Eusebius of Vercelli,
Mural in the Dome of Vercelli.
Wandbild
im Dom in
Vercelli
Saint Eusèbe de Verceil
évêque (+ 371)
Que nous avons déjà fêté avec les Églises d'Orient le 1er août.
Il connut l'exil durant la période de l'arianisme triomphant, d'abord en Cappadoce, puis en Égypte. Il profita de l'apparente accalmie du règne de l'empereur Julien l'Apostat pour revenir dans son diocèse et c'est là qu'il s'endormit plein d'espérance dans le Seigneur. Nous avons de lui deux lettres qu'il écrivit durant son exil.
Originaire de Sardaigne, Eusèbe est un lecteur agrégé au clergé de Rome. C'est là qu'il rencontre des moines égyptiens, exilés pour leur fidélité à la foi en la divinité du Christ, proclamée au concile de Nicée. Vers 344, il est élu évêque de Verceil en Italie. Il avait été frappé par l'exemple des moines cénobitiques (vie commune) qu'il avait connus à Rome. Il introduit donc cette vie commune dans son clergé, exemple qui sera suivi par saint Augustin. Au cœur de la crise de l'arianisme, quand triomphent ceux qui nient la parfaite égalité du Père et du Fils, Eusèbe prend le parti de saint Athanase d'Alexandrie. A son tour, il connaîtra l'exil en Orient. Quand il revient en Italie, six ans plus tard, la situation est toujours confuse. Il soutient les effort d'Athanase pour condamner l'arianisme tout en pardonnant aux ariens repentis. Mort en 371, il fut tout de suite considéré comme martyr à cause de ses épreuves endurées pour la vraie foi.
Audience générale du 17 octobre 2007, Benoît XVI: "Solidement formé dans la foi nicéenne, Eusèbe défendit de toutes ses forces la pleine divinité de Jésus Christ, défini par le Credo de Nicée 'de la même substance' que le Père."
Mémoire de saint Eusèbe, évêque. Premier pasteur de Verceil en Piémont, il
consolida l'Église dans toute la région sub-alpine et, à cause de la confession
de foi de Nicée, il fut relégué par l'empereur Constance à Scythopolis, puis en
Cappadoce et en Thébaïde, d'où il revint à son siège au bout de huit ans
d'exil, et il voulut mener avec ses clercs la vie commune. Il mourut,
confesseur de la foi, le premier août 371.
Martyrologe romain
Martyre de saint Eusèbe de Vercelli. Cote : Français 185 , Fol. 238. Vies de saints, France, Paris, XIVe siècle, Richard de Montbaston et collaborateurs
Saint Eusèbe de Verceil
Évêque, martyr
(315-370)
Né à Cagliari, en
Sardaigne, saint Eusèbe perdit son père pendant la persécution de Dioclétien.
Sa mère le conduisit à Rome où il reçut le baptême des mains du pape Eusèbe qui
lui donna son nom. A Verceil, Eusèbe étudia avec soin les Saintes Lettres, les
arts libéraux, et fut reçut lecteur. Il menait une vie si sainte en fréquentant
les écoles qu'on le regardait comme un ange. Ses éminentes vertus le
distinguèrent au sein du clergé de la ville de Verceil et lorsque le siège
épiscopal vint à vaquer en l'an 340, le pape Jules Ier l'élut pour remplir la
charge d'évêque.
Saint Eusèbe s'appliqua
tout d'abord à former de dignes ministres de Jésus-Christ et un clergé
instruit. Il organisa dans son palais épiscopal une école où les jeunes
ecclésiastiques unissaient la vie monastique à la vie cléricale. Saint Ambroise
en parle avec admiration: «C'est, disait-il, une milice toute céleste et toute
évangélique, occupée jour et nuit à chanter les louanges de Dieu, à apaiser Sa
colère et à implorer Sa miséricorde. Ils ont toujours l'esprit appliqué à la
lecture ou au travail.» Le succès couronna ses efforts apostoliques, car de son
clergé sortit un grand nombre de saints prélats aussi vertueux qu'éclairés.
Plusieurs Églises sollicitèrent la faveur d'être gouvernées par les disciples
de saint Eusèbe.
L'hérésie d'Arius
favorisée par l'empereur Constance commençait à se répandre en Occident. Le
saint évêque de Verceil résista ouvertement à l'empereur et lui reprocha
hautement son impiété. En l'an 355, dans un concile tenu à Milan par le pape
Libère, saint Eusèbe demanda qu'on souscrivit avant tout au symbole de Nicée et
refusa de signer la sentence prononcée par les hérétiques contre saint Athanase
d'Alexandrie.
Les évêques ariens
s'opposèrent au Saint et le firent exiler en Palestine, à Scythopolis, où on
lui fit subir d'indignes traitements. L'empereur Constance le transféra plus
tard en Cappadoce et ensuite, dans la Haute-Thébaïde. Les ariens le traînaient
par terre à demi-nu ou lui faisaient descendre un escalier très élevé la tête
en bas et l'accablaient de coups. Saint Eusèbe souffrait tout sans se plaindre.
Dans son exil, il écrivit aux Églises d'Italie pour les exhorter à demeurer
fermes au milieu des persécutions.
Remis en liberté après la
mort de Constance survenue en 361, saint Eusèbe alla rallumer le flambeau de la
foi dans les Églises d'Orient infestées par l'hérésie, et eut le bonheur de
rencontrer le grand Athanase à Alexandrie.
Ce vaillant et fidèle
défenseur de la foi termina sa vie laborieuse et pénitente à l'âge de
quatre-vingt-cinq ans. Les souffrances qu'il endura pour défendre la divinité
du Christ furent si grandes que l'Église lui décerna les honneurs du martyre,
quoiqu'il n'ait pas perdu la vie dans les supplices. Ses précieuses reliques
enchâssées reposent dans la cathédrale de Verceil.
Résumé O.D.M.
SOURCE : http://magnificat.ca/cal/fr/saints/saint_eusebe_de_verceil.html
.jpg)
Gaetano Gandolfi (1734–1802), Martirio
di San Eusebio, drawing, circa 1784, 70.8 x 39.4, Museo del Prado
BENOÎT XVI
AUDIENCE GÉNÉRALE
Mercredi 17 octobre 2007
Saint Eusèbe de Verceil
Chers frères et sœurs,
Ce matin, je vous invite
à réfléchir sur saint Eusèbe de Verceil, le premier Evêque de l'Italie du Nord
sur lequel nous ayons des données certaines. Né en Sardaigne au début du IV
siècle, sa famille se transféra à Rome alors qu'il était en bas âge. Plus tard,
il fut institué lecteur: il entra ainsi au sein du clergé de l'Urbs, à une
époque où l'Eglise était gravement éprouvée par l'hérésie arienne. La grande
estime qui se développa autour d'Eusèbe explique son élection en 345 à la
chaire épiscopale de Verceil. Le nouvel Evêque commença immédiatement une
intense œuvre d'évangélisation sur un territoire encore en grande partie païen,
en particulier dans les zones rurales. Inspiré par Athanase - qui avait écrit
la Vie de saint Antoine, initiateur du monachisme en Orient -, il fonda à
Verceil une communauté sacerdotale, semblable à une communauté monastique. Ce
monastère donna au clergé de l'Italie du Nord une empreinte de sainteté
apostolique significative, et suscita des figures importantes d'Evêques, comme
Limenius et Honorat, successeurs d'Eusèbe à Verceil, Gaudentius à Novare,
Exuperantius à Tortone, Eustasius à Aoste, Eulogius à Ivrée, Maxime à Turin,
tous vénérés par l'Eglise comme des saints.
Solidement formé dans la
foi nicéenne, Eusèbe défendit de toutes ses forces la pleine divinité de Jésus
Christ, défini par le Credo de Nicée "de la même substance" que le
Père. Dans ce but, il s'allia avec les grands Pères du IV siècle - surtout avec
saint Athanase, le porte-drapeau de l'orthodoxie nicéenne - contre la politique
philo-arienne de l'empereur. Pour l'empereur, la foi arienne plus simple
apparaissait politiquement plus utile comme idéologie de l'empire. Pour lui, ne
comptait pas la vérité, mais l'opportunité politique: il voulait
instrumentaliser la religion comme lien d'unité de l'empire. Mais ces grands
Pères résistèrent en défendant la vérité contre la domination de la politique.
C'est pour cette raison qu'Eusèbe fut condamné à l'exil comme tant d'autres
Evêques d'Orient et d'Occident: comme Athanase lui-même, comme Hilaire de
Poitiers - dont nous avons parlé la dernière fois -, comme Osius de Cordoue. A
Scitopolis, en Palestine, où il fut assigné entre 355 et 360, Eusèbe écrivit
une page merveilleuse de sa vie. Là aussi, il fonda un monastère avec un petit
groupe de disciples et, de ce lieu, il s'occupa de la correspondance avec ses
fidèles du Piémont, comme le démontre en particulier la deuxième des trois
Lettres eusébiennes reconnues comme authentiques. Par la suite, après 360, il
fut exilé en Cappadoce et dans la Thébaïde, où il subit de graves mauvais
traitements physiques. En 361, Constance II mourut, et lui succéda l'empereur
Julien, dit l'apostat, qui ne s'intéressait pas au christianisme comme religion
de l'empire, mais voulait simplement restaurer le paganisme. Il mit fin à
l'exil de ces Evêques et permit à Eusèbe de reprendre possession de son siège.
En 362, il fut envoyé par Anastase pour participer au Concile d'Alexandrie, qui
décida de pardonner les Evêques ariens s'ils retournaient à l'état de laïc.
Eusèbe put encore exercer le ministère épiscopal pendant une dizaine d'années,
jusqu'à sa mort, entretenant avec sa ville une relation exemplaire, qui ne
manqua pas d'inspirer le service pastoral d'autres Evêques de l'Italie du Nord,
dont nous nous occuperons dans les prochaines catéchèses, comme saint Ambroise
de Milan et saint Maxime de Turin.
La relation entre
l'Evêque de Verceil et sa ville est en particulier éclairée par deux
témoignages épistolaires. Le premier se trouve dans la Lettre déjà citée,
qu'Eusèbe écrivit de son exil de Scitopolis "à mes bien-aimés frères et
aux prêtres tant désirés, ainsi qu'aux saints peuples solides dans leur foi de
Verceil, Novare, Ivrée et Tortone" (Ep. secunda, CCL 9, p. 104). Ces
expressions initiales, qui marquent l'émotion du bon pasteur face à son
troupeau, trouvent un large écho à la fin de la Lettre, dans les saluts très
chaleureux du père à tous et à chacun de ses enfants de Verceil, à travers des
expressions débordantes d'affection et d'amour. Il faut tout d'abord noter le
rapport explicite qui lie l'Evêque aux sanctae plebes non seulement de
Vercellae/Verceil - le premier et, pendant quelques années encore, l'unique
diocèse du Piémont -, mais également de Novaria/Novare, Eporedia/Ivrée et
Dertona/Tortone, c'est-à-dire de ces communautés chrétiennes qui, au sein du
diocèse lui-même, avaient trouvé une certaine consistance et autonomie. Un
autre élément intéressant est fourni par le salut avec lequel se conclut la
Lettre: Eusèbe demande à ses fils et à ses filles de saluer "également
ceux qui sont en dehors de l'Eglise, et qui daignent nourrir pour nous des
sentiments d'amour: etiam hos, qui foris sunt et nos dignantur diligere".
Signe évident que la relation de l'Evêque avec sa ville ne se limitait pas à la
population chrétienne, mais s'étendait également à ceux qui - en dehors de
l'Eglise - en reconnaissaient d'une certaine manière l'autorité spirituelle et
aimaient cet homme exemplaire.
Le deuxième témoignage du
rapport singulier de l'Evêque avec sa ville provient de la Lettre que saint
Ambroise de Milan écrivit aux habitants de Verceil autour de 394, plus de vingt
ans après la mort d'Eusèbe (Ep. extra collectionem 14: Maur. 63). L'Eglise de
Verceil traversait un moment difficile: elle était divisée et sans pasteur.
Ambroise déclare avec franchise qu'il hésite à reconnaître chez ces habitants
de Verceil "la descendance des saints pères, qui approuvèrent Eusèbe à
peine l'eurent-ils vu, sans jamais l'avoir connu auparavant, oubliant même
leurs propres concitoyens". Dans la même Lettre, l'Evêque de Milan
témoigne de la manière la plus claire son estime à l'égard d'Eusèbe: "Un
homme aussi grand", écrit-il de manière péremptoire, "mérita bien
d'être élu par toute l'Eglise". L'admiration d'Ambroise pour Eusèbe se
fondait surtout sur le fait que l'Evêque de Verceil gouvernait son diocèse à
travers le témoignage de sa vie: "Avec l'austérité du jeûne, il gouvernait
son Eglise". De fait, Ambroise était fasciné - comme il le reconnaît
lui-même - par l'idéal monastique de la contemplation de Dieu, qu'Eusèbe avait
poursuivi sur les traces du prophète Elie. Tout d'abord - note Ambroise -,
l'Evêque de Verceil rassembla son propre clergé en vita communis et l'éduqua à
l'"observance des règles monastiques, bien que vivant dans la ville".
L'Evêque et son clergé devaient partager les problèmes de leurs concitoyens, et
ils l'ont fait de manière crédible précisément en cultivant dans le même temps
une citoyenneté différente, celle du Ciel (cf. He 13, 14). Et ainsi, ils ont
réellement construit une véritable citoyenneté, une véritable solidarité, comme
entre les citoyens de Verceil.
Ainsi Eusèbe, alors qu'il
faisait sienne la cause de la sancta plebs de Verceil, vivait au sein de la
ville comme un moine ouvrant la ville vers Dieu. Cette caractéristique n'ôta
donc rien à son dynamisme pastoral exemplaire. Il semble d'ailleurs qu'il ait
institué à Verceil des paroisses pour un service ecclésial ordonné et stable,
et qu'il ait promu des sanctuaires mariaux pour la conversion des populations
rurales païennes. Ce "caractère monastique" conférait plutôt une
dimension particulière à la relation de l'Evêque avec sa ville. Comme déjà les
Apôtres, pour lesquels Jésus priait au cours de la Dernière Cène, les pasteurs
et les fidèles de l'Eglise "sont dans le monde" (Jn 17, 11), mais ils
ne sont pas "du monde". C'est pourquoi les pasteurs - rappelait
Eusèbe - doivent exhorter les fidèles à ne pas considérer les villes du monde
comme leur demeure stable, mais à chercher la Cité future, la Jérusalem du Ciel
définitive. Cette "réserve eschatologique" permet aux pasteurs et aux
fidèles de préserver la juste échelle des valeurs, sans jamais se plier aux
modes du moment et aux prétentions injustes du pouvoir politique en charge.
L'échelle authentique en charge des valeurs - semble dire la vie tout entière
d'Eusèbe - ne vient pas des empereurs d'hier et d'aujourd'hui, mais vient de
Jésus Christ, l'Homme parfait, égal au Père dans la divinité, et pourtant homme
comme nous. En se référant à cette échelle de valeurs, Eusèbe ne se lasse pas
de "recommander chaudement" à ses fidèles de "conserver la foi
avec le plus grand soin, de préserver la concorde, d'être assidus dans la
prière" (Ep. secunda, cit.).
Chers amis, je vous
recommande moi aussi de tout cœur ces valeurs éternelles, alors que je vous
salue et que je vous bénis avec les mêmes paroles par lesquelles le saint
Evêque Eusèbe concluait sa deuxième Lettre: "Je m'adresse à vous tous, mes
frères et saintes sœurs, fils et filles, fidèles des deux sexes et de tout âge,
afin que vous vouliez bien... apporter notre salut également à ceux qui sont en
dehors de l'Eglise, et qui daignent nourrir à notre égard des sentiments
d'amour" (ibid.).
* * *
Je salue les pèlerins
francophones, particulièrement le groupe du diocèse de Créteil accompagné de
l’Évêque nommé, Monseigneur Santier, ainsi que les pèlerins de l’Île de la
Réunion et de Monaco. À la suite de saint Eusèbe, je vous invite à porter le
salut et l’estime du successeur de Pierre à tous ceux que vous aimez et qui
sont en dehors de l’Église.
En ce jour où nous
célébrons le vingtième anniversaire de la Journée du Refus de la misère, ma
pensée rejoint toutes les personnes qui doivent affronter des conditions de vie
difficiles. Je voudrais dire d’abord à chacune d’elles l’affection du
successeur de Pierre. Je les invite à puiser dans leur dignité d’hommes et de
femmes, créés à l’image de Dieu, les raisons de refuser l’inacceptable, la
force de croire en un avenir meilleur pour elles et pour les leurs, la joie de
s’entraider et enfin la simplicité d’accepter le secours fraternel qui leur est
offert par ceux qui entendent leur cri. J’invite aussi, une fois encore, tous
les fils et les filles de l’Église à partager généreusement le combat contre la
misère.
Benoît XVI annonce un
Consistoire pour la création de vingt-trois Cardinaux
J'ai à présent la joie
d'annoncer que le 24 novembre prochain, veille de la solennité de Notre
Seigneur Jésus Christ, Roi de l'Univers, je tiendrai un Consistoire au cours
duquel, dérogeant d'une unité au nombre maximum établi par le Pape Paul VI,
confirmé par mon vénéré Prédécesseur Jean-Paul II dans la Constitution
apostolique Universi Dominici gregis (cf. n. 33), je nommerai 18 Cardinaux.
