULD, Lives of the Saints, 15 Dec.; DAVIES, in Dict. Christ. Biogr.; St. Jerome, De viris illustribus, xcvi; FERRERIUS, Vita s, Eusebii episcopi Vercellensis (Vercelli, 1609); UGHELLI, Italia Sacra (Venice 1719), IV, 749-61; BARONIUS, Annalesad ann. 355-371; MORIN inRevue Benedictine (Maredsous, 1890), VII, 567-73; SAVIO, Gli antichi vescovi d’Italia (Piedmonte) (Turin, 1899), 412-20, 514-54; BARDENHEWER, Patrologie, Shahan Tr. (Freiburg im Br.; St. Louis, 1903), 417-18.

MICHAEL OTT Transcribed by C.A. Montgomery

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VCopyright © 1909 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, May 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, CensorImprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York

Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia

Eusebius, Saint (1)

Bishop of Samosata (now Samsat) in Syria; date of birth unknown: d. in 379 or 380. History makes no mention of him before the year 361, when as bishop of Samosata, he took part in the consecration of St. Meletius, the newly elected Patriarch of Antioch. Just then the Eastern Church was rent by Arianism and its affiliated heresies. Most of the episcopal sees were occupied by Arian bishops, and Meletius himself was elected Patriarch of Antioch only because the Arians believed him to be a supporter of their heresy. Tillemont and a few other historians even maintain that Eusebius was at that time leaning towards Arianism. Whatever might have been the faith of Eusebius previously, it is certain that at the synod held in Antioch in 363 the Nicene formula, with express mention of homoousios, was accepted, and the document was signed by Eusebius and twenty-four other bishops.

When the Arians discovered that Meletius upheld the doctrine of the Nicene Council, they declared his election invalid and attempted to obtain from Eusebius, to whom they had been entrusted, the synodal acts proving the lawfulness of the election. The emperor Constantius, who supported the Arians, ordered Eusebius to surrender the document, but without success. Thereupon Constantius threatened Eusebius with the loss of his right hand, but the bishop calmly presented both of his hands to the bearer of the message, saying: “Strike them both off. I will not surrender the document by which the injustice of the Arians can be proved.” The emperor was struck by the constancy of Eusebius and left the document in his possession.

It was chiefly due to the concerted efforts of St. Eusebius and St. Gregory Nazianzen that, in 370, St. Basil was elected Archbishop of C&#230sarea in Cappadocia. From this time also dates the tender friendship between St. Eusebius and the last-named Father, which is attested to by some still extant letters written by St. Basil to the Bishop of Samasota. Eusebius displayed his greatest activity during the persecution of the Catholics by the Arian emperor Valens. Disguised as a military officer, he visited the persecuted Churches of Syria, Phoenecia, and Palestine, exhorting the afflicted Catholics to remain faithful to their faith, ordaining orthodox priests where they were needed, and in many other ways assisting the Catholic bishops in the difficult exercise of their duties during these troublesome times. It is on account of this untiring zeal of Eusebius that St. Gregory Nazianzen calls him “A pillar of the Church”, “a gift of God”, “a rule of faith”, etc. (Migne, P.G., XXI, 57). Incensed at the great success of Eusebius, the Arians prevailed upon the emperor Valens to banish him into Thrace. After the death of Valens in 378, he was allowed to return to his see. On his journey from Thrace to Samosata he was instrumental in the appointment of numerous orthodox bishops, among whom were Acacius at Beroea, Theodotus at Hierapolis, Isidore at Cyrrhus, and Eulogius at Edessa. Having returned to his see, he resumed his former activity against the Arians, both in his own diocese and in the neighbouring churches. While he was taking part in the consecration of Bishop Maris, at the little town of Dolicha, near Samosata, an Arian woman struck him on the head with a tile thrown from the roof of her house. He died of this wound a few days later. The Greeks honour him as a Martyr on the 21st of June, the Latins on the 22nd.

