St. Eusebius of Samosata

St. Eusebius of Samosata
St. Eusebius of Samosata
    St. Eusebius
     Catholic_Encyclopedia St. Eusebius
    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 ( see Arianism ) bishops, and Meletius himself was elected Patriarch of Antioch only because the Arians ( see Arianism ) 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 ( see Arianism ) 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 ( see Arianism ), 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 ( see Arianism ) 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 Cæsarea 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 ( see Arianism ) 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 ( see Arianism ) 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 ( see Arianism ), 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 ( see Arianism ) 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.
    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, Mémoires pour servir á l'histoire ecclésiastique des six premiers siècles (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

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. — New York: Robert Appleton Company. . 1910.


Catholic encyclopedia.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Eusebius, Saint \(Samosata\) — • Anti Arian bishop of Samosata, martyr, d. 379 or 380 Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Eusebius of Samosata — Saint Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata (died c. 379, Dolikha) was a Christian martyr and opponent of Arianism. His feast day is June 21st in the Western Church and June 22nd in the Eastern Church.In 361 he became bishop of the ancient Syrian city of… …   Wikipedia

  • Eusebius of Samosata, Saint — ▪ bishop and martyr died c. 379, Dolikha, probably in Asia Minor; feast day: Eastern Church, June 22; Western Church, June 21       Christian martyr and famous opponent of Arianism (q.v.).       In 361 he became bishop of the ancient Syrian city… …   Universalium

  • Eusebius — (latinisierte Form) oder Eusebios. Von der griechischen Ursprungsform: εὐσεβής, eusebés – „fromm“, die den Beinamen der römischen Kaiser Antoninus Pius ins Griechische übersetzt, entsteht die erweiterte Form εὐσέβειος – „dem Kaiser Antoninus dem… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Eusebius (disambiguation) — Eusebius may refer to:* Eusebius of Alexandria (6th century), Christian author * Eusebius of Angers (died 1081), bishop of Angers * Eusebius of Caesarea (260 341), bishop of Caesarea Maritima, famous church historian * Saint Eusebius of Cremona… …   Wikipedia

  • Samosata — ( hy. Շամշատ, Shamshat) was an ancient city on the right (west) bank of the Euphrates whose ruins existed at the modern city of Samsat, Adıyaman Province, Turkey until the site was flooded by the newly constructed Atatürk Dam. The founder of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Samosata — • A titular see in Augusta Euphratensis, suffragan of Hierapolis, capital of Commagenum Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Samosata     Samosata      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Eusebius of Caesarea —     Eusebius of Cæsarea     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Eusebius of Cæsarea     Eusebius Pamphili, Bishop of Cæsarea in Palestine, the Father of Church History ; b. about 260; d. before 341.     LIFE     It will save lengthy digression if we at… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Eusebius of Dorylaeum —     Eusebius of Dorylæum     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Eusebius of Dorylæum     Eusebius, Bishop of Dorylæum in Asia Minor, was the prime mover on behalf of Catholic orthodoxy against the heresies of Nestorius and Eutyches. During the earlier… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Eusebius of Laodicea — • An Alexandrian deacon who had some fame as a confessor and became bishop of Laodicea in Syria, date of birth uncertain: d. about 268 Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Eusebius of Laodicea     Eusebius of Laodicea …   Catholic encyclopedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”