Voici leurs noms:
1. S.Exc. Mgr Leonardo
SANDRI, Préfet de la Congrégation pour les Eglises orientales;
2. S.Exc. Mgr John
Patrick FOLEY, Pro-Grand Maître de l'Ordre équestre du Saint-Sépulcre de
Jérusalem;
3. S.Exc. Mgr Giovanni
LAJOLO, Président de la Commission pontificale et du Gouvernorat de l'Etat de
la Cité du Vatican;
4. S.Exc. Mgr Paul Joseph
CORDES, Président du Conseil pontifical "Cor Unum";
5. S.Exc. Mgr. Angelo
COMASTRI, Archiprêtre de la Basilique vaticane, Vicaire général pour l'Etat de
la Cité du Vatican et Président de la "Fabbrica di San Pietro";
6. S.Exc. Mgr Stanislaw
RYLKO, Président du Conseil pontifical pour les Laïcs;
7. S.Exc. Mgr Raffaele
FARINA, Archiviste et Bibliothécaire de la Sainte Eglise Romaine;
8. S.Exc. Mgr Agustín
GARCIA-GASCO VICENTE, Archevêque de Valence (Espagne);
9. S.Exc. Mgr Seán
Baptist BRADY, Archevêque d'Armagh (Irlande);
10. S.Exc. Mgr Lluís
MARTINEZ SISTACH, Archevêque de Barcelone (Espagne);
11. S.Exc. Mgr André
VINGT-TROIS, Archevêque de Paris (France);
12. S.Exc. Mgr Angelo
BAGNASCO, Archevêque de Gênes (Italie);
13. S.Exc. Mgr
Théodore-Adrien SARR, Archevêque de Dakar (Sénégal);
14. S.Exc. Mgr Oswald
GRACIAS, Archevêque de Bombay (Inde);
15. S.Exc. Mgr Francisco
ROBLES ORTEGA, Archevêque de Monterrey (Mexique);
16. S.Exc. Mgr Daniel N.
DINARDO, Archevêque de Galveston-Houston (Etats-Unis d'Amérique);
17. S.Exc. Mgr Odilo
Pedro SCHERER, Archevêque de São Paulo (Brésil);
18. S.Exc. Mgr John NJUE,
Archevêque de Nairobi (Kenya).
Je désire en outre élever
à la dignité cardinalice trois vénérés prélats et deux ecclésiastiques dignes
d'éloges, qui se sont particulièrement distingués par leur engagement au
service de l'Eglise:
1. S.B. Emmanuel III
DELLY, Patriarche de Babylone des Chaldéens;
2. S.Exc. Mgr Giovanni
COPPA, Nonce apostolique;
3. S.Exc. Mgr Estanislao
Esteban KARLIC, Archevêque émérite de Paraná (Argentine);
4. le P. Urbano
NAVARRETE, s.j., ancien Recteur de l'Université pontificale grégorienne; et
5. le P. Umberto BETTI,
o.f.m., ancien Recteur de l'Université pontificale du Latran.
Parmi ces derniers, mon
désir avait été d'élever au cardinalat également S.Exc. Mgr Ignacy JEZ, Evêque
de Koszalin-Kolobrzeg (Pologne), bien-aimé prélat, qui est décédé hier.
Notre prière d'intention
s'adresse à lui.
Les nouveaux Cardinaux
proviennent de diverses parties du monde. Dans leur groupe se reflète bien
l'universalité de l'Eglise avec la multiplicité de ses ministères: à côté de
prélats dignes d'éloges en raison du service rendu au Saint-Siège, se trouvent des
pasteurs qui prodiguent leurs énergies en contact direct avec les fidèles.
D'autres personnes qui me
sont très chères, en raison de leur dévouement au service de l'Eglise,
mériteraient d'être élevées à la dignité cardinalice. J'espère avoir, à
l'avenir, l'opportunité de témoigner, également de cette façon, à celles-ci et
aux pays auxquels ces personnes appartiennent, mon estime et mon affection.
Nous confions les
nouveaux élus à la protection de la Très Sainte Vierge Marie, en lui demandant
de les assister dans leurs tâches respectives, afin qu'ils sachent témoigner
avec courage en toute circonstance de leur amour pour le Christ et pour
l'Eglise.
Appel pour la Journée
internationale pour l'élimination de la pauvreté
On célèbre aujourd'hui la
Journée mondiale du Refus de la misère, reconnue par les Nations unies sous le
titre de Journée internationale pour l'élimination de la pauvreté. Combien de
populations vivent encore dans des conditions d'extrême pauvreté! La disparité
entre les riches et les pauvres est devenue plus évidente et inquiétante,
également au sein des nations économiquement les plus développées. Cette
situation préoccupante s'impose à la conscience de l'humanité, car les
conditions dans lesquelles se trouvent un grand nombre de personnes sont telles
qu'elles blessent la dignité de l'être humain et qu'elles compromettent, en
conséquence, le progrès authentique et harmonieux de la communauté mondiale.
J'encourage donc à multiplier les efforts pour éliminer les causes de la
pauvreté et les conséquences tragiques qui en découlent.
© Copyright 2007 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
SAINT EUSÈBE
Eusèbe est ainsi appelé
de eu, qui veut dire bien et, sebe, qui signifie éloquence ou poste. Eusèbe
s'interprète encore bon culte. En effet il fut rempli de bonté, en se
sanctifiant, d'éloquence en défendant la foi, il resta à son poste en souffrant
le martyre avec constance ; et il rendit à Dieu un bon culte par le respect
qu'il eut pour lui.
Eusèbe, qui conserva sa
virginité, n'était encore que catéchumène quand il fut baptisé par le pape
Eusèbe qui lui donna son nom. A son baptême, on vit les mains des anges le
lever des fonts sacrés. Une dame, qui s'était éprise de sa beauté, voulut
entrer dans sa chambre, mais elle en fut empêchée par les anges qui le gardaient
: alors elle vint le lendemain matin se jeter à ses pieds et lui demander
pardon. Après avoir été ordonné prêtre, il brilla par une sainteté telle que
dans la solennité de la messe, on voyait les anges qui le servaient. En ce
temps-là, comme l’hérésie d'Arius infectait l’Italie entière de ses poisons,
favorisée qu'elle était par l’empereur Constance, le pape Julien sacra Eusèbe
évêque de Verceil : c'était alors une des principales villes de l’Italie. A
cette nouvelle, les hérétiques firent fermer, toutes les portes de l’église;
mais Eusèbe étant entré dans la ville, se mit à genoux à la porte de l’église
principale dédiée à la bienheureuse Marie, et à l’instant toutes les portes
ouvrirent à sa prière. Il chassa de son siège Maxence, évêque de Milan, qui
était gâté par le poison de l’hérésie, et il établit en sa place Denys, fervent
catholique. C'est ainsi qu'Eusèbe en Occident et Athanase en Orient purgeaient
l’Eglise de la peste des Ariens. Cet Arius était un prêtre d'Alexandrie : il
prétendait que le Christ était une pure créature : il avançait ce qu'il était,
quand il n'était pas, et qu'il a été fait pour nous, afin que Dieu se servît de
lui comme d'un instrument pour notre création. Alors le grand Constantin fit
célébrer le concile de Nicée où cette erreur fut condamnée. Arius finit,
quelque temps après, d'une mort misérable, car il rendit dans le lieu secret
toutes ses entrailles et ses intestins (Ruffin, Hist. Eccl. liv. X; — Vincent
de B., liv. XV, c. XII, an 330). Constance, fils de Constantin, se laissa
corrompre aussi par l’hérésie; c'est pour cela qu'irrité grandement contre
Eusèbe, il convoqua en concile beaucoup d'évêques, et y manda Denys : il
adressa mainte et maintes lettres à Eusèbe qui, sachant que la malice prévaut
dans la multitude, refusa de venir et s'excusa sur son grand âge. Alors pour
lui enlever ce prétexte, l’empereur décida que le concile serait célébré à
Milan. qui était tout proche. Quand il vit que Eusèbe faisait encore défaut, il
ordonna aux Ariens de mettre par écrit leur croyance, il força Denys, évêque de
Milan, et trente-trois autres évêques de souscrire à cette doctrine. Quand
Eusèbe apprit cela, il se décida à quitter sa ville pour venir à Milan et il
prédit qu'il v serait exposé à souffrir beaucoup (Bréviaire romain).
Comme il était sur le
chemin de Milan, il arriva sur le bord d'un fleuve ; une barque, qui était sur
la rive opposée, vint à lui, sur l’ordre qu'il lui, en donna ; elle le
transporta à l’autre rive, lui et ses compagnons, sans qu'il y eût aucun
timonier. Alors Denys, dont il vient d'être question, alla à sa rencontre et se
jeta à ses pieds pour lui demander pardon. Or, comme Eusèbe ne se laissait
fléchir ni par les menaces ni par les flatteries de l’empereur, il dit en
présence de toute l’assemblée : «Vous avancez que le Fils est inférieur au Père
; comment se fait-il donc que vous m’avez fait passer après mon fils et mon
disciple? Or, le disciple n'est pas au-dessus du maître ni l’esclave plus que
son seigneur, ni le fils au-dessus du père. » Frappés par cette raison, ils lai
présentèrent l’écrit qu'ils avaient fait et que Denys avait signé. Et il dit :
« Je ne souscrirai pas après mon fils sur lequel je l’emporte en autorité ;
mais brûlez cet écrit, et faites-en un autre que je signerai, si vous le voulez.
» Et ce fut par une inspiration divine que fut brûlé l’écrit que Denys et,
trente-trois autres évêques avaient signé. Les Ariens écrivirent donc une autre
pièce, et la donnèrent à Eusèbe et aux autres évêques pour la signer : mais sur
les exhortations d'Eusèbe ils s'y refusèrent entièrement, et ils se
félicitèrent de ce que la première pièce qu'ils avaient été forcés de souscrire
eût été totalement brûlée. Constance irrité abandonna Eusèbe au bon plaisir des
Ariens. Alors ceux-ci le saisirent au milieu des évêques, l’accablèrent de
coups, et le traînèrent sur les degrés du palais, du haut en bas, et depuis le
bas jusqu'en haut. Quoiqu'il perdît beaucoup de sang de sa tête meurtrie, il
n'en persista pas moins dans ses refus; alors, ils lui lièrent les mains derrière
le dos et le tirèrent par une corde attachée au cou. Quant à lui, il rendait
grâces à Dieu, et disant qu'il était prêt à mourir pour confesser la foi
catholique. Alors Constance fit conduire en exil le pape Libère, Denys, Paulin
et tous les autres évêques qui avaient été entraînés par l’exemple d'Eusèbe.
Scylopolis, ville de la Palestine, fut le lieu où les Ariens menèrent Eusèbe :
ils le renfermèrent dans une pièce si étroite qu'elle était plus courte que. sa
taille, et plus- resserrée que son corps, en sorte qu'il était courbé au point
de ne pouvoir ni étendre les pieds, ni se tourner d'un côte ou d'un autre. Sa
tête restait baissée; et il pouvait seulement remuer les épaules et les bras.
Mais Constance étant mort, Julien, son successeur, désirant plaire à tout le
monde, fit rappeler les évêques exilés, rouvrir les temples des dieux, et
voulut que chacun jouit de la paix sous la loi qu'il préférait choisir. Ce fut
ainsi que Eusèbe, délivré de son cachot, vint trouver Athanase et lui exposer
toutes les souffrances qu'il avait endurées: A la mort de Julien et sous
l’empire de Jovinien, les Ariens restant calmes, Eusèbe revint à Verceil où le
peuple le reçut avec dès témoignages d'une vive allégresse. Mais sous le règne
de Valens, les Ariens, qui s'étaient multipliés de nouveau, entourèrent la
maison d'Eusèbe, l’en arrachèrent et après l’avoir traîné sur le dos, ils
l’écrasèrent sous des pierres. I1 mourut de cette manière dans le Seigneur et
fut enseveli dans l’église qu'il avait construite. On rapporte encore que
Eusèbe obtint de Dieu par ses prières pour sa ville qu'aucun Arien n'y pourrait
vivre. D'après la chronique, il Vécut au moins 88 ans. Il florissant vers l’an
du Seigneur 350.
La Légende dorée de
Jacques de Voragine nouvellement traduite en français avec introduction,
notices, notes et recherches sur les sources par l'abbé J.-B. M. Roze, chanoine
honoraire de la Cathédrale d'Amiens, Édouard Rouveyre, éditeur, 76, rue de
Seine, 76, Paris mdccccii
SOURCE : http://www.abbaye-saint-benoit.ch/voragine/tome02/109.htm
St Eusèbe, évêque et
martyr
Dom Guéranger, l’Année
Liturgique
Aux glorieux noms des
défenseurs de la divinité du Verbe dont l’Église honore la mémoire au temps de
l’Avent, vient s’associer de lui-même le nom de l’intrépide Eusèbe de Verceil.
La foi catholique, ébranlée dans ses fondements au IVe siècle par l’hérésie arienne,
se maintint debout par les travaux de quatre souverains Pontifes : Silvestre,
qui confirma le Concile de Nicée ; Jules, qui fut l’appui de saint Athanase ;
Libère, dont la foi ne défaillit pas, et qui, rendu à la liberté, confondit les
Ariens ; et Damase, qui acheva de ruiner leurs espérances. L’un de ces quatre
Pontifes brille sur le Cycle, au temps de l’Avent : c’est Damase, dont nous
venons de célébrer la mémoire. A côté des Pontifes romains, combattent pour la
divinité du Verbe quatre grands Évêques, desquels on peut affirmer que leur
cause personnelle était en même temps celle du Fils de Dieu Consubstantiel : en
sorte que leur dire anathème était dire anathème au Christ lui-même ; tous
quatre puissants en œuvres et en paroles, la lumière des Églises, l’amour du
peuple fidèle, les invincibles témoins du Christ. Le premier et le plus grand
des quatre est l’Évêque du second Siège de l’Église, saint Athanase, Patriarche
d’Alexandrie ; le deuxième est saint Ambroise de Milan, que nous avons fêté il
va peu de jours ; le troisième est la gloire des Gaules, saint Hilaire, Évêque
de Poitiers ; le quatrième est l’ornement de l’Italie, saint Eusèbe, Évêque de
Verceil. C’est ce dernier que nous avons à honorer aujourd’hui. Hilaire aura
son tour et confessera bientôt le Verbe éternel auprès de son berceau ; pour
Athanase, il paraîtra en son temps, et célébrera dans sa Résurrection
triomphante Celui qu’il proclama avec un courage magnanime, en ces jours de
ténèbres où la sagesse humaine eût espéré volontiers que le royaume du Christ,
après avoir triomphé de trois siècles de persécutions, ne survivrait pas à
cinquante années de paix. Saint Eusèbe a donc été élu par la souveraine
Providence de Dieu pour conduire le peuple fidèle à la Crèche, et lui révéler
le Verbe divin sous les traits de notre faible mortalité. Les souffrances qu’il
a endurées pour la divinité du Christ ont été si grandes, que l’Église lui a
décerné les honneurs du Martyre, quoiqu’il n’ait pas répandu son sang dans les
supplices.
Athlète invincible du
Christ que nous attendons, Eusèbe, Martyr et Pontife, que vos fatigues et vos
souffrances pour la cause de ce divin Messie ont été grandes ! Elles vous ont
cependant paru légères, en comparaison de ce qui est dû à ce Verbe éternel du
Père, que son amour a porté à devenir, par l’Incarnation, le serviteur de sa
créature. Nous avons, envers ce divin Sauveur, les mêmes obligations que vous.
C’est pour nous qu’il va naître d’une Vierge aussi bien que pour vous ; priez
donc, afin que notre cœur lui soit toujours fidèle dans la guerre comme dans la
paix, en face de nos tentations et de nos penchants, comme s’il s’agissait de
le confesser devant les puissances du monde. Fortifiez les Pontifes de la
sainte Église, afin que nulle erreur ne puisse tromper leur vigilance, nulle
persécution lasser leur courage. Qu’ils soient fidèles imitateurs du souverain
Pasteur qui donne sa vie pour ses brebis, et qu’ils paissent toujours le
troupeau dans l’unité et la charité de Jésus-Christ.
Bhx Cardinal
Schuster, Liber Sacramentorum
Cet insigne champion de
la divinité du Verbe mourut en paix à Verceil le Ier août 371. Toutefois comme
en ce jour on célèbre la dédicace de la basilique esquiline de
Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens, lorsque Clément VII introduisit la commémoration de
saint Eusèbe dans le Bréviaire, il désigna le 15 décembre pour la célébrer, ce
jour étant l’anniversaire de l’ordination épiscopale du saint. Quand, par la
suite, l’octave de l’Immaculée Conception fut étendue à l’Église universelle,
saint Eusèbe dut céder la place et sa fête fut remise au lendemain.
Saint Eusèbe ne mourut
pas précisément de mort violente ; il a toutefois le titre de martyr, comme
plusieurs autres saints de l’antiquité, parce que, victime des Ariens, il
soutint pendant de longues années un dur exil.
La messe est celle du
Commun des martyrs pontifes : Sacerdótes Dei
L’antienne pour l’entrée
du célébrant est tirée du Cantique des trois enfants dans la fournaise de
Babylone (Dan. 3, 84 et 87) : « Vous, ô prêtres de Dieu, bénissez le Seigneur ;
saints et humbles de cœur, louez le Seigneur. ». Les ministres de Dieu sont
appelés ici prêtres du Seigneur, parce que le Saint-Esprit prend une si intime
possession de leur âme au moment de leur ordination, qu’il les constitue et les
consacre à un titre tout à fait particulier comme les « hommes de Dieu » : Vir
Dei. De même que l’union hypostatique oignit Jésus pontife, en sorte qu’il est
tout de Dieu, Christus autem Dei, et, comme tel, reçoit d’Isaïe le titre
mystérieux de Serviteur du Seigneur, ainsi, d’une manière analogue, les
ministres sacrés qu’il fait participer à sa dignité sacerdotale sont aussi
solidaires de sa consécration totale à la sainteté de Dieu : Sancti erunt Deo
suo.
La collecte s’adresse à
Dieu en ces termes : « Seigneur qui réconfortez par une sainte joie votre
peuple à l’occasion du natale de votre bienheureux martyr le pontife Eusèbe,
accordez-nous d’éprouver les effets de la protection de celui dont nous
célébrons la fête. »
Dans la première lecture
(2 Cor. 1, 3-7), l’Apôtre élève à Dieu ses actions de grâces, parce que, même
au milieu des grandes peines et des persécutions qu’il endure pour la foi, le
Seigneur ne manque pas de le soutenir par la grâce et la consolation divines ;
consolation si surabondante qu’elle déborde du cœur de Paul et va inonder celui
de ses chers Corinthiens.