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BUTLER Lives of the Saints, 21 June; BARING-GOULD, Lives of the Saints, 21 June; REYNOLDS in Dict. Of Christ. Biogr., II 369-372; Acta SS., June, V, 204-208; TILLEMONT, M&#233moires pour servir &#225 l’histoire eccl&#233siastique des six premiers si&#232cles (Paris 1693-1712), VIII, 310-336; LE QUIEN, Oriens Christianus (Paris, 1740), II, 933 sqq.; BEJAN, Acta martyrum et sanctorum in Syriac (Paris, 1890-7), VI, 355 sqq.

MICHAEL OTT Transcribed by C.A. Montgomery Dedicated to Eusebia Casella Giovenco

Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia

Eusebius, Saint (2)

A presbyter at Rome; date of birth unknown; d. 357(?). He was a Roman patrician and priest, and is mentioned with distinction in Latin martyrologies. The ancient genuine martyrology of Usuard styles him confessor at Rome under the Arian emperor Constantius and adds that he was buried in the cemetery of Callistus. Some later martyrologies call him a martyr.

The “Acta Eusebii”, discovered in 1479 by Mombritius and reproduced by Baluze in his “Miscellanea” (1678-1715), tell the following story; When Pope Liberius was permitted by Constantius to return to Rome, supposedly at the price of his orthodoxy, by subscribing to the Arian formula of Sirmium, Eusebius, a priest, an ardent defender of the Nicene Creed, publicly preached against both pope and emperor, branding them as heretics. When the orthodox party who supported the antipope Felix were excluded from all the churches, Eusebius continued to hold Divine service in his own house. He was arrested and brought before Liberius and Constantius. Here he boldly reproved Liberius for deserting the Catholic Faith. In consequence he was placed in a dungeon, four feet wide (or was imprisoned in his own house), where he spent his time in prayer and died after seven months. His body was buried in the cemetery of Callistus with the simple inscription: “Eusebio homini Dei”. This act of kindness was performed by two priests, Gregory and Orosius, friends of Eusebius. Gregory was put into the same prison and also died there. He was buried by Orosius, who professes to be the writer of the Acts.

It is generally admitted that these Acts were a forgery either entirely or at least in part, and written in the same spirit if not by the same hand, as the notice on Liberius in the “Liber Pontificalis”. The Bollandists and Tillemont point out some grave historical difficulties in the narrative, especially the fact that Liberius, Constantius and Eusebius were never in Rome at the same time. Constantius visit Rome but once, and remained there for about a month, and Liberius was then still in exile. Some, taking for granted the alleged fall of Liberius, would overcome this difficulty by stating that, at the request of Liberius, who resented the zeal of the priest, the secular power interfered and imprisoned Eusebius. It is not at all certain whether Eusebius died after the return of Liberius, during his exile, or even much before that period.

The feast of St. Eusebius is kept on 14 August. The church of the Equiline in Rome dedicated to him, said to have been built on the site of his house, is mentioned in the acts of a council held in Rome under Pope Symmachus in 498 (Manai, VIII, 236-237), and was rebuilt by Pope Zacharias. Formerly it had a statio on the Friday after the fourth Sunday in Lent. It once belonged to the Celestines (an order now extinct); Leo XII gave it to the Jesuits. A good picture representing the triumph of Eusebius, by Raphael Menge, 1759 is on the ceiling. San Eusebio is the title of the cardinal-priest. The title was transferred by Gregory XVI, but restored by Pius IX.

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Am. Cath. Q. Rev., VIII, 529; STOKES in Dict. Of Chr. Biogr., a.v.; Acta SS., Aug., II, 166, and Sept., VI, 297; ARMELLINI, La Chiese di Roma (Rome 1887);c f. DUCHESNE, Liber Pontificalis (Paris 1886-92), I, s.v.Liberius, also the Introduction; DUFOURCQ, Les Gesta Martyrum Romains (Paris 1904).

FRANCIS MERSHMAN Transcribed by C.A. Montgomery

Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia

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