Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 5.djvu/693

 EUSEBIUS

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EUSEBIUS

when, as Bishop of Samosata, he took part in the con- secration of .St. Jleletius, 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 heres}-. Tillemont and a few other historians even maintain that Eusebius was at that time leaning towards ^Arianism. Whatever may have been the faith of Eusebius previously, it is certain that at a synod held in Antioch in 363 the Nicene formula, with express mention of the term homoousios, was accepted, and the dociunent 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 Euse- bius, to whom they had been entrusted, the sjTiodal acts proving the lawfulness of the election. The Emperor Constantius, who supported the Arians, ordered Euseljius to surrender the document, but without success. Thereupon Constantius threatened Eusebius with the loss of his right hand, but the bishop calmly presented both his hands to the bearer of the imperial me.ssage, saying: "Strike them both off. I will not surrender the document liy which the injus- tice of the Arians can be provetl." The emperor was struck by the constancy of Eusebius and left the docu- ment 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 CiBsarea in Cappa- docia. From this time also dates the tender friendship between St. Eusebius and the last-named Father, which is attested by some still extant letters written by St. Basil to the Bishop of Samosata. Eusebius dis- played his greatest activity during the persecution of the Catholics by the Arian Emperor Valens. Disguised as a military officer, he visited the jiersecuted Churches of Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine, exhorting the afflicted Catholics to remain loyal to their faith, or- daining orthodox priests where they were needed, and in many other ways assisting the Catholic bishops in the difficult exercise of their duties during those troublous 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 Bera?a, 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 consecra- tion of Bi.shop 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 martjT on the 21st of June, the Latins on the '22<1.

BuTLEn. LiivH of the Sainis, 21 June; BARlNci-GonLD, Lives of the Uniiils 21 June; Revnoli>8 in Did. Christ. Biogr., II, 369- 372; Ada SS., June, V, 204-208; Tillemont, Mcmoires pour sn-vir <i r/iistnin- vcclHiastique des six premiers sitctes (Paris, 1693-1712). VIII, 319-336; Le Qdien, Oricns Chrislianua (P.iris 1740). II. 933 sqq.; Bedjan, Ada martyrum et sanc- torum ii\ .Syriuc (Paris, 1890-7). VI, 335 sqq.

Michael Ott.

Eusebius, Saint, a presbyter at Rome; date of birth unknown; d. 3.57(?). He was a Roman patri- cian and priest, and is mentioned with distinction in the Latin martyrologies. The ancient genuine mar-

tyrology 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 Mom- britius and reprotluced by Baluze in his " Miscellanea" (1678-1715), tell the following story: \\lien Pope Libe- rius was permitted by Constantius to return to Rome, supposedly at the price of his orthodoxy, by subscrib- ing the Arian formula of Sirmium, Eusebius, a priest, an ardent defender of the Nicene Creed, pul)licly preached against both pope antl emperor, branding them as heretics. When the orthodox party who sup- ported the antipope Felix were excluded from all the churches, Eusebius continued to hold Divine services in his own house. He was arrested and brought be- fore Liberius and Constantius. Here he boldly re- proved Liberius for deserting the Catholic Faith. In consequence he was placed in a dungeon, four feet wide (or was imprisoned in his own hou.se), 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 are 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 difficul- ties in the narrative, especially the fact that Liberius, Constantius, and Eusebius were never in Rome at the same time. Constantius visited 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 re- sented the zeal of the priest, the secular power inter- fered 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 on the Esquiline in Rome dedicateil to him, said to have been built on the site of his house, is men- tioned in the acts of a council held in Rome under Pope Symmachus in 498 (Mansi, VIII, 236, 237), and was rebuilt by Pope Zacharias. Formerly it had a Statio on the Friday after the fourth Sunday of Lent. It once belonged to the Celestines (an order now ex- tinct); Leo XII gave it to the Jesuits. A good pict- ure, representing the triumph of Eusebius, by Raphael Mengs, 17.59, is on the ceiling. San Eusebio is the title of a cardinal-priest. The title was transferred by Gregory XVI, but restored by Pius IX.

Am. Cath. Q. Rev.. VIII, 529; Stokes in Diet, of Chr. Biogr., s. v.; Ada SS., Auk., II, 166. anil Sept., VI. 297; Armeluni, Le C%iese di Kama (Rome, 1887); cf. Duchesne, Libn- Ponti- ficalia (Paris 1886-92). I. s.v. Liberius, also the Introduction; DuFoURCQ, Lea Geata Martyrum Romains (Paris, 1904).

Francis Mershman.

Eusebius, Saint, Pope, successor of Marcellus, 309 or 310. His reign was short. The Liberi.an Catalogvie gives its duration as only four months, from IS Apiil to 17 August, 309 or 310. We learn some details of his career from an epitai^h for his tomb which Pope Damasus ordered. This epitaph has come down to us through ancient transcripts. A few fragments of the original, together with a sixth-century marble copy made to replace the original, after its destruction, were found by De Rossi in the Crj-pt of Euseliius, in the catacomb of Callistus. It api)cars from it that the grave internal dissensions caused in the Roman Church by the readmittance of apostates {lansi) during the persecution of Diocletian, and which had