Le répons est tiré du
psaume 8 : « Seigneur, vous l’avez couronné de gloire et de splendeur, et vous
l’avez mis à la tête de votre création. » : Le psalmiste célèbre ici la louange
du Christ, exemplaire et prototype de la famille humaine, laquelle trouve
précisément sa fin dernière en Lui, dans sa grâce et dans sa gloire.
Le verset alléluiatique
s’inspire du même verset que le répons. « Celui-ci est le Pontife que le
Seigneur a couronné du diadème. » Ce diadème, dans la vie présente, est le
caractère sacerdotal lui-même, qui imprime à l’âme une conformité et une
ressemblance spéciale avec le Christ Pontife. Ce caractère est une puissance
dont les ressources doivent être exercées et développées. Celui qui accomplira
saintement des œuvres dignes du Christ aura part à sa glorification comme
souverain Prêtre et réconciliateur de l’humanité dans son sang.
La lecture évangélique
est tirée de saint Matthieu (16, 24-27) là où est promulgué, pour ainsi dire,
le paradoxe chrétien. Celui qui veut se sauver doit être prodigue de sa vie.
Celui qui voudra, au contraire, la conserver et en prendre trop de soin, la perdra.
Gagner le monde n’est rien si l’on perd son âme ; et la condition pour ne pas
la perdre, c’est de se charger de la Croix du Christ pour renoncer aux passions
déréglées. Voilà l’Évangile ; voilà la psychologie des martyrs ; voilà
l’histoire du christianisme. Et ce qu’il y a de plus surprenant, c’est qu’une
telle doctrine imposant le renoncement à soi-même et au monde a au contraire
conquis et transformé l’univers. Ici est la main de Dieu, et la démonstration
intrinsèque de la divinité de la foi.
Le verset pour l’offrande
des dons est identique à celui de la fête de saint Sylvestre. « J’ai trouvé mon
David, le vrai serviteur du Seigneur, c’est-à-dire le Christ. Je l’ai consacré
par l’onction du Saint-Esprit. Ma main l’aidera et mon bras le fortifiera contre
ses ennemis qui sont aussi les miens. »
Dans la secrète qui,
selon le rit romain, sert de prélude à l’anaphore consécratoire, nous supplions
le Seigneur de répandre les charismes de sa sainteté sur notre Sacrifice, et,
par les prières du bienheureux Pontife et martyr dont nous célébrons la
solennité, de nous en accorder les fruits avec abondance. Tel est l’esprit de
l’Église, relativement à l’importance qu’assumé à ses yeux la préparation
convenable aux divins sacrements, afin que ceux-ci puissent opérer dans l’âme
toute cette plénitude de sainteté et de vie du Christ, dont ils sont les
organes et les artères.
Le verset pour la
communion est tiré du psaume 20 : « Vous avez posé sur sa tête, Seigneur, un
diadème d’or pur. » Ce diadème de gloire remplace la couronne d’outrages dont
fut jadis ceint le front du martyr, quand, à cause de sa piété, il fut rayé par
les impies du nombre des vivants. Cela doit nous consoler plus que tout dans
les tribulations que nous supportons à cause du saint Évangile. Quand les
hommes nous condamnent, alors Dieu proclame notre innocence ; quand ils nous
maudissent, Dieu nous bénit ; quand ils nous envoient à la mort, Dieu nous
introduit dans la patrie des vivants.
La postcommunion est
commune à beaucoup d’autres messes : « Que cette communion, Seigneur, expie nos
fautes et nous purifie des taches du péché. Quant au martyr dont on fête
aujourd’hui la solennité, qu’il intercède pour nous favorablement près du trône
de votre miséricorde, en sorte que le remède eucharistique obtienne en nous la
plénitude de son efficacité. ». Caelestis remedii faciat esse consortes, comme
le dit aujourd’hui la collecte eucharistique : jusqu’à ce qu’arrivé ce dernier
remède de la vie éternelle, la condition de notre vie sur la terre, malgré tous
les secours possibles de la grâce, nous fera toujours récolter une abondante
moisson de fatigues et de larmes. Il ne faut jamais intervertir les temps ni
troubler l’ordre établi par Dieu. Il y a un temps pour travailler, dit
l’Ecclésiaste, et un temps pour se reposer ; de même nous devons combattre dans
l’Église militante avant d’être couronnés dans l’Église triomphante.
Les anciens historiens
font valoir l’ingénieux stratagème grâce auquel saint Eusèbe put soustraire
Denys de Milan à la situation compromettante où l’avait entraîné l’astuce des
Ariens. Ceux-ci, qui lui avaient déjà arraché sa signature pour la condamnation
d’Athanase, présentèrent aussi la feuille à Eusèbe, au synode de Milan en 355,
pour qu’il la signât. — Comment pourrai-je croire — observa alors
spirituellement le saint évêque de Verceil — que le Fils soit moindre que le
Père, quand vous avez fait signer avant moi mon fils Denys ? — Les Ariens
trouvèrent légitime l’argument invoqué par Eusèbe, et, ayant annulé la première
feuille, ils en préparèrent une nouvelle pour que l’évêque de Verceil y apposât
le premier sa signature. Eusèbe ne voulait pas autre chose. Quand donc il vit
détruite la compromettante signature de Denys, il proposa au contraire de
commencer les travaux du Synode, en souscrivant tous ensemble à la profession
de foi de Nicée, parce qu’il soupçonnait grandement certains évêques d’être
infectés d’hérésie. Que fit-il là ! Toute la fureur des Ariens se déchaîna
contre le saint ; après beaucoup de cris, d’injures, de menaces, ils
l’exilèrent à Scythopolis. Mais Eusèbe accepta tout joyeusement, et ayant
secoué, comme le veut l’Évangile, la poussière de ses chaussures, il s’achemina
tout heureux vers la voie de l’exil, comme vers l’une des multiples fonctions
du ministère épiscopal.
Dom Pius Parsch, le Guide
dans l’année liturgique
Les martyrs avaient un
grand désir de l’Avènement du Seigneur.
Saint Eusèbe. — Jour de
mort : 1er août 371 (hier était le jour de son ordination). Tombeau : à Verceil
(Italie supérieure). Sa vie : Eusèbe, d’abord lecteur à Rome, puis évêque de
Verceil, est un de ces grands défenseurs de la divinité du Christ qui, dans le
combat contre l’arianisme, eurent à souffrir des peines et des persécutions
indicibles. Il fut, à cause de sa foi, exilé à Scythopolis (Palestine). Plus
tard, il fut autorisé à rentrer dans sa ville épiscopale, il y mourut en paix,
mais, en raison du dur exil qu’il lui fallu subir, il est considéré, comme
martyr au sens large.
Le premier, il
introduisit dans l’Église occidentale, pour les prêtres d’une même Église,
l’usage de vivre en commun, pour s’occuper ensemble du service divin, en
renonçant au monde.
Pratique : Esprit et
service de communauté, voilà ce que poursuit aussi la renaissance liturgique
que nous voyons de nos jours. Notre Église, actuellement, a besoin de
communautés actives, unies dans la prière et le sacrifice. Nos pensées et nos
actions ne sont-elles pas trop individuelles, particularistes, égoïstes ?
La messe (Sacerdotes
Dei). — Cette messe est la seconde du commun d’un martyr Pontife. Immédiatement
après la profession solennelle de saint Pierre près de Césarée de Philippe, le
Seigneur entreprend de préparer les siens à sa mort sur la Croix ; il fait sa
première prophétie de la Passion et adresse à ses Apôtres sa première
prédication au sujet de la Croix. Cette prédication va plus loin que la
prophétie, ce n’est pas seulement lui qui doit souffrir, ses disciples doivent
prendre leur croix et le suivre. Cette prédication de la Croix, l’Église nous
la répète à la fête de notre saint martyr Pontife, car il l’a réalisée dans sa
vie. Il s’est renoncé lui-même a pris sa croix et il a haï sa vie sur la terre.
C’est pourquoi il aura part à la promesse : Le Fils de l’Homme viendra dans la
majesté de son Père avec ses anges et lui donnera sa récompense. Au jour où
notre saint est mort, le Seigneur est venu vers lui. Au bonheur de ce retour,
nous participerons nous aussi un jour.
A l’Épître, le saint
martyr nous parle lui-même : Ce n’est qu’à condition de participer à mes
souffrances que vous aurez part à ma « consolation ». Aussi à l’Offertoire,
déposons-nous les croix de notre vie sur l’autel et nous recevons, dans la
communion, le gage de la « couronne ornée de pierreries » (Comm.). La liturgie
de la messe nous rappelle trois fois que le saint avait aussi la dignité
sacerdotale (Intr. Allel. Offert.). Dans le prêtre qui célèbre, voyons le saint
évêque, martyr.
Leçons des Matines (avant
1960)
Quatrième leçon. Eusèbe,
Sarde de nation, Lecteur de l’Église romaine, puis Évêque de Verceil, sembla
non sans raison choisi par un jugement divin pour gouverner cette Église ; car
les électeurs, qui ne le connaissaient nullement auparavant, le désignèrent
aussitôt qu’ils l’eurent vu, à l’exclusion de tous leurs concitoyens. Il ne
leur fallut pas plus de temps pour l’apprécier que pour le voir. Eusèbe fut en
Occident le premier que qui établit dans son Église des moines remplissant les
fonctions de clercs, afin qu’on vît en eux tout à la fois le mépris des
richesses et les occupations propres aux Lévites. C’était l’époque où les
impiétés ariennes envahissaient de toutes parts l’Occident. Eusèbe les attaqua
si vigoureusement, que le souverain Pontife Libère trouva dans la foi
invincible de cet Évêque la consolation qui soutenait sa vie. Reconnaissant en
lui la ferveur de l’Esprit de Dieu, le Pape le chargea d’aller avec ses légats
plaider devant l’Empereur la cause de la foi. Eusèbe se rendit aussitôt avec eux
auprès de Constance, et parvint à force de zèle à en obtenir tout ce qu’on se
proposait dans cette légation, c’est-à-dire la célébration d’un concile.
Cinquième leçon. Le
concile se réunit à Milan, l’année suivante ; Eusèbe fut invité par Constance à
s’y rendre, tandis que les légats de Libère désiraient et réclamaient également
sa présence. Bien loin de se laisser influencer par les menées de la synagogue
arienne et de prendre part à ses fureurs contre saint Athanase, il déclara
hautement dès l’abord que plusieurs des membres de l’assemblée lui étaient
connus comme entachés d’hérésie, et proposa de leur faire souscrire à la foi de
Nicée, avant de traiter d’autres matières. Les Ariens vivement irrités ne le
voulurent point ; Eusèbe refusa de son côté de souscrire à la condamnation de
saint Athanase et parvint même à dégager fort habilement la simplicité de saint
Denys, le Martyr, qui, trompé par les hérétiques, avait souscrit à cette
injustice. C’est pourquoi les Ariens, furieux contre Eusèbe, l’accablèrent de
mauvais traitements, puis le firent condamner à l’exil. Mais le Saint, ayant
secoué la poussière de ses pieds, et ne redoutant ni les menaces de César ni le
tranchant du glaive, accepta l’exil comme une fonction de son ministère. Envoyé
à Scythopolis, il y souffrit la faim, la soif, les coups et divers autres
supplices ; mais il méprisa courageusement sa vie pour confesser la foi, et
sans crainte de la mort, il livra son corps aux bourreaux.
Sixième leçon. Les
lettres importantes que saint Eusèbe adressa de Scythopolis au clergé et au
peuple de Verceil, et à quelques personnes du voisinage, montrent quelles
furent envers lui la cruauté et l’insolence effrontée des Ariens. Elles
prouvent encore qu’ils ne purent jamais, ni l’abattre par leurs menaces et
leurs traitements inhumains, ni l’attirer à leur parti au moyen de ruses
adroites et flatteuses. Déporté, à cause de sa fermeté, de Scythopolis en
Cappadoce, et enfin en Thébaïde dans la Haute-Égypte, il supporta les rigueurs
de l’exil jusqu’à la mort de Constance. Il lui fut alors permis de rejoindre
son troupeau, mais il ne voulut partir qu’après avoir assisté au synode réuni à
Alexandrie pour réparer les pertes de la foi. Il parcourut ensuite les
provinces de l’Orient pour rendre à la santé, à l’instar d’un habile médecin,
ceux qui étaient infirmes dans la foi, les instruisant dans la doctrine de
l’Église. Continuant cette mission salutaire, i1 passa en Illyrie, et revint
enfin dans l’Italie qui, à son retour, dépouilla ses vêtements de deuil. Ce fut
là qu’il publia les commentaires d’Origène et d’Eusèbe de Césarée sur les
Psaumes : commentaires qu’il avait expurgés de toute erreur et traduits du grec
en latin. Enfin, illustré par tant d’actions excellentes, il alla recevoir
l’inflétrissable couronne de gloire, que tant de souffrances lui avaient
méritée. Sa mort eut lieu à Verceil, sous Valentinien et Valens.
SOURCE : http://www.introibo.fr/16-12-St-Eusebe-eveque-et-martyr
Sebastiano Ricci (1659–1734) . La
Très sainte Vierge Marie avec saint Gabriel Archange
et les Saints Sébastien, Eusèbe de Verceil et Roch / Virgin Mary in Glory with Archangel Gabriel
and S. Eusebius, S. Sebastian and S. Roch
/ Maria in Gloria mit Erzengel Gabriel und Hl. Eusebius, Hl. Sebastian und Hl.
Rochus, 435 x 255, circa 1724, Turin, Université de Turin / University of Turin
Also
known as
Eusebi….
Eusebio….
Eusebe….
Euzebiusz….
Euzebije….
16
December prior to 1969
1 August (in
the Piedmont region of Italy)
15
December (consecration of Saint Eusebius)
Profile
Born to a pious family –
his father died a martyrs when
the Eusebius was small, he was baptized in Rome, Italy by Pope Saint Eusebius,
his mother, Saint Restituta, died a martyr in
her old
age, and his sister Eusebia became a nun and
mother superior of a monastery in Vercelli, Italy that
Eusebius founded. Eusebius studied in Rome;
one of his fellow seminarians was
the future Pope Saint Liberius.
Eusebius was ordained priest and lector in Rome.
Chosen as the first bishop of Vercelli, Italy,
he was consecrated on 16
December 340 by Pope Saint Julius
I.
As bishop, Eusebius lived
with and followed the same discipline as his priests.
He attended the synod of Milan, Italy in 355.
He was exiled for
eight years by emperor Constantius
to Palestine and Cappadocia for
his strong opposition to Arianism;
he spent part of the time in prison, and as soon as he returned, he began preaching against Arianism.
Friend of Saint Athanasius
of Alexandria, and attended a synod organized by him in Alexandria.
A profilic writer according
to his contemporaries, none of his works have survived. May have been martyred by Arians,
but reports vary; many consider him a martyr as
he may have died as
a result of his sufferings in exile.
Born
1 August 371 in Vercelli, Italy
Congregation
of the Daughters of Saint Eusebius
—
in Italy
Piedmont (proclaimed
on 24
November 1961 by Pope John
XXIII)
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Catholic
Encyclopedia, by Michael Ott
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Pope
Benedict XVI: General Audience, 17
October 2007
Roman
Martyrology, 1914 edition
Roman
Martyrology, 1914 edition
Roman
Martyrology, 1914 edition
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
The
Liturgical Year, by Father Prosper
Gueranger
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
Oxford Dictionary of Saints, by David Hugh Farmer
Roman Martyrology, 3rd Turin edition
Sacred
and Legendary Art, by Anna Jameson
other
sites in english
New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, by
Phillip Schaff
images
video
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
sites
en français
fonti
in italiano
Pope Benedict XVI: Udienza Generale, 17 ottobre 2007
notitia
in latin
MLA
Citation
“Saint Eusebius of
Vercelli“. CatholicSaints.Info. 28 April 2024. Web. 19 April 2025. <https://catholicsaints.info/saint-eusebius-of-vercelli/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-eusebius-of-vercelli/
Sesona
Chiesa di Sant'Eusebio
BENEDICT XVI
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Saint Eusebius of
Vercelli
Dear Brothers and
Sisters,
This morning I invite you
to reflect on St Eusebius of Vercelli, the first Bishop of Northern Italy of
whom we have reliable information. Born in Sardinia at the beginning of the
fourth century, he moved to Rome with his family at a tender age. Later, he was
instituted lector: he thus came to belong to the clergy of the city at a
time when the Church was seriously troubled by the Arian heresy. The high
esteem that developed around Eusebius explains his election in 345 A.D. to the
Episcopal See of Vercelli. The new Bishop immediately began an intense process
of evangelization in a region that was still largely pagan, especially in rural
areas. Inspired by St Athanasius - who had written the Life of St Anthony, the
father of monasticism in the East - he founded a priestly community in Vercelli
that resembled a monastic community. This coenobium impressed upon the clergy
of Northern Italy a significant hallmark of apostolic holiness and inspired
important episcopal figures such as Limenius and Honoratus, successors of
Eusebius in Vercelli, Gaudentius in Novara, Exuperantius in Tortona, Eustasius
in Aosta, Eulogius in Ivrea and Maximus in Turin, all venerated by the Church
as saints.
With his sound formation
in the Nicene faith, Eusebius did his utmost to defend the full divinity of
Jesus Christ, defined by the Nicene Creed as "of one being with
the Father". To this end, he allied himself with the great Fathers of the
fourth century - especially St Athanasius, the standard bearer of Nicene
orthodoxy - against the philo-Arian policies of the Emperor. For the Emperor,
the simpler Arian faith appeared politically more useful as the ideology of the
Empire. For him it was not truth that counted but rather political
opportunism: he wanted to exploit religion as the bond of unity for the
Empire. But these great Fathers resisted him, defending the truth against
political expediency.
Eusebius was consequently condemned to exile, as were so many other Bishops of
the East and West: such as Athanasius himself, Hilary of Poitiers - of
whom we spoke last time - and Hosius of Cordoba. In Scythopolis, Palestine, to
which he was exiled between 355 and 360, Eusebius wrote a marvellous account of
his life. Here too, he founded a monastic community with a small group of
disciples. It was also from here that he attended to his correspondence with
his faithful in Piedmont, as can be seen in the second of the three Letters of
Eusebius recognized as authentic. Later, after 360, Eusebius was exiled to
Cappadocia and the Thebaid, where he suffered serious physical ill-treatment.
After his death in 361, Constantius II was succeeded by the Emperor Julian,
known as "the Apostate", who was not interested in making Christianity
the religion of the Empire but merely wished to restore paganism. He rescinded
the banishment of these Bishops and thereby also enabled Eusebius to be
reinstated in his See. In 362 he was invited by Anastasius to take part in the
Council of Alexandria, which decided to pardon the Arian Bishops as long as
they returned to the secular state. Eusebius was able to exercise his episcopal
ministry for another 10 years, until he died, creating an exemplary
relationship with his city which did not fail to inspire the pastoral service
of other Bishops of Northern Italy, whom we shall reflect upon in future
Catecheses, such as St Ambrose of Milan and St Maximus of Turin.
The Bishop of Vercelli's
relationship with his city is illustrated in particular by two testimonies in
his correspondence. The first is found in the Letter cited above,
which Eusebius wrote from his exile in Scythopolis "to the beloved
brothers and priests missed so much, as well as to the holy people with a firm
faith of Vercelli, Novara, Ivrea and Tortona" (Second Letter, CCL 9,
p. 104). These first words, which demonstrate the deep emotion of the good
Pastor when he thought of his flock, are amply confirmed at the end of
the Letter in his very warm fatherly greetings to each and every one
of his children in Vercelli, with expressions overflowing with affection and
love. One should note first of all the explicit relationship that bound the
Bishop to the sanctae plebes, not only of Vercellae/Vercelli -
the first and subsequently for some years the only Diocese in the Piedmont -
but also of Novaria/ Novara, Eporedia/Ivrea and Dertona/
Tortona, that is, of the Christian communities in the same Diocese which had
become quite numerous and acquired a certain consistency and autonomy. Another
interesting element is provided by the farewell with which the Letter concludes.
Eusebius asked his sons and daughters to give his greeting "also to those
who are outside the Church, yet deign to nourish feelings of love for
us: etiam hos, qui foris sunt et nos dignantur diligere". This
is an obvious proof that the Bishop's relationship with his city was not
limited to the Christian population but also extended to those who - outside
the Church - recognized in some way his spiritual authority and loved this exemplary
man.
The second testimony of
the Bishop's special relationship with his city comes from the Letter St
Ambrose of Milan wrote to the Vercellians in about 394, more than 20 years
after Eusebius' death (Ep. extra collecitonem 14: Maur. 63).
The Church of Vercelli was going through a difficult period: she was
divided and lacked a Bishop. Ambrose frankly declared that he hesitated to
recognize these Vercellians as descending from "the lineage of the holy
fathers who approved of Eusebius as soon as they saw him, without ever having
known him previously and even forgetting their own fellow citizens". In
the same Letter, the Bishop of Milan attested to his esteem for
Eusebius in the clearest possible way: "Such a great man", he wrote
in peremptory tones, "well deserves to be elected by the whole of the
Church". Ambrose's admiration for Eusebius was based above all on the fact
that the Bishop of Vercelli governed his Diocese with the witness of his
life: "With the austerity of fasting he governed his Church".
Indeed, Ambrose was also fascinated, as he himself admits, by the monastic
ideal of the contemplation of God which, in the footsteps of the Prophet
Elijah, Eusebius had pursued. First of all, Ambrose commented, the Bishop of
Vercelli gathered his clergy in vita communis and educated its
members in "the observance of the monastic rule, although they lived in
the midst of the city". The Bishop and his clergy were to share the
problems of their fellow citizens and did so credibly, precisely by cultivating
at the same time a different citizenship, that of Heaven (cf. Heb 13: 14).
And thus, they really built true citizenship and true solidarity among all the
citizens of Vercelli.
While Eusebius was
adopting the cause of the sancta plebs of Vercelli, he lived a
monk's life in the heart of the city, opening the city to God. This trait,
though, in no way diminished his exemplary pastoral dynamism. It seems among
other things that he set up parishes in Vercelli for an orderly and stable
ecclesial service and promoted Marian shrines for the conversion of the pagan
populations in the countryside. This "monastic feature", however,
conferred a special dimension on the Bishop's relationship with his hometown.
Just like the Apostles, for whom Jesus prayed at his Last Supper, the Pastors
and faithful of the Church "are of the world" (Jn 17: 11), but
not "in the world". Therefore, Pastors, Eusebius said, must urge the
faithful not to consider the cities of the world as their permanent dwelling
place but to seek the future city, the definitive heavenly Jerusalem. This
"eschatological reserve" enables Pastors and faithful to preserve the
proper scale of values without ever submitting to the fashions of the moment
and the unjust claims of the current political power. The authentic scale of
values - Eusebius' whole life seems to say - does not come from emperors of the
past or of today but from Jesus Christ, the perfect Man, equal to the Father in
divinity, yet a man like us. In referring to this scale of values, Eusebius
never tired of "warmly recommending" his faithful "to jealously
guard the faith, to preserve harmony, to be assiduous in prayer" (Second
Letter, op. cit.).
Dear friends, I too
warmly recommend these perennial values to you as I greet and bless you, using
the very words with which the holy Bishop Eusebius concluded his Second
Letter: "I address you all, my holy brothers and sisters, sons and
daughters, faithful of both sexes and of every age group, so that you may...
bring our greeting also to those who are outside the Church, yet deign to
nourish sentiments of love for us" (ibid.).
APPEAL
Today, the World Day for
the Elimination of Poverty is being celebrated, recognized by the United
Nations with the title of the World Day for the Eradication of
Poverty. How many people still live in conditions of extreme poverty! The
disparity between rich and poor has become increasingly obvious and disturbing,
even in the more prosperous nations. This distressing situation must be
recognized by humanity, because the conditions in which a large number of
people live are such as to offend the dignity of the human being and
consequently to jeopardize the authentic and harmonious progress of the world
community. I therefore recommend that efforts be redoubled to uproot the causes
of poverty and the tragic consequences that derive from them.
To special groups
I warmly greet the
Immaculate Heart Sisters from Nigeria who celebrate the 70th anniversary of
their foundation. I likewise greet the members of the national pilgrimage of
Tanzania. My welcome also goes to the Lutheran pilgrims from Norway and to the
members of Serra International. Upon all the English-speaking visitors,
including those from England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, Papua New Guinea,
Japan, the Philippines and the United States, I invoke God's abundant
Blessings.
Lastly, I turn my
thoughts to the sick, newly-weds and young people, especially
the children from the Diocese of Faenza-Modigliana who have received
Confirmation and the pupils of the Sacred Heart Foundation in Cesena. Dear
friends, the month of October invites us to renew our active cooperation in the
Church's mission. Therefore, place at the service of the Gospel, you young
people, the fresh energies of youth, you sick people, the power of
prayer and suffering, and you newly-weds, the potential of married
life, in order to give practical support to the missionaries who bear the
Christian message on the front lines of evangelization.
I now have the joy of
announcing that this 24 November, eve of the Solemnity of Christ the King, I
will hold a Consistory at which, departing by one from the number established
by Pope Paul VI, confirmed by my venerable Predecessor John Paul II in the
Apostolic Constitution Universi
Dominici Gregis (cf. n. 33), I will name 18 Cardinals. Here are their
names.
1. Archbishop
Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches;
2. Archbishop John
Patrick Foley, Pro-Grand Master of the Knights of the Equestrian Order of
the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem;
3. Archbishop
Giovanni Lajolo, President of the Pontifical Commission and of the
Governorate of Vatican City State;
4. Archbishop Paul
Joseph Cordes, President of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum";
5. Archbishop Angelo
Comastri, Archpriest of the Vatican Basilica, Vicar General for Vatican
City State and President of the Fabric of St Peter;
6. Archbishop
Stanisław Ryłko, President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity;
7. Archbishop
Raffaele Farina, S.D.B., Archivist and Librarian of Holy Roman Church;
8. Archbishop
Agustín Garcia-Gasco Vicente of Valencia, Spain;
9. Archbishop Sean
Baptist Brady of Armagh, Ireland;
10. Archbishop Lluís
Martínez Sistach of Barcelona, Spain;
11. Archbishop André
Vingt-Trois of Paris, France;
12. Archbishop
Angelo Bagnasco of Genoa, Italy;
13. Archbishop
Théodore-Adrien Sarr of Dakar, Senegal;
14. Archbishop
Oswald Gracias of Bombay, India;
15. Archbishop
Francisco Robles Ortega of Monterrey, Mexico;
16. Archbishop
Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, U.S.A.;
17. Archbishop Odilo
Pedro Scherer of São Paulo, Brazil;
18. Archbishop John
Njue of Nairobi, Kenya.
I also wish to raise to
the dignity of Cardinal three venerable Prelates and two well-deserving
ecclesiastics, particularly praiseworthy for their commitment to the service of
the Church:
1. H.B. Emmanuel III
Delly, Patriarch of Babylon for Chaldeans;
2. Archbishop
Giovanni Coppa, Apostolic Nuncio;
3. Archbishop
emeritus Estanislao Esteban Karlic of Paraná, Argentina;
4. Fr Urbano
Navarrete, S.J., former Rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University; and
5. Fr Umberto Betti,
O.F.M., former Rector of the Pontifical Lateran University.
* * *
Among the latter I had
also wanted to raise to the dignity of Cardinal the elderly Bishop Ignacy
Jez of Koszalin-Kołobrzeg, Poland, who died suddenly yesterday. Let us
offer our prayers of suffrage for him.
* * *
The new Cardinals come
from various parts of the world. This group clearly reflects the universality
of the Church with the multiplicity of her ministries: besides Prelates
praiseworthy for the service they have rendered to the Holy See, there are Pastors
who expend their energy in direct contact with the faithful.
There would have been
other people, very dear to me, who because of their dedication to serving the
Church would certainly deserve to be raised to the dignity of Cardinal. I hope
to have the opportunity in the future to testify to my esteem and affection to
them and the Countries to which they belong.
Let us entrust the newly
elected to the protection of Mary Most Holy, asking her to help them in their
respective offices so that they may be able to witness with courage in every
circumstance to their love for Christ and the Church.
© Copyright 2007 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Copyright © Dicastero per
la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
SOURCE : https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20071017.html
Book of Saints
– Eusebius of Vercelli
(Saint) Bishop, Martyr
(December 16) (4th century) He was by birth a native of Sardinia; and after
passing some years in Rome as a priest, he was consecrated Bishop of Vercelli
in the present Province of Piedmont (A.D. 340). A great and active champion of the
Catholic Faith against the Arians, he was banished by their machinations to
Syria, where he underwent many hardships. Before returning to Vercelli under
Julian he visited Saint Athanasius at Alexandria. In the words of Saint Jerome:
“On the return of Eusebius, Italy put off her mourning.” Thenceforth to the
year of his death (A.D. 370) he devoted himself, in concert with Saint Hilary
of Poitiers, to the extirpation of Arianism. By exception, on account of the
much that he went through in the cause of religion, he is honoured liturgically
as a Martyr.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Eusebius of Vercelli”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info.
1 August 2016. Web. 19 April 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-eusebius-of-vercelli/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-eusebius-of-vercelli/
New
Catholic Dictionary – Saint Eusebius of Vercelli
Martyr, Bishop of
Vercelli, born Sardinia, 283; died Vercelli, 371.
Elected Bishop of
Vercelli, 340,
he was consecrated by Pope Julius I. In 354 Pope
Liberius sent Eusebius and Bishop Lucifer
of Cagliari to the Emperor Constantius to induce him to convoke a council to
end the dissensions between the Arians and
the orthodox. The synod was held at Milan, 355.
A document condemning Saint Athanasius was drawn up, and Eusebius, because he
protested this and refused to sign it, was exiled, first to Scythopolis in
Syria, later to Cappadocia, and finally to the Thebaid. At the accession of
Emperor Julian, 362,
the exiled bishops were
allowed to return to their sees, but Eusebius remained in the East helping to
restore peace in the Church. After the synod at Alexandria, 362,
Eusebius went to Antioch to reconcile the Eustathians and the Meletians,
visited other churches of the Orient in the interest of the orthodox faith, and
arriving at Vercelli, 363,
became one of the chief opponents of Arianism.
He is honored as a martyr because
of his many sufferings. Relics in the cathedral at
Vercelli. Feast,
Roman Calendar, 16
December.
MLA
Citation
“Saint Eusebius of Vercelli”. New Catholic Dictionary. CatholicSaints.Info.
1 August 2016. Web. 19 April 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-eusebius-of-vercelli/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-eusebius-of-vercelli/
Pictorial
Lives of the Saints – Saint Eusebius, Bishop
Saint Eusebius was born
of a noble family, in the island of Sardinia, where his father is said to have
died in prison for the faith. The Saint’s mother carried him and his sister,
both infants, to Rome. Eusebius having been ordained, served the Church of
Vercelli with such zeal that on the Episcopal chair becoming vacant, he was
unanimously chosen, by both clergy and people, to fill it. The holy bishop saw
that the best and first means to labor effectually for the edification and
sanctification of his people, was to have a zealous clergy. He was at the same
time very careful to instruct his flock, and inspire them with the maxims of
the Gospel. The force of the truth which he preached, together with his
example, brought many sinners to a change of life. He courageously fought
against the heretics, who had him banished to Scythopolis, and thence to Upper
Thebais in Egypt, where he suffered so grievously as to win, in some of the
panegyrics in his praise, the title of martyr. He died in the latter part of
the year 371.
Reflection – The
routine of every-day, commonplace duties is no hindrance to a free intimacy
with God. He will disclose His hidden ways to you in proportion as you follow
your vocation faithfully, whether in the world or the cloister.
MLA
Citation
John Dawson Gilmary Shea.
“Saint Eusebius, Bishop”. Pictorial Lives of the
Saints, 1922. CatholicSaints.Info.
15 December 2018. Web. 19 April 2025. <https://catholicsaints.info/pictorial-lives-of-the-saints-saint-eusebius-bishop/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/pictorial-lives-of-the-saints-saint-eusebius-bishop/
St. Eusebius of Vercelli
Feastday: August 2
Patron: of Vercelli
Birth: 283
Death: 371
Christians who breathed a
sigh of relief when Constantine proclaimed Christianity the
state religion, believing this would end the bloodshed and martyrdom. But it
was all too short a time until
they were facing persecution once
more -- from others who claimed to be Christian.
When Christianity became
the state religion, many people adopted it for political reasons. Others adopted
it without truly understanding it. Under these circumstances heresy found
fertile ground. One of the most powerful heresies was Arianism which
claimed that Jesus was
not God (a heresy that
has never completely died out). The Arians were powerful people, including
nobles, generals, emperors. They commanded armies and senates. True Christianity was
in real danger of being stamped out once again.
Eusebius had learned how
to stand as a Christian from
his father, who died a martyr in
Sardinia. After his father's death, he grew up in Rome where
he was ordained a lector. This was a time when bishops were
elected by the people and local clergy. When the people of Vercelli saw
how well he served their Church, they had no doubt about
choosing him as bishop.
Pope Liberius also
noticed his abilities and sent him on a mission to the Emperor Constantius to
try to resolve the troubles between Arians and Catholics. Seeming to agree,
Constantius convened a council in Milan in
355. The powerful Arians however weren't there to talk but to force their
own will on
the others. A horrified Eusebius watched as his worst fears were confirmed and
the Arians made this peace council into a condemnation of Saint Athanasius,
their chief opponent. Eusebius, unafraid of their power, slapped the
Nicene Creed down
on the table and demanded that everyone sign that before condemning Athanasius.
The Nicene Creed, adopted by a council of the full Church, proclaims that Jesus is one in being with
the Father -- directly contradicting the Arian teaching.
The emperor then tried to
force Eusebius,
Saint Dionysius of Milan, and Lucifer of
Cagliari to condemn Athanasius under pain of death. They steadfastly refused to
condemn a man who
far from being a heretic was supporting the truth. Instead of putting them to
death, the emperor exiled them.
In exile in Scythopolis in
Palestine, Eusebius lived with the only Catholic in
town. Any comfort he had from visits of other saints was destroyed when the
local Arians stripped him half naked and dragged him through the streets to a
tiny cell. The Arians finally let him go after he spent four days without food.
But a few weeks later they were back, breaking into his house, stealing his
belongings and food, and imprisoning him again.
Eusebius was exiled to
two other places before Constantius' successor Julian let him and the other
exiled bishops return
home in 361. The problem was not over and Eusebius spent his last years working
hard to counteract the damage the Arians had done and continued to do. After
working with Athanasius and taking part in councils, he became a latter-day
Saint Paul traveling all over in order to strengthen the faith and
spread the truth.
Eusebius died on August
1, 371.
In His Footsteps
How much do you know
about your faith? Could you defend it against powerful argument? Read the
section on the Trinity and Christ's divinity in the Catechism of the Catholic Church
(paragraphs 238 through 256).
Prayer:
Saint Eusebius, help us
to have a desire to learn more about our faith, the wisdom to discern
the truth, and the strength to
defend it. Amen
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=46
The
Liturgical Year: Saint Eusebius, Bishop of Vercelli, and Martyr
When asked to tell the
names of the Saints who were foremost in defending the dogma of the
Incarnation, we think at once of the intrepid Eusebius of Vercelli as one of
the glorious number. The Catholic faith, which was so violently attacked in the
fourth century by the Arian heresy, was maintained at that time by the labours
and zeal of four Sovereign Pontiffs: Sylvester, who confirmed the decrees of
the Council of Nicaaa; Julius, the supporter of Saint Athanasius; Liberius,
whose faith failed not, and who, when restored to his liberty, confounded the
Arians; and, lastly, Damasus, who destroyed the last hopes of the heretics. One
of these four Pontiffs appears on our Advent Calendar – Damasus, whose feast we
kept but a few days since. The four Popes have for their fellow-combatants, in
this battle for the Divinity of the Incarnate Word, four great Bishops, of whom
it may be said, that the defence of the dogma of the Consubstantiality of the
Son of God was what they lived for, and that to say anathema to them was to say
anathema to Christ himself; all four most powerful in word and work, lights of
the Churches of the world, objects of the people’s love, and the dauntless
witnesses of Jesus. The first and greatest of the four is the Bishop of the
second See of Christendom, Saint Athanasius, the Patriarch of Alexandria; the
second is Saint Ambrose of Milan, whose feast we kept on the seventh of this
month; the third is the glory of Gaul, Saint Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers; the
fourth is the ornament of Italy, Saint Eusebius, Bishop of Vercelli, whom we
have to honour today.
Hilary will come to us
during Christmastide, and will stand at the Crib of the Word, whose Divinity he
so bravely confesses; Athanasius will meet us at Easter, and help us to
celebrate, in the triumphant Resurrection, Him whom he proclaimed as God in those
dark times, when human wisdom hoped to destroy, by a fifty years of peace, that
Church which had survived the storm of three centuries of persecution. Saint
Eusebius’ place is Advent; and divine Providence has thus chosen him as one of
the patrons of the faithful during this mystic season; his powerful prayers
will help us to come devoutly to Bethlehem, and see in the Child, that is lying
there, the eternal Word of God. So great were the sufferings which Saint
Eusebius had to undergo for the Divinity of Jesus, that the Church awards him
the honours of a Martyr, although he did not actually shed his blood. Let us
now listen to the admirable account which the Church gives us of his life.
Eusebius, by birth a
Sardinian, was a Lector in the Church at Rome, and afterwards Bishop of
Vercelli. It may well be said that it was God himself who chose him to be the
pastor of this Church, for the Electors, who had never before seen him, no
sooner set their eyes upon him than they preferred him before all their fellow
citizens. Eusebius was the first of the Bishops in the Western Church who
established Monks in his Church to exercise the functions of the Clergy; he did
it in order that he might thus unite, in the same persons, the detachment from
riches and the dignity of Levites. It was during this time that the impious
doctrines of the Arians were devastating the whole of the West; and so
vigorously did Eusebius attack them, that Pope Liberius’ greatest consolation
was the unflinching faith of this holy man. It was on this account, that the
same Pope, knowing that the Spirit of God burned in Eusebius’ soul,
commissioned him to go, accompanied by his Legates, to the Emperor, and plead
the cause of the true Faith. Eusebius and the Legates being come before
Constantius, the Saint pleaded so powerfully, that the Emperor granted what he
asked, namely, that a council of the Bishops should be convened.
That Council was held the
following year, at Milan; Eusebius was invited by Constantius to be present at
it, which was what the Legates of Liberius had desired and begged. So far was
he from being duped by the synagogue of the malicious Arians to side with them
against Saint Athanasius, that he openly declared from the first that several
of those present were known to him to be heretics, and he therefore proposed
that they should subscribe to the Nicene Creed before proceeding any further.
This the Arians, infuriated with anger, refused to do; whereupon, he not only
refused to subscribe to what was drawn up against Athanasius, but he also, by a
most ingenious device, succeeded in having the name of Saint Denis the Martyr
blotted out from the decree, which the craft of the Arians had induced him to
sign. Wherefore, they being exceeding angry against Eusebius, loaded him with
injuries, and had him sent into banishment. The holy man, on his side, shaking
off the dust from his feet, caring little either for the threats of the
Emperor, or the sword which was held over him, submitted to banishment as to
something which belonged to his episcopal office. Being sent to Scythopolis, he
there endured hunger, thirst, blows, and sundry other punishments; he
generously despised his life for the true faith, feared not death, and gave up
his body to the executioners.
How much he had to put up
with from the cruelty and insolence of the Arians, we learn from the admirable
letters, full of energy, piety, and religion, which he addressed, from
Scythopolis, to the clergy and people of Vercelli, and to other persons of the
neighbouring country. It is evident from these letters that the heretics were
unable, either by their threats or by their inhuman treatment, to shake his
constancy, or to induce him by the craft of their flattery or arguments to join
their party. Thence he was taken into Cappadocia, and lastly into Thebais of
Upper Egypt, in punishment of his refusing to yield. Thus did he suffer the
hardships of exile until the death of Constantius: after which he was allowed
to return to his flock; but this he would not do, until he had assisted at the
Council which was being held at Alexandria for the purpose of repairing the
injuries done by heresy. This done, he travelled through the provinces of the
East, endeavouring, like a clever physician, to restore to perfect health such
as were weak in the faith, by instructing them in the doctrine of the Church.
Animated by the like zeal for the salvation of souls, he passed over into
Illyricum; and having at length returned to Italy, that country put off its
mourning. He there published the commentaries of Origen and Eusebius of
Csesarea on the Psalms, which two works he translated from the Greek into
Latin, with such corrections as were needed. At length, having rendered himself
celebrated by a life spent in such actions as these, he died at Vercelli in the
reign of Valentinian and Valens, and went to receive the immortal crown of
glory which his so many and great sufferings had merited for him.
Valiant Soldier of Jesus,
Eusebius, Martyr and Pontiff, how much labour and suffering you did undergo for
the Messias! And yet, they seemed to you to be little in comparison with what
is due to this eternal Word of the Father, who, out of his pure love, has made
himself the Servant of his own creatures, by becoming Man for them in the
mystery of the Incarnation. We owe the same debt of gratitude to this divine
Saviour. He is born in a stable for our sakes, as he was for yours; pray,
therefore, for us that we may be ever faithful to him both in war and peace;
and that we may resist our temptations and evil inclinations with that same
firmness, wherewith we would confess his name before tyrants and persecutors.
Obtain for the Bishops of our holy Mother the Church, such vigilance, that no
false doctrines may surprise them, and such courage that no persecution may
make them yield. May they be faithful imitators of the divine Pastor, who gives
his life for his sheep; and may they ever feed the flock, entrusted to them, in
the unity and charity of Jesus Christ.
– from the book The Liturgical Year: Advent, by the Very
Reverend Dom Prosper Gueranger, Abbot of Solesmes, translated from the French
by the Revered Dom Laurence Shepherd, Monk of the English-Benedictine
Congregation, 2nd edition; published in Dublin Ireland by James Duffy, 15
Wellington-Quay, 1870
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/the-liturgical-year-saint-eusebius-bishop-of-vercelli-and-martyr/
_-_BEIC_IE4411197.jpg)
The
martyrdom of Eusebius according to the Golden
Legend (1497).
Legendari
di Sancti Istoriado Uulgar, 1497 : Santo Eusebio
Legenda aurea, 1497 : Santo Eusebio, Biblioteca Europea di Informazione e Cultura
Golden Legend – Saint
Eusebius
Here next followeth the
Life of Saint Eusebius, and first of his name.
Eusebius is said of eu,
which is as much to say as good, and sebe, that is, eloquence or station. Or
Eusebius is as much to say as worship; he had bounty in sanctification,
eloquence in defence of the faith, station in the steadfastness of martyrdom,
and good worshipping in the reverence of God.
Of Saint Eusebius.
Eusebius was always a
virgin, and whilst he was yet young in the faith he received baptism and name
of Eusebius the pope, in which baptism the hands of angels were seen that
lifted him out of the font. On a day a certain lady was esprised of his beauty,
and would have gone to his chamber, and the angels kept the door in such wise
that she might not enter, and on the morn she went to him and kneeled down at
his feet, and required of him mercy and forgiveness of that she had been in
will to have made him sin, and he pardoned her debonairly. And when he was
ordained to be a priest,
he shone in so great holiness, that when he sang the solemnities of the masses
the angels served him. After this, when the heresy of the Arians had infected
all Italy, and Constantine the emperor favouring them, Julius the pope sacred
Eusebius into bishop of Vercelli the city, the which held the principate of the
other cities in Italy. And when the heretics heard say that, they shut fast the
doors of the church, which was of our Blessed Lady and Blessed Virgin Saint
Mary. Then the blessed saint kneeled down, and anon the doors opened by his
prayer. Then put he out Eugenius, bishop of Milan, which was corrupted of this
evil heresy, and ordained in his place Denis, a man right catholic. And thus
Eusebius purged all the church of the occident, and Anastasius purged the
orient of the heresy Arian. Arius was a priest of
Alexandria, which said and affirmed that Christ was a pure creature, and said
that he was not God, and for us was made, that we by him as by an instrument
were made of God. And therefore Constantine ordained a council at Nice whereas
this error was condemned. And after this Arius died of a miserable death, for
he voided all his entrails beneath at his fundament. And Constantius, son of Constantine,
was corrupt with this heresy, for which cause this Constantius had great hate
against Eusebius, and assembled a council of many bishops, and called Denis,
and sent many letters to Eusebius, and he knew well that the malice of him was
so great that he deigned not come to him. Wherefore the emperor established
against the excusation of him that the council should be solemnised at Milan
which was nigh to him. And when he saw that Eusebius was not there, he
commanded to the Arians that they should write their faith and send it to
Denis, bishop of Milan, and twenty-nine bishops he made subscribe the same
faith. And when Eusebius heard that, he issued out of his city for to go to
Milan, and said well tofore that he should sufler much. And thus as he came to
a flood for to go to Milan, the ship tarried long on that other side of the
river, but the ship came at his commandment and bare him over and his
fellowship, without governor. Then the foresaid Denis came against him and
kneeled down to his feet and required pardon. And when Eusebius could not be
turned by gifts ne by menaces of this emperor, he said tofore them all: Ye say
that the Son is less than the Father, wherefore have ye then made my son and my
disciple greater than me? for the disciple is not above the master, nor the son
above the father. Then were they moved by this reason, and showed to him the
writing that they had made and Denis had written, and they said that he had
written, and he said: Nay, I shall not subscribe after my son, to whom I am
sovereign by authority, but burn this writing, and after write another, if ye
will, ere I shall write. And thus by the will of God that schedule was burnt,
which Denis and the twenty-nine bishops had subscribed, and then the Arians
wrote again another schedule and delivered it to Eusebius and to the other
bishops for to subscribe, but the bishops, enhardened of Eusebius, would in no
wise consent to subscribe, but they were glad that thilke schedule, which by
constraint they had subscribed, was burnt. Then was Constantius angry, and
delivered Eusebius to the will of the Arians, and anon they drew him from the
middle of the bishops and beat him cruelly, and drew him from the highest of
the palace by the steps down to the lowest, and from the lowest to the highest,
unto the time that his head was all tobruised and bled much blood, and yet he
would not consent to them. And then they bound his hands behind him, and after,
drew him with a cord about his neck, and he thanked God, and said that he was
all ready for to die for the defence of the faith of holy Church. Then
Constantius exiled Liberius the pope, Denis, Paulinus, and all the other
bishops that Eusebius had enhardened. And then the Arians led Eusebius into
Jerapolin, a city of Palestine, and enclosed him in a strait place, in so much
that it was strait and short that he might not stretch out his feet, ne turn
him from one side to another, and he had his head so strait that he might not
move it, ne turn hither ne thither his members in no manner, save only his
shoulders and arms, the place was so strait in Iength and in breadth. And when
Constantius was dead, Julian succeeded him, and would please every man, and
commanded that all the bishops which had been exiled should be repealed, and
the temples of the gods to be opened, and would that all men should use peace
under what law he were. And by this occasion Eusebius issued out of prison and
came to Athanasius, and told to him what he had suffered. Then Julian died, and
Jovinian reigned, and the Arians ceased. Saint Eusebius returned to the town of
Vercelli, where the people received him with great joy. And after, when Valens
reigned, the Arians came again in their forces, and entered into the house of
Eusebius, and stoned him with stones, and so put him to death, and he died
debonairly in our Lord, and was buried in tbe church that he had made. And it
is said that he impetred and gat grace of our Lord that no Arian might live in
that city. And after the chronicles he lived eighty-eight years. He flourished about
the year of our Lord three hundred and fifty.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/golden-legend-saint-eusebius/
St. Eusebius
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 monasticwith 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 Eusebiusrefused 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
theIncarnation, the synod agreed to deal mildly with
the repentant apostate bishops,
but to impose severepenalties 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 wasdeposed and exiled by the Arians in
331. Since Meletius' election in 361 was brought about chiefly
by theArians,
the Eustathians would not recognize him, although
he solemnly proclaimed his orthodox faith from
theambo 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,
butEusebius, 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 toEusebius the "Quicumque". (See ATHANASIAN
CREED)
Three short letters
of Eusebius are printed in Migne,
P.L., XII, 947-54 and X, 713-14. St.
Jerome (Illustrious
Men 56 and Epistle
51, no. 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 atVercelli 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).
Krüger (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.
Sources
BUTLER, Lives of the
Saints, 15 Dec.; BARING-GOULD, Lives of the Saints, 15 Dec.; DAVIES, in Dict.
Christ. Biogr.; St. Jerome, Illustrious Men 96; FERRERIUS, Vita
s, Eusebii episcopi Vercellensis (Vercelli, 1609); UGHELLI, Italia
Sacra (Venice 1719), IV, 749-61; BARONIUS, Annalesad ann. 355-371;
MORIN in Revue 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.
Ott, Michael. "St.
Eusebius." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York:
Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 15 Dec. 2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05614b.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by C.A. Montgomery.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. May 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John
M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2023 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05614b.htm
Saint Eusebius of
Vercelli
St. Eusebius of Vercelli
was a native of Sardinia, Italy. His father was said to have died a martyr.
After that his mother moved to Rome where Eusebius spent his childhood and
became a lector. Later, he went to Vercelli, in the Piedmont, where he
served the church so well that he was chosen to be the first Bishop of the
city. He took part in a council in Milan in 355, convened by Emperor
Constantius, who was at Arles in Gaul. Supported by the Emperor, the Arian
bishops planned to condemn St. Athanasius as a heretic at this synod.
St. Eusebius, along with
St. Dionysius, strongly opposed this unjust condemnation. The Emperor tried to
oblige St. Eusebius to sign it, but he vehemently refused. As a result, he was
sent into exile, first to Scythopolis in Palestine. There he was persecuted by
the Arian bishop Patrophilus, who ordered St. Eusebius to be imprisoned and
denied him food for some time. The Arians also dragged him half-naked through
the streets, mocking and insulting him.
Later, he was exiled to
Cappadocia and then, finally, to Thebaid in Upper Egypt. During all these
trials he remained militant in defense of the true Faith, corresponding with
other Bishops and exhorting them to be faithful.
When Constantius died in
the year 361, the new Emperor Julian allowed all the exiled Prelates to return
to their sees. St. Eusebius went to Alexandria to consult with St. Athanasius
about convoking a synod, which in 362 was held there under their joint
leadership.
At its close, he went to
Antioch and Illyricum, confirming in the Faith those who were wavering and
bringing back those who had gone astray. In 363 he returned to Italy, where he
assisted the zealous champion of the fight against Arianism in the Western
Church, St. Hilary of Poitiers. Finally he returned to Vercelli after a long
absence, where he died on August 1, 371.
Because of the sufferings
for the Faith he endured during his life, the Church honors him with the title
of martyr.
SOURCE : http://www.ucatholic.com/saints/saint-eusebius-of-vercelli/
St. Eusebius, Bishop of
Vercelli
From the fathers and
ecclesiastical historians of the fourth century. See Tillemont, Ughelli, t. 4,
p. 1044. Ceillier, t. 5, p. 440. Orsi, l. 14. Fleury, l. 13, n. 14, 16, and 41;
l. 15, n. 30.
A.D. 371.
ST. EUSEBIUS was born of
a noble family in the isle of Sardinia, where his father is said to have died
in chains for the faith. His mother, whose name was Restituta, being left a
widow, carried him and a daughter she had, both in their infancy, to Rome. 1 Eusebius
was brought up in the practice of piety, and in the study of sacred learning,
and ordained lector by St. Sylvester. We know not by what accident he was
called to Vercelli, a city now in Piedmont. He served that church among the
clergy with such applause, that the episcopal chair becoming vacant, he was
unanimously chosen by the clergy and people to fill it. He is the first bishop
of Vercelli whose name we know. St. Ambrose assures us, that he was the first
who in the West united the monastic life with the clerical, living himself and
making his clergy in the city live almost in the same manner as the monks in
the East did in the deserts. They shut themselves up in one house with their
pastor, and exercised themselves night and day in a heavenly warfare,
continually occupied in the praises of God, having no other ambition than to
appease his anger by fervent and uninterrupted prayers. Their minds were always
employed in reading, or at work. “Can any thing be more admirable than this
life,” cries out St. Ambrose, “where there is nothing to fear, and every thing
is worthy of imitation! where the austerity of fasting is compensated by
tranquillity and peace of mind, supported by example, sweetened by habit, and
charmed by the occupations of virtue! This life is neither troubled with
temporal cares, nor distracted with the tumults of the world, nor hindered by
idle visits, nor relaxed by the commerce of the world.” The holy bishop saw
that the best and first means to labour effectually for the edification and
sanctification of his people, was to form a clergy under his eyes, on whose
innocence, piety, and zeal in the functions of their ministry he could depend.
In this design he succeeded so well, that other churches earnestly demanded his
disciples for their bishops, and a great number of holy prelates came out of
his school, who were burning and shining lamps in the church of God. He was at
the same time very careful to instruct his flock, and inspire them with the
maxims of the gospel. Many, moved by his exhortations, embraced virginity to
serve God in purity of heart, without being divided by the cares or pleasures
of the world. In a short time the whole city of Vercelli appeared inflamed with
the fire of divine love which Jesus Christ came to bring on earth, and which he
ardently desired to see kindled in all hearts. Convicted by the force of the
truth which the zealous pastor preached, persuaded by the sweetness and charity
of his conduct, and still more powerfully excited by his example, sinners
encouraged themselves to a change of their lives, and all were animated to
advance more and more in virtue. But his sanctity would have been imperfect
without the trial of persecutions.
The Arians governed all
things by violence under the authority of the Arian Emperor Constantius. In 354
Pope Liberius deputed St. Eusebius with Lucifer of Cagliari to beg leave of
that emperor, who passed the winter at Arles in Gaul, to assemble a free
council. 2 Constantius
agreed to a council, which met at Milan in 355, whilst the emperor resided in
that city. Eusebius seeing all things would be there carried on by violence
through the power of the Arians, though the Catholic prelates were more
numerous, refused to go to it till he was pressed by Liberius himself, and by
his legates Lucifer of Cagliari, Pancratius, and Hilary, 3 in
order to resist the Arians, as St. Peter had done Simon the magician. When he
was come to Milan the Arians excluded him the council for the ten first days.
When he was admitted, he laid the Nicene Creed on the table, and insisted on
all signing that rule of faith before the cause of St. Athanasius should be
brought to a hearing; for the chief drift of the heretics was to procure if
possible the condemnation of that most formidable champion of the faith. St.
Dionysius of Milan offered to subscribe his name to the creed; but Valens
bishop of Mursia, the most furious of the Arians, tore the paper out of his
hands, and broke his pen. The Arians, to set aside the motion for the previous
signing of the Nicene Creed, procured the removal of the synod to the emperor’s
palace, where the subscription to the Catholic faith was superseded, and the
condemnation of St. Athanasius immediately brought upon the carpet. Many were
gained by the artifices of the Arians, or intimidated by the threats of the
emperor, and signed the sentence which was pronounced against him. St.
Dionysius of Milan had once given his subscription, only exacting a promise
that the Arians would receive the Nicene faith. But St. Eusebius of Vercelli
discovered the snare to him, and in order to withdraw his friend’s
subscription, objected that he could not sign the sentence after Dionysius, who
was younger, and his son. 4 Upon
which the Arians consented to blot out the name of Dionysius; and both
afterwards peremptorily refused to subscribe a decree which was injurious to an
innocent and holy prelate. The emperor sent for St. Eusebius, St. Dionysius,
and Lucifer of Cagliari, and pressed them to condemn Athanasius. They insisted
upon his innocence, and that he could not be condemned without being heard. “I am
his accuser,” said Constantius: “believe upon my word the charge brought
against him.” The bishops answered: “This is not a secular affair, that
requires your opinion as emperor.” Constantius took them up in anger, saying:
“My will ought to pass for a rule. The bishops of Syria are satisfied that it
should be so. Obey, or you shall be banished.” The bishops represented to him,
that he must one day give an account to God of his administration. The prince,
in the transport of his rage, thought once of putting them to death; but was
content to banish them. The officers entered the sanctuary, tore the holy
prelates from the altar, and conducted them to different places. Dionysius was
sent into Cappadocia, where he died. He is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology
on the 25th of May. Lucifer was banished to Germanicia in Syria, of which city
Eudoxus, a celebrated Arian, was bishop; and our saint to Scythopolis, in
Palestine, there to be treated at the discretion of the Arian bishop
Patrophilus. Their chains did not hinder them from serving the church, and they
confounded the heretics wherever they went. Pope Liberius wrote to them a
letter of congratulation, exhorting them to courage and constancy.
St. Eusebius was lodged
at first with the good Count Joseph, and was comforted by the visits of St.
Epiphanius and other holy men, and by the arrival of the deputies of his church
of Vercelli, with presents for his subsistence. He wept for joy to hear of the
zeal and constancy of his whole flock in the Catholic faith under the priests
whom he had appointed to govern his church in his absence. A great share of the
presents he gave to his fellow-confessors, and to the poor. But his patience
was to be exercised by greater trials. Count Joseph died, and the Arians, with
the emperor’s officers, insulted the saint, dragged him on the ground through
the streets, sometimes carried him backwards half naked, and at last shut him
up in a little chamber, plying him for four days with all manner of violences,
to engage him to conform. They forbade his deacons and other fellow-confessors
to be admitted to see him. The saint had abandoned his body to suffer all
manner of evil treatments from their hands, without opening his mouth all that
while; but seeing himself debarred of his only comfort and support, he sent a
letter to the Arian bishop Patrophilus, with the following direction:
“Eusebius, the servant of God, with the other servants of God who suffer with
me for the faith, to Patrophilus, the jailer, and to his officers.” After a short
relation of what he had suffered, he desired that his deacons might be allowed
to come to him. After he remained in that confinement four days without eating,
the Arians sent him back in his lodgings. Twenty-five days afterwards they came
again, armed with clubs, broke down a wall in the house, and dragged him again
into a little dungeon, with a priest named Tegrinus. They rifled his lodgings,
plundered all his provisions, and cast many priests, monks, and even nuns into
the public prisons. St. Eusebius found means to write a letter out of his
dungeon to his flock, extant in Baronius, in which he mentions these
particulars. His sufferings here were aggravated every day, till the place of
his exile was changed. From Scythopolis he was sent into Cappadocia, and, some
time afterwards, into Upper Thebais in Egypt. We have a letter which he wrote
from this third place of his banishment, to Gregory bishop of Elvire, to
encourage him vigorously to oppose Osius (who had unhappily fallen) and all who
had forsaken the faith of the church, without fearing the power of kings. He
expressed a desire to end his life in sufferings, that he might be glorified in
the kingdom of God. This short letter discovers the zeal of a holy pastor,
joined with the courage of a martyr. Constantius being dead, towards the end of
the year 361, Julian gave leave to all the banished prelates to return to their
sees. St. Eusebius left Thebais, and came to Alexandria, to concert measures
with St. Athanasius for applying proper remedies to the evils of the church. He
was present, and subscribed immediately after St. Athanasius, in the council
held there in 362, by which it was resolved to allow the penitent prelates, who
had been deceived by the Arians, especially at Rimini, to preserve their dignity.
From Alexandria our saint went to Antioch, to endeavour to extinguish the great
schism there; but found it widened by Lucifer of Cagliari, who had blown up the
coals afresh, and ordained Paulinus bishop. He would not communicate with
Paulinus, but made haste out of Antioch. Lucifer resented this behaviour, and
broke off communion with him, and with all who with the late council of
Alexandria received the Arian bishops in their dignity upon their return to the
true faith. This was the origin of the schism of Lucifer, who, by pride, lost
the fruit of his former zeal and sufferings.
St. Eusebius travelled
over the East, and through Illyricum, confirming in the faith those who were
wavering, and bringing back many that were gone astray. Italy, at his return,
changed its mourning garments, according to the expression of St. Jerom. There
St. Hilary of Poitiers and St. Eusebius met, and were employed in opposing the
Arians, particularly Auxentius of Milan: but that crafty heretic had gained the
favour of Valentinian, and maintained himself under his protection against the
united zealous efforts of St. Hilary and St. Eusebius. St. Jerom, in his
chronicle places the death of the latter in 371. An ancient author says it
happened on the 1st of August. He is styled a martyr in two old panegyrics in
his praise, printed in the appendix of the works of St. Ambrose. There only
remain of his works the three epistles above quoted. In the cathedral of
Vercelli is shown an old MS. copy of the gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark,
said to be written by St. Eusebius; it was almost worn out with age near eight
hundred years ago, when King Berengarius caused it to be covered with plates of
silver. The body of St. Eusebius is laid in a shrine raised above a side altar
in the cathedral at Vercelli. The Roman Missal and Breviary give his office on
the 15th of December, which is probably the day on which his relics were
removed; for his name occurs in ancient calendars on the 1st of August.
The holy fathers, who by
their zeal and learning maintained the true faith, shunned the dangerous rocks
of error, because in their studies they followed the rules laid down by divine
revelation, and made sincere humility the foundation of all their literary
pursuits. Conscious that they were liable to mistakes, they entertained a
modest diffidence in themselves and their own judgment, and said with St.
Austin: “I may err, but a heretic I will never be.” This humility and caution
is a sure guard against any fatal errors in religion, or dangerous miscarriages
in civil conduct, with regard to literary attempts, into which an overbearing
pride chiefly betrays men. How many by it become pedants, falling into an
ostentatious show of trifling or pretended learning! How many are perpetually
wrangling and disputing, eager not for the point in debate, but for the
victory, and desirous to display their imaginary parts! How many tease all
company by their impertinence, talking always of mythology, metaphysics, or the
jargon of the schools, 5 or
stun others with the loudness of their voice, or an overbearing tone of authority!
Many, in studying, pursue their speculations so far as to lose sight of common
sense, and by too intense an application to things beyond their sphere, overset
and unhinge their understanding. Many mistake the wildest fancies of their
brain for reason. Hence Cicero justly remarks, that nothing can be invented
ever so absurd or monstrous, which has not been said by some of the
philosophers. How many heresies have been set up by scholars among Christians!
The root of these abuses is, a secret vanity, self-sufficiency, or complacency
in an opinion of their own knowledge or penetration, which scholars easily
entertain. So true it is, as the apostle tells us, that science puffs up; not
of itself, but through the propensity of the human heart to pride. It is
therefore necessary that every student learn, in the first place, never to
trust in his own abilities, and make modesty and humility, by which men know
themselves, the foundation of his learning. The most ignorant among scholars
are usually the most apt to overrate their knowledge and abilities.
The Irish commemorate on
this day ST. FLORENCE or FLANN, abbot of Benchor. Colgan MSS.
Note 1. St. Ambr.
ep. 63, p. 1038. St. Hier. in Catal. c. 96. [back]
Note 2. Liber. ep.
5, 6. [back]
Note 3. Sulpit.
Sever. S. Athan. S. Hilary. [back]
Note 4. See this
account in the anonymous author of the eleventh sermon attributed to St.
Ambrose, and in Tillemont, t. 7. [back]
Note 5.
Dieu me garde d’etre
sçavant
D’une science si
profonde:
Les plus doctes le plus
souvent
Sont les plus sottes gens
du monde.
—Chev. de Cailly. [back]
Rev. Alban
Butler (1711–73). Volume XII: December. The Lives of the
Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/12/151.html
Saint Eusebius of
Vercelli
Bishop
(† 370)
Saint Eusebius was born
of a noble family on the island of Sardinia, where his father is said to have
died in prison for the Faith. He was brought up in Rome in the practice of
piety, and studied in Vercelli, a city of Piedmont. Eusebius was ordained a priest
there, and served the Church of Vercelli with such zeal that when the episcopal
chair became vacant he was unanimously chosen, by both clergy and people, to
fill it.
The holy bishop saw that
the best and principal means to labor effectually for the edification and
sanctification of his people was to have a zealous clergy. Saint Ambrose
assures us that he was the first bishop who in the West united the monastic
life with the clerical, living and having his clergy live almost like the monks
of the East in the deserts. They shared a common life of prayer and penance, in
a single residence, that of the bishop, as did the clergy of Saint Augustine in
his African see. Saint Eusebius was very careful to instruct his flock in the
maxims of the Gospel. The force of the truth which he preached, together with
his example, brought many sinners to a change of life.
When a Council was held
in Italy, under the influence of the Emperor Constans and the Arian heretics,
with the intention of condemning Saint Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, Saint
Eusebius courageously resisted the heretics. He attempted to have all present
sign the Nicene Creed, but the paper was torn out of his hands and his pen was
broken. With Saint Dionysus of Milan, he refused to sign the condemnation of
the bishop of Alexandria. The Emperor therefore had him banished to Scythopolis
in Palestine with Saint Dionysus of Milan, then to Cappadocia, where Saint
Dionysus died; and finally he was taken to the Upper Thebaid in Egypt, where he
suffered grievously. The Arians of these places loaded him with outrages and
treated him cruelly, and Saint Eusebius confounded them wherever they were.
At the death of Constans
in 361, he was permitted to return to his diocese, where he continued to combat
Arianism, concertedly with Saint Hilarion of Poitiers. He has been called a
martyr in two panegyrics appended to the works of Saint Ambrose. Two of his
letters, written from his dungeons, are still extant, the only ones of his
writings which have survived. One is addressed to his church, the other to the
bishop of Elvira to encourage him to oppose a fallen heretic and not fear the
power of princes. He died in about the year 370. His relics are in a shrine in
the Cathedral of Vercelli.
Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler's Lives of the Saints and other sources, by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894); Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 14
SOURCE : https://magnificat.ca/cal/en/saints/saint_eusebius_of_vercelli.html
Eusebius of Vercelli B (RM)
Born on Sardinia, c. 283; died at Vercelli, Italy, on August 1, 371; feast day
was formerly December 16, which marks the anniversary of his consecration as
bishop.
Eusebius was the son of a
martyr who died in chains. His widowed mother took Eusebius and his sister,
both infants, to Rome, where Eusebius was reared, educated, and eventually
ordained a lector. He served in Vercelli in the Piedmont, with such success that
he was elected in 340 by the clergy and people to govern it. He is the first
bishop of Vercelli who is known by name. Eusebius decided that the best way to
foster the life of prayer was to live with some of his fellow-clergy as a
community of monks. He was the first in the West to combine the monastic
discipline with the clerical, an example that was later followed by Saint
Augustine.
In 354, Pope Liberius
deputed Eusebius and Bishop Lucifer of Cagliari to plead with Emperor
Constantius to assemble a council to settle the differences between the
Catholics and Arians. They were successful, and the council met in Milan in
355. Although the Catholic prelates outnumbered the Arians, Eusebius realized
that the Arians would dominate by force, and he refused to attend until
Constantius himself coerced him to do so.
Eusebius's sufferings
began with his refusal to condemn the great theologian and doctor of the
Church, Saint Athanasius. When the bishops were called upon to sign a
condemnation of Athanasius, one of the few bishops who continued to insist that
Jesus was both God and man, Eusebius resisted. Instead he presented the Nicene
Creed, which he helped to write, and insisted that it be signed by all before
the case of Saint Athanasius was considered. This sparked a great tumult.
The emperor sent for
Eusebius, Saint Dionysius of Milan, and Lucifer of Cagliari, and demanded that
they condemn Athanasius. They supported his innocence, saying he could not be
condemned without being heard. They also pleaded that the emperor not use
secular force to coerce ecclesiastical decisions. The emperor threatened to
execute them but eventually banished them instead.
Eusebius's six years in
exile began in Scythopolis in Palestine, where he was put in the charge of the
Arian bishop, Patrophilus. He stayed first with Saint Joseph of Palestine, who
offered the only orthodox home in the town, and was visited by Saint Epiphanius
and others, and given money for subsistence by deputies of his church in
Vercelli.
After Count Joseph's
death, the Arians dragged Eusebius through the streets half-clothed and locked
him in a small room, where they badgered him for four days to conform. Eusebius
went on a hunger strike, and after fasting for four days, the Arians returned
him to his lodgings. Three weeks later he was molested again; they confiscated
his possessions, drove away his attendants, and dragged him away. Later he was
banished to Cappadocia, and later still into the Upper Thebaid in Egypt.
Upon the death of
Constantius in 361, Julian the Apostate recalled the banished prelates, and
Eusebius travelled to Alexandria to plan with Saint Athanasius how to correct
the evils of the Church. He took part in a council there in 362, which deputed
him to travel to Antioch to effect the council's wish that Saint Meletius
should be recognized as bishop there, although he had been elected primarily by
Arians. It was hoped that this would heal the Eustathian schism. Unfortunately,
he found that Lucifer of Caligliari, who had also participated in the council,
had widened it by consecrating Paulinus, leader of the Eustathians, bishop of
Carthage. This was the beginning of the Luciferian schism.
Unsuccessful, Eusebius
travelled over the East and through Illyricum, bolstering the wavering faith of
many and bringing others back into the fold. He returned to Italy in 363 and
began working in concert with Saint Hilary of Poitiers to oppose the Arianizing
Auxentius of Milan.
According to Saint
Jerome, Vercelli "laid aside her garments of mourning" upon
Eusebius's long-awaited return, but nothing is known of his remaining years.
Sometimes he is called a martyr, but this is attributed to his sufferings and
not to a violent death.
In Vercelli is treasured
a very ancient manuscript of the Latin Gospels that Eusebius is reputed to have
copied, the Codex Vercellensis, which is the oldest such manuscript in
existence. This and his extant letters demonstrate that Eusebius was a serious
scholar as well as a zealous opponent of Arianism. Though it is not absolutely
certain, it is believed that he is the author of the Athanasian Creed
(Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Farmer, Walsh, White).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0802.shtml
02.JPG)
Église
Saint-Eusèbe-de-Verceil, à Montréal, Québec, Canada
EUSEBIUS OF VERCELLI : Bishop
of Vercelli, one of the most determined opponents of Arianism in the reign of
Constantius; d. 370. He was a Sardinian by birth; but what the
traditional Vita relates as to his parents, his baptism by Pope
Euesbius, his ordination by Pope Marcus, and his consecration by Pope Julius I.
is either false or untrustworthy. All known is that he was a reader in Rome,
and sent from that position to be bishop of a city entirely strange to him,
probably some time before 354. He was the first bishop of Vercelli, besides
which Novara, Ivrea and Tortona seem to have been under his jurisdiction.
Practically nothing is known of his administration before 354, unless
Tillemont's conclusion from the words of Ambrose (Epist., lxiii.) may be
accepted, that the erection of a quasi-monastic house in Vercelli, in which
Eusebius lived with his clergy, belongs to that period. This, at least, Ambrose
says definitely, that Eusebius was the first in the West to combine the life of
city clergy with monastic discipline. After the Synod of Arles (353), Liberius
of Rome desired to gee the weak concession of his legates repaired by another
synod, and Eusebius was a member of the embassy, headed by Lucifer of Cagliari,
which approached the emperor with a petition to that effect. The new synod was
held in Milan, probably in the spring of 355. Eusebius at first remained away;
and when he appeared, in company of the Roman legates, the synod had
practically reached its conclusion. Eusebiug, required to assent to the
condemnation of Athanasius, asked for 'a discussion of the faith of the
council, declaring himself willing to agree to any action which should be
prefaced by an acceptance of the Nicene decrees. Dionysius of Milan was about
to subscribe such a document when Valens snatched the pen and paper from his
hand and withdrew with his party to the palace. The outcome of the proceedings
for Eusebius was his banishment, first to Scythopolis in Palestine, then to
Cappadocia, and finally to the neighborhood of Alexandria. After Julian's
accession he took part in the Alexandrian synod of 362, and then went as a
special envoy to the church of Antioch, where he was unable to prevent a
schism, as Lucifer had already consecrated Paulinus. Not long after, he
returned to Italy, where, with Hilary of Poitiers, he took a decided stand
against the few Arians found in the West, especially Auxentius, the bishop of
Milan. The legend which attributes his death to stoning at the hands of the
Arians, although his epitaph calls him a martyr, is untrustworthy.
(F. LOOFS.)
BIBLIOGRAPHY: The three
" Letters " of Eusebius are in Gallandi, Bibliotheca, v.
78, and in MPL, xii. Sources for a biography are: Jerome, De vir.
ill., xcvi.; Socrates, Hist. eccl., iii. 5-6, 9, and Sozomen, Hist.
eccl., iv. 9, v. 13 (both in NPNF, 2 ser., vol. ii.). F.
Ughelli, Italia sacra, iv. 747-748, Venice, 1719; Tillemont, Mémoires,
vii. 529-563, 771-780, Venice, 1732; DCB, ii. 374-375; KL, iv.
1013-15.
SOURCE : https://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/encyc/encyc04/htm/eusebius_of_thessalonica.htm
Eusebius of Vercelli
Eusebius Of Vercelli, was
born in Sardinia;, was baptized in Rome by pope Eusebius; and became lector, or
ecclesiastical reader at Rome. He was ordained bishop of Vercelli, in Piedmont,
A.D. 340, with the unanimous consent of clergy and people. He was the first in
the West who united the monastic life with the clerical (Ambrose, cited by
Ceillier, 5:500). Pope Liberius requested him to go with Lucifer of Cagliari,
and other legate's,: on an embassy to Constantius, by whom the persecution of
Athanasius had been sanctioned. They visited the emperor (at Arles or Valende),
and prevailed on him to summon the Council De Milan, which met A.D. 355. The
Eusebians (Arians) at this council urged the condemnation of Athanasius, and
the emperor sided with them. Eusebius of Vercelli having received the emperor's
order to sign the condemnation of Athanasius, refused, but expressed his
willingness to subscribe the Nicene Creed. Lucifer of Cagliari and Dionysius of
Milan refused also. The third session was held in the palace, the Arian party
fearing the violence of the people. The emperor himself then sent for the three
above-mentioned bishops, and commanded them either to sign the document or to
prepare for banishment; they, on their part, earnestly entreated him to remember
the account he would be called upon to give in the day of judgment, and
besought him not to introduce the heresy of Arius into the Church; but all was
of no avail, and Eusebius, Dionysius, and Lucifer were sentenced to banishment.
At Scythopolis, in Palestine, his place of exile, he was warmly welcomed, and
also encouraged by an embassy from his people at Vercelli. But at last he was
brutally outraged, dragged naked through the streets, and imprisoned in a
dungeon. He was then transferred to Cappadocia, and thence to the Thebald
(Theodoret, Hist. Eccl. 3:4; Sozomen, Hist. Eccl. 5:12).
After the death of Constantius, his successor, Julian, issued an edict
recalling the exiled bishops. Eusebius went first to Alexandria, where he stood
by Athanasius in the council of A.D. 362 in taking measures to heal the
Antiochian schism. SEE EUSTATHIANS.
The council sent him to Antioch to end the strife there, but the ordination of
Paulinus (q.v.) by Lucifer of Cagliari had made matters worse than ever. After
travelling through the East he returned to Italy, where he was welcomed with
enthusiasm, particularly in his own diocese. He showed himself, in the latter
years of his life, a great admirer of monasticism, and introduced among the
clergy of his diocese the common life. Having learned that the bishop
Auxentius, of Milan, with the support of the emperor Valentinian, was very
actively laboring for the triumph of Arianism, Eusebius, in 364, suddenly
appeared in Milan to attack Arianism in its stronghold, but the emperor soon ordered
him back to his diocese. He died in 371. An inscription on his tomb calls him a
martyr, and, according to a later legend, he was killed by the Arians; but the
writers that are best informed about him (Ambrose, Gregory of Tours, etc.) know
nothing of his martyrdom. The Church of Rome formerly commemorated him as a
martyr on the 1st of August, and now on the 16th of December. We possess
three Epistolae of Eusebius:
1. Ad Constantium
Augustum: —
2. Ad presbyteros et
plebes Italiae, written on the occasion of his banishment, to which is
attached Libellus facti, a sort of protest against the violent
conduct of the Arian bishop Patrophilus, who was in some sort his jailor during
his residence at Scythopolis: —
3. Ad Gregorium
Episc. Hisp., found among the fragments of Hilary (11, § 5). He executed,
also, a translation of the Commentary of his namesake, Eusebius of Caesarea, on
the Psalms; and an edition of the Evangelists, from a copy said to be
transcribed by his own hand, preserved at Vercelli, was published at Milan
(1748, 4to) by J.A. Irico; and again by Blanchini, at Rome, 1748. This edition
is given also in Migne, Patrol. Lat. volume 12. The Epistole will
be found in Bibl. Patr. Galland. volume 5; part of them in Bib.
Max. Pair. volume 5; and all in Migne, Patrol. Lat. volume 12. —
Herzog, Real-Encyklopadie, 4:245 Mohler, Athanasius der
Grosse; Ceillier, Auteurs Sacres (Paris, 1865), 4:271 sq.
SOURCE : https://www.biblicalcyclopedia.com/E/eusebius-of-vercelli.html
Cattedrale
di Sant'Eusebio, Vercelli
St. Eusebius' Roman Catholic Cathedral in Vercelli (Italy)
Sant' Eusebio di Vercelli Vescovo
2
agosto - Memoria Facoltativa
Sardegna, inizio IV
secolo - Vercelli, 1 agosto 371/372
Il primo vescovo del
Piemonte nacque in Sardegna tra la fine del III e l'inizio del IV secolo.
Durante gli studi ecclesiastici a Roma si fece apprezzare da papa Giulio I che
verso il 345 lo nominò vescovo di Vercelli. Qui stabilì per sé e per i suoi
preti l'obbligo della vita in comune, collegando l'evangelizzazione con lo
stile monastico. I vercellesi vennero conquistati dalla sua arte oratoria: non
solo parlava bene, ma esprimeva ciò che sentiva dentro. Si attirò così
l'ostilità degli ariani e dello stesso imperatore Costanzo che lo mandò in
esilio in Asia insieme a Dionigi, vescovo di Milano. Venne torturato,
soffrì la fame, ma nel 362 ebbe finalmente la fortuna di ritornare a Vercelli.
Riprese l'evangelizzazione delle campagne, istituendo la diocesi di Tortona. Ma
si spinse anche in Gallia, insediando un vescovo a Embrun. La tradizione lo
considera anche fondatore di due noti santuari: quello di Oropa (Biella) e di
Crea (Alessandria). Nel 371 la morte lo colse nella sua città episcopale, che
ne custodisce tuttora le reliquie nel Duomo. (Avvenire)
Patronato: Vercelli,
Regione Pastorale Piemontese
Etimologia: Eusebio =
uomo pio, timorato di Dio, dal greco
Emblema: Bastone pastorale,
Mitra
Martirologio Romano: Sant’Eusebio, primo vescovo di Vercelli, che consolidò la Chiesa in tutta la regione subalpina e per aver confessato la fede di Nicea fu relegato dall’imperatore Costanzo a Scitopoli e poi in Cappadocia e nella Tebaide. Ritornato otto anni più tardi nella sua sede, si adoperò strenuamente per ristabilire la fede contro l’eresia ariana.
(1 agosto: A Vercelli, anniversario della morte di sant’Eusebio, vescovo, la
cui memoria si celebra domani).
Arriva in gioventù dalla nativa Sardegna a Roma, segue gli studi ecclesiastici e si fa apprezzare da papa Giulio I, che verso il 345 lo nomina vescovo di Vercelli: è il primo vescovo del Piemonte. Qui stabilisce per sé e per i suoi preti l’obbligo della vita in comune, collegando l’evangelizzazione con lo stile monastico. Ora i cristiani, non più perseguitati, cominciano a litigare tra loro: da una parte, quelli che seguono la dottrina del concilio di Nicea (325) sul Figlio di Dio, "generato, non creato, della stessa sostanza del Padre"; dall’altra, i seguaci dell’arianesimo, che nel Figlio vede una creatura, per quanto eminente. Con l’appoggio della corte imperiale, gli ariani hanno il sopravvento in molte regioni, e faranno esiliare per cinque volte il più energico sostenitore della dottrina nicena: Atanasio, vescovo di Alessandria d’Egitto, ammirato da Eusebio che l’ha conosciuto a Roma.
Annullato il secondo suo esilio, un concilio ad Arles (Francia), con decisione illegale, condanna Atanasio per la terza volta. Allora il papa Liberio manda all’imperatore Costanzo (figlio di Costanzo il Grande) appunto Eusebio, già suo compagno di studi, con Lucifero, vescovo di Cagliari. Ed essi ottengono di rimettere la questione a un nuovo concilio, che si riunisce nel 355 a Milano, dove viene anche il sovrano. E subito si riparla di condannare ed esiliare Atanasio. Replica lucidamente Eusebio: prima di esaminare i casi personali, mettiamoci piuttosto tutti d’accordo sui problemi generali di fede, firmando uno per uno il Credo di Nicea. Una proposta ragionevole, che però scatena il tumulto tra i vescovi e un altro tumulto dei fedeli contro i vescovi. Costanzo fa proseguire i lavori nella residenza imperiale (senza i fedeli) e tutti approvano la ri-condanna di Atanasio. Tutti meno tre: Eusebio, Lucifero, e Dionigi, vescovo di Milano. Questi non cedono, e Costanzo li esilia.
Eusebio viene mandato a Scitopoli di Palestina, e di lì scrive ai suoi vercellesi una lettera giunta fino a noi. Poi è trasferito in Cappadocia (Asia Minore) e poi nella Tebaide egiziana. Nel 361, morto l’imperatore Costanzo, si revocano le condanne: Atanasio torna ad Alessandria e indice un concilio, presente anche Eusebio, che poi però non torna subito a Vercelli: lo chiamano ad Antiochia di Siria, dove l’estremismo del vescovo Lucifero fa litigare i cattolici tra di loro. Ritrova infine Vercelli nel 362. Studia, scrive, riprende l’evangelizzazione delle campagne, istituisce la diocesi di Tortona. Ma si spinge anche in Gallia, insediando un vescovo a Embrun. La tradizione lo considera pure fondatore di due illustri santuari: quello di Oropa (Biella) e di Crea (Alessandria). La morte lo coglie nella sua città episcopale, che ne custodisce tuttora le reliquie nel Duomo, ricordandolo anche a fine XX secolo col nome del giornale della diocesi: L’Eusebiano.
Autore: Domenico Agasso
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/28500
Sant'Eusebio parish church , Moncrivello, Vercelli, Italy
BENEDETTO XVI
UDIENZA GENERALE
Sant’Eusebio di Vercelli
Cari fratelli e sorelle,
questa mattina vi invito
a riflettere su sant’Eusebio di Vercelli, il primo Vescovo dell’Italia
settentrionale di cui abbiamo notizie sicure. Nato in Sardegna all’inizio del
IV secolo, ancora in tenera età si trasferì a Roma con la sua famiglia. Più
tardi venne istituito lettore: entrò così a far parte del clero dell’Urbe, in
un tempo in cui la Chiesa era gravemente provata dall’eresia ariana. La grande
stima che crebbe attorno a Eusebio spiega la sua elezione nel 345 alla cattedra
episcopale di Vercelli. Il nuovo Vescovo iniziò subito un’intensa opera di
evangelizzazione in un territorio ancora in gran parte pagano, specialmente
nelle zone rurali. Ispirato da sant’Atanasio – che aveva scritto la Vita di
sant’Antonio, iniziatore del monachesimo in Oriente –, fondò a Vercelli una
comunità sacerdotale, simile a una comunità monastica. Questo cenobio diede al
clero dell’Italia settentrionale una significativa impronta di santità
apostolica e suscitò figure di Vescovi importanti, come Limenio e Onorato,
successori di Eusebio a Vercelli, Gaudenzio a Novara, Esuperanzio a Tortona,
Eustasio ad Aosta, Eulogio a Ivrea, Massimo a Torino, tutti venerati dalla
Chiesa come Santi.
Solidamente formato nella
fede nicena, Eusebio difese con tutte le forze la piena divinità di Gesù Cristo,
definito dal Credo di Nicea «della stessa sostanza» del Padre. A tale
scopo si alleò con i grandi Padri del IV secolo – soprattutto con
sant’Atanasio, l’alfiere dell’ortodossia nicena – contro la politica filoariana
dell’imperatore. Per l’imperatore la più semplice fede ariana appariva
politicamente più utile come ideologia dell’Impero. Per lui non contava la
verità, ma l’opportunità politica: voleva strumentalizzare la religione come
legame dell’unità dell’Impero. Ma questi grandi Padri resistettero difendendo
la verità contro la dominazione della politica. Per questo motivo Eusebio fu
condannato all’esilio come tanti altri Vescovi di Oriente e di Occidente: come
lo stesso Atanasio, come Ilario di Poiters – di cui abbiamo parlato la volta
scorsa –, come Osio di Cordova. A Scitopoli in Palestina, dove fu confinato fra
il 355 e il 360, Eusebio scrisse una pagina stupenda della sua vita. Anche qui
fondò un cenobio con un piccolo gruppo di discepoli, e da qui curò la
corrispondenza con i suoi fedeli del Piemonte, come dimostra soprattutto la
seconda delle tre Lettere eusebiane riconosciute autentiche.
Successivamente, dopo il 360, fu esiliato in Cappadocia e nella Tebaide, dove
subì gravi maltrattamenti fisici. Nel 361, morto Costanzo II, gli succedette
l’imperatore Giuliano, detto l’Apostata, che non si interessava al
cristianesimo come religione dell’Impero, ma voleva semplicemente restaurare il
paganesimo. Egli mise fine all’esilio di questi Vescovi e consentì così anche
ad Eusebio di riprendere possesso della sua sede. Nel 362 fu invitato da
Atanasio a partecipare al Concilio di Alessandria, che decise di perdonare i
Vescovi ariani purché ritornassero allo stato laicale. Eusebio poté esercitare
ancora per una decina d’anni, fino alla morte, il ministero episcopale,
realizzando con la sua città un rapporto esemplare, che non mancò di ispirare
il servizio pastorale di altri Vescovi dell’Italia settentrionale, dei quali ci
occuperemo nelle prossime catechesi, come sant’Ambrogio di Milano e san Massimo
di Torino.
Il rapporto tra il
Vescovo di Vercelli e la sua città è illuminato soprattutto da due
testimonianze epistolari. La prima si trova nella Lettera già citata,
che Eusebio scrisse dall’esilio di Scitopoli «ai dilettissimi fratelli e ai
presbiteri tanto desiderati, nonché ai santi popoli saldi nella fede di
Vercelli, Novara, Ivrea e Tortona» (Ep. seconda). Queste espressioni iniziali,
che segnalano la commozione del buon Pastore di fronte al suo gregge, trovano
ampio riscontro alla fine della Lettera, nei saluti calorosissimi del
padre a tutti e a ciascuno dei suoi figli di Vercelli, con espressioni
traboccanti di affetto e di amore. E’ da notare anzitutto il rapporto esplicito
che lega il Vescovo alle sanctae plebes non solo di Vercellae/Vercelli
– la prima e, per qualche anno ancora, l’unica Diocesi del Piemonte –, ma anche
di Novaria/Novara, Eporedia/Ivrea e Dertona/Tortona, cioè di
quelle comunità cristiane che, all’interno della stessa Diocesi, avevano
raggiunto una certa consistenza e autonomia. Un altro elemento interessante è
fornito dal commiato con cui si conclude la Lettera: Eusebio chiede ai
suoi figli e alle sue figlie di salutare «anche quelli che sono fuori della
Chiesa e che si degnano di nutrire per noi sentimenti d’amore: etiam hos,
qui foris sunt et nos dignantur diligere». Segno evidente che il rapporto del
Vescovo con la sua città non era limitato alla popolazione cristiana, ma si
estendeva anche a coloro che – al di fuori della Chiesa – ne riconoscevano in
qualche modo l’autorità spirituale e amavano quest’uomo esemplare.
La seconda testimonianza
del singolare rapporto del Vescovo con la sua città proviene dalla Lettera che
sant’Ambrogio di Milano scrisse ai Vercellesi intorno al 394, più di vent’anni
dopo la morte di Eusebio (Ep. fuori collezione 14). La Chiesa di Vercelli
stava attraversando un momento difficile: era divisa e senza Pastore. Con
franchezza Ambrogio dichiara di esitare a riconoscere in quei Vercellesi «la
discendenza dei santi padri, che approvarono Eusebio non appena l’ebbero visto,
senza averlo mai conosciuto prima di allora, dimenticando persino i propri
concittadini». Nella stessa Lettera il Vescovo di Milano attesta nel
modo più chiaro la sua stima nei confronti di Eusebio: «Un così grande uomo»,
scrive in modo perentorio, «ben meritò di essere eletto da tutta la Chiesa».
L’ammirazione di Ambrogio per Eusebio si fondava soprattutto sul fatto che il
Vescovo di Vercelli governava la diocesi con la testimonianza della sua vita:
«Con l’austerità del digiuno governava la sua Chiesa». Di fatto anche Ambrogio
era affascinato – come egli stesso riconosce – dall’ideale monastico della
contemplazione di Dio, che Eusebio aveva perseguito sulle orme del profeta
Elia. Per primo – annota Ambrogio – il Vescovo di Vercelli raccolse il proprio
clero in vita communis e lo educò all’«osservanza delle regole
monastiche, pur vivendo in mezzo alla città». Il Vescovo e il suo clero
dovevano condividere i problemi dei concittadini, e lo hanno fatto in modo
credibile proprio coltivando al tempo stesso una cittadinanza diversa, quella
del cielo (cfr Eb 13,14). E così hanno realmente costruito una vera
cittadinanza, una vera solidarietà comune tra i cittadini di Vercelli.
Così Eusebio, mentre
faceva sua la causa della sancta plebs di Vercelli, viveva in mezzo
alla città come un monaco, aprendo la città verso Dio. Questo tratto, quindi,
nulla tolse al suo esemplare dinamismo pastorale. Sembra fra l’altro che egli
abbia istituito a Vercelli le pievi per un servizio ecclesiale ordinato e
stabile, e che abbia promosso i Santuari mariani per la conversione delle
popolazioni rurali pagane. Piuttosto, questo «tratto monastico" conferiva
una dimensione peculiare al rapporto del Vescovo con la sua città. Come già gli
Apostoli, per i quali Gesù pregava nella sua Ultima Cena, i Pastori e i fedeli
della Chiesa «sono nel mondo» (Gv 17,11), ma non sono «del mondo». Perciò
i Pastori – ricordava Eusebio – devono esortare i fedeli a non considerare le
città del mondo come la loro dimora stabile, ma a cercare la Città futura, la
definitiva Gerusalemme del cielo. Questa «riserva escatologica» consente ai
Pastori e ai fedeli di salvare la scala giusta dei valori, senza mai piegarsi
alle mode del momento e alle pretese ingiuste del potere politico in carica. La
scala autentica dei valori – sembra dire la vita intera di Eusebio – non viene
dagli imperatori di ieri e di oggi, ma viene da Gesù Cristo, l’Uomo perfetto,
uguale al Padre nella divinità, eppure uomo come noi. Riferendosi a questa
scala di valori, Eusebio non si stanca di «raccomandare caldamente» ai suoi
fedeli di «custodire con ogni cura la fede, di mantenere la concordia, di
essere assidui nell’orazione» (Ep. seconda).
Cari amici, anch’io vi
raccomando con tutto il cuore questi valori perenni, mentre vi saluto e vi
benedico con le parole stesse, con cui il santo Vescovo Eusebio concludeva la
sua seconda Lettera: «Mi rivolgo a tutti voi, miei fratelli e sante
sorelle, figli e figlie, fedeli dei due sessi e di ogni età, perché vogliate
... portare il nostro saluto anche a quelli che sono fuori dalla Chiesa, e che
si degnano di nutrire per noi sentimenti d’amore» (ibid.).
Saluti:
Je salue les pèlerins
francophones, particulièrement le groupe du diocèse de Créteil accompagné de
l’Évêque nommé, Monseigneur Santier, ainsi que les pèlerins de l’Île de la
Réunion et de Monaco. À la suite de saint Eusèbe, je vous invite à porter le
salut et l’estime du successeur de Pierre à tous ceux que vous aimez et qui
sont en dehors de l’Église.
I warmly greet the
Immaculate Heart Sisters from Nigeria who celebrate the seventieth anniversary
of their foundation. I likewise greet the members of the national
pilgrimage of Tanzania. My welcome also goes to the Lutheran pilgrims
from Norway and to the members of Serra International. Upon all the
English-speaking visitors, including those from England, Scotland, Ireland,
Australia, Papua New Guinea, Japan, the Philippines and the United States, I
invoke God’s abundant blessings.
Von Herzen grüße ich die
Pilger und Besucher deutscher Zunge, insbesondere das Generalkapitel der
Missionare von der Heiligen Familie. Mit dem hl. Eusebius möchte ich euch
zurufen: Stärkt die Einheit unter den Menschen im Gebet und durch gute Werke!
So helft ihr dem Nachfolger Petri in seinem Hirtendienst. Gott, der Herr
unseres Lebens, geleite uns Tag um Tag.
Saludo cordialmente a los
peregrinos de lengua española. En particular, a las Hermanas Agustinas
Misioneras, que celebran su Capítulo General, y a los grupos venidos de España,
Panamá, Puerto Rico, México, Colombia, Perú, Argentina y de otros países
latinoamericanos. Siguiendo la enseñanza y ejemplo de san Eusebio de Verceli,
no veamos las ciudades del mundo como nuestra morada definitiva, sino busquemos
más bien la Jerusalén del cielo, fieles a Jesucristo, Dios y hombre verdadero.
Muchas gracias.
Minha saudação cordial
vai hoje também aos peregrinos de língua portuguesa, a todos desejando paz e
harmonia para as suas famílias e comunidades. De modo especial desejo
cumprimentar os portugueses vindos de Aveiro e os brasileiros de
Ribeirão Bonito no Estado de São Paulo e os cearenses de Fortaleza. Faço também
uma menção particular aos integrantes da Casa do Menor de Nova Iguaçu
do Rio de Janeiro, com os votos de que prossigam nesta árdua, mas
entusiasmante, tarefa de formar a juventude, mormente aquela mais abandonada no
Brasil. Com a minha Bênção Apostólica.
Saluto in lingua croata:
S radošću pozdravljam sve
hrvatske hodočasnike, a posebno katedralni zbor iz Varaždina te vjernike župe
Svetoga Stjepana iz Splita. Neka vas Gospodin obilno blagoslovi i uvijek vas
prati svojom pomoću. Budite mu vjerni i zahvalni. Hvaljen Isus i Marija!
Traduzione italiana:
Con gioia saluto i
pellegrini croati, particolarmente il coro della cattedrale di Varaždin ed i
fedeli della parrocchia di Santo Stefano di Split. Il Signore vi benedica
abbondantemente e vi accompagni sempre con il suo aiuto. Siategli fedeli e
riconoscenti. Siano lodati Gesù e Maria!
Saluto in lingua polacca:
Pozdrawiam obecnych tu
Polaków, a szczególnie wiernych z Archidiecezji Katowickiej, przybyłych z
okazji 750 rocznicy śmierci św. Jacka. Niech ten święty, zwany Lux ex
Silesiae przewodzi wam na drodze do Chrystusa. Wczoraj wspominaliśmy
rocznicę wyboru mojego poprzednika Jana Pawła II. Dziękujmy Bogu za owoce jego
pontyfikatu i trwajmy w wierze i miłości, której był wielkim świadkiem. Niech
Bóg wam błogosławi.
Traduzione italiana:
Saluto i polacchi qui
presenti, e in particolare i fedeli provenienti dall’Arcidiocesi di Katowice,
giunti in occasione del 750° anniversario della morte di S. Giacinto. Il Santo,
chiamato Lux ex Silesiae vi guidi sul cammino verso Cristo. Ieri
abbiamo ricordato l’anniversario dell’elezione del mio predecessore Giovanni
Paolo II. Ringraziamo Dio per i frutti del Suo Pontificato e stiamo saldi nella
fede e nell’amore di cui è stato grande testimone. Dio vi benedica!
Saluto in lingua slovena:
Lepo pozdravljam
slovenske vernike! Iz večih krajev vaše domovine vas je romarska pot privedla v
Večno mesto, v katerem sta Peter in Pavel za Kristusa darovala življenje. Naj
vam bosta vzor in priprošnja teh dveh velikih apostolov v pomoč, da boste tudi vi
vneti pričevalci evangelija. Naj vas spremlja moj blagoslov!
Traduzione italiana:
Rivolgo un cordiale
saluto ai fedeli della Slovenia! Da varie parti della vostra patria siete
venuti in pellegrinaggio nella Città Eterna, in cui SS. Pietro e Paolo offrirono
per il Signore la loro vita. L’esempio e l’intercessione di questi due grandi
Apostoli vi aiutino ad essere anche voi zelanti testimoni del Vangelo. Vi
accompagni la mia Benedizione!
Saluto in lingua
ungherese:
Szeretettel köszöntöm a
magyar zarándokokat, különösen is azokat, akik Tusnádfürdőről, Brassóból és
Máriabesnyőről érkeztek! Köszönöm imáitokat az Egyházért és péteri
szolgálatomért. Vigyétek magatokkal köszöntésemet az otthoniaknak. Szívesen
adom áldásomat Mindannyiotokra. Dicsértessék a Jézus Krisztus!
Traduzione italiana:
Volentieri do il
benvenuto ai pellegrini ungheresi, in particolare a quelli provenienti da
Tusnádfürdő, Brassó e Máriabesnyő. Ringrazio voi tutti per le vostre preghiere
per la Chiesa e per il mio servizio petrino. Portate il mio saluto alle vostre
famiglie e ai vostri cari. Di cuore imparto a voi tutti la mia
benedizione! Sia lodato Gesù Cristo!
* * *
Rivolgo un cordiale
benvenuto ai pellegrini di lingua italiana. In particolare, saluto i membri
della Milizia dell'Immacolata fondata novant'anni fa da S.
Massimiliano Maria Kolbe, e li incoraggio a proseguire con rinnovato ardore
apostolico nel loro servizio al Vangelo e alla Chiesa. Saluto le Delegate
al Capitolo dell'Unione Romana dell'Ordine di Sant'Orsola e assicuro
la mia preghiera affinché l'intero Istituto sia sempre più animato dall'amore
di Dio secondo il carisma della fondatrice sant'Angela Merici. Saluto poi le
Religiose che prendono parte al Seminario internazionale promosso dall'USMI sul
tema della "Tratta di esseri umani", ed auspico che tale incontro
rafforzi in tutti la coscienza del valore sacro della vita umana. Saluto con
affetto i fedeli, accompagnati dall'Arcivescovo di Lecce Mons. Francesco Ruppi
e da altri Presuli, che prendono parte al pellegrinaggio promosso dalle Suore
Salesiane dei Sacri Cuori ad un anno dalla canonizzazione di san Filippo
Smaldone, apostolo dei sordomuti. Cari amici, vi invito tutti, clero, religiose
e fedeli laici a imitare la sua esemplare testimonianza e a seguire fedelmente
lo spirito di carità verso i più bisognosi.
Rivolgo, infine, il mio
pensiero ai malati, agli sposi novelli e ai giovani, specialmente
ai ragazzi del dopo-Cresima della Diocesi di Faenza-Modigliana e agli alunni
della Fondazione Sacro Cuore di Cesena. Cari amici, il mese di ottobre ci
invita a rinnovare la nostra attiva cooperazione alla missione della Chiesa.
Ponete pertanto al servizio del Vangelo, voi giovani le fresche
energie della giovinezza, voi malati la forza della preghiera e della
sofferenza, voi sposi novelli le potenzialità della vita coniugale
per offrire un concreto sostegno ai missionari che recano il messaggio
cristiano nelle frontiere dell’evangelizzazione.
ANNUNCIO DI CONCISTORO
PER LA CREAZIONE DI NUOVI CARDINALI
Ho ora la gioia di
annunciare che il 24 novembre prossimo, vigilia della Solennità di Nostro
Signore Gesù Cristo, Re dell’Universo, terrò un Concistoro nel quale, derogando
di una unità al limite numerico stabilito dal Papa Paolo VI, confermato dal mio
venerato Predecessore Giovanni Paolo II nella Costituzione Apostolica Universi
dominici gregis (cfr n. 33), nominerò diciotto Cardinali. Ecco i loro
nomi:
1. Mons. Leonardo
Sandri, Prefetto della Congregazione per le Chiese Orientali;
2. Mons. John
Patrick Foley, Pro-Gran Maestro dell’Ordine Equestre del Santo Sepolcro di
Gerusalemme;
3. Mons. Giovanni
Lajolo, Presidente della Pontificia Commissione e del Governatorato dello Stato
della Città del Vaticano;
4. Mons. Paul Joseph
Cordes, Presidente del Pontificio Consiglio "Cor Unum";
5. Mons. Angelo
Comastri, Arciprete della Basilica Vaticana, Vicario Generale per lo S.C.V. e
Presidente della Fabbrica di San Pietro;
6. Mons. Stanisław
Ryłko, Presidente del Pontificio Consiglio per i Laici;
7. Mons. Raffaele
Farina, Archivista e Bibliotecario di S.R.C.;
8. Mons. Agustín
García-Gasco Vicente, Arcivescovo di Valencia (Spagna);
9. Mons. Seán
Baptist Brady, Arcivescovo di Armagh (Irlanda);
10. Mons. Lluís
Martínez Sistach, Arcivescovo di Barcellona (Spagna);
11. Mons. André
Vingt-Trois, Arcivescovo di Parigi (Francia);
12. Mons. Angelo
Bagnasco, Arcivescovo di Genova (Italia);
13. Mons.
Théodore-Adrien Sarr, Arcivescovo di Dakar (Senegal);
14. Mons. Oswald
Gracias, Arcivescovo di Bombay (India);
15. Mons. Francisco
Robles Ortega, Arcivescovo di Monterrey (Messico);
16. Mons. Daniel N.
Di Nardo, Arcivescovo di Galveston-Houston (Stati Uniti d’America);
17. Mons. Odillo
Pedro Scherer, Arcivescovo di São Paulo (Brasile);
18. Mons. John Njue,
Arcivescovo di Nairobi (Kenya).
Desidero inoltre elevare
alla dignità cardinalizia tre venerati Presuli e due benemeriti ecclesiastici,
particolarmente meritevoli per il loro impegno al servizio della Chiesa:
1. S.B. Emmanuel III
Delly, Patriarca di Babilonia dei Caldei;
2. Mons. Giovanni
Coppa, Nunzio Apostolico;
3. Mons. Estanislao
Esteban Karlic, Arcivescovo emerito di Paraná (Argentina);
4. P. Urbano
Navarrete, S.I., già Rettore della Pontificia Università Gregoriana; e
5. P. Umberto Betti,
O.F.M., già Rettore della Pontificia Università Lateranense.
* * *
Tra questi ultimi era
stato mio desiderio elevare alla porpora anche l’anziano Vescovo Ignacy Jeż, di
Koszalin-Kołobrzeg, in Polonia, benemerito Presule, che ieri è improvvisamente
mancato.
A lui va la nostra
preghiera di suffragio.
* * *
I nuovi Porporati
provengono da varie parti del mondo. Nella loro schiera ben si rispecchia
l'universalità della Chiesa con la molteplicità dei suoi ministeri: accanto a
Presuli benemeriti per il servizio reso alla Santa Sede, vi sono Pastori che
spendono le loro energie a diretto contatto con i fedeli.
Altre persone vi
sarebbero, a me molto care, che per la loro dedizione al servizio della Chiesa
ben meriterebbero di essere elevate alla dignità cardinalizia. Spero di avere
in futuro l'opportunità di testimoniare, anche in questo modo, ad esse ed ai
Paesi a cui appartengono la mia stima ed il mio affetto.
Affidiamo i nuovi eletti
alla protezione di Maria Santissima, chiedendoLe di assisterli nelle rispettive
mansioni, affinché sappiano testimoniare con coraggio in ogni circostanza il
loro amore per Cristo e per la Chiesa.
APPELLO
Si celebra oggi la Giornata Mondiale del rifiuto della miseria, riconosciuta dalle Nazioni Uniti sotto il titolo di Giornata internazionale per l’eliminazione della povertà. Queste popolazioni vivono ancora in condizioni di estrema povertà! La disparità tra ricchi e poveri s'è fatta più evidente e inquietante, anche all’interno delle nazioni economicamente più avanzate. Questa situazione preoccupante s'impone alla coscienza dell'umanità, poiché le condizioni in cui versa un gran numero di persone sono tali da offendere la dignità dell’essere umano e da compromettere, conseguentemente, l'autentico ed armonico progresso della comunità mondiale. Incoraggio, pertanto, a moltiplicare gli sforzi per eliminare le cause della povertà e le tragiche conseguenze che ne derivano.
© Copyright 2007 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Copyright © Dicastero per
la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
SOURCE : https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/it/audiences/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20071017.html
.jpg)
Chiesa di S. Eusebio. Berzo, Berzo Demo, Val Camonica
Church of S. Eusebius. Berzo, Berzo Demo, Val Camonica
.jpg)
Chiesa di S. Eusebio. Berzo, Berzo Demo, Val Camonica
Church of S. Eusebius. Berzo, Berzo Demo, Val Camonica
Sant'Eusebio di Vercelli
283 - 371
santo, vescovo
Sant'Eusebio di Vercelli
è il primo vescovo dell’Italia settentrionale di cui si hanno notizie sicure.
Nato in Sardegna all’inizio del IV secolo, si trasferì a Roma ancora in tenera
età con la sua famiglia. Più tardi venne istituito lettore: entrò così a far
parte del clero dell’Urbe, in un tempo in cui la Chiesa era gravemente provata
dall’eresia ariana. La grande stima che crebbe attorno a Eusebio spiega la sua
elezione nel 345 alla cattedra episcopale di Vercelli. Il nuovo vescovo iniziò
subito un’intensa opera di evangelizzazione in un territorio ancora in gran
parte pagano, specialmente nelle zone rurali. Ispirato da sant’Atanasio – che
aveva scritto la Vita di sant’Antonio, iniziatore del monachesimo in Oriente –,
fondò a Vercelli una comunità sacerdotale, simile a una comunità monastica.
Questo cenobio diede al clero dell’Italia settentrionale una significativa
impronta di santità apostolica e suscitò figure di vescovi importanti, come
Limenio e Onorato, successori di Eusebio a Vercelli, Gaudenzio a Novara,
Esuperanzio a Tortona, Eustasio ad Aosta, Eulogio a Ivrea, Massimo a Torino,
tutti venerati dalla Chiesa come Santi. Per il suo atteggiamento ostile alla
politica ariana di Costanzo fu esiliato (335-356) prima a Scitopoli e poi in
Cappadocia. Ritornato nella sede vescovile nel 361, secondo la tradizione
introdusse il culto mariano ad Oropa. Morì nel 370 e la Chiesa lo venera come
martire.
SOURCE : https://www.beweb.chiesacattolica.it/persone/persona/5056/
Illustration
aus der Schedel'schen Weltchronik, Blatt 128r
Eusebius
of Vercelli. Illustration from the Nuremberg Chronicle
Sant'Eusebio
di Vercelli, illustrazione tratta dalle Cronache di Norimberga
Eusebius von Vercelli
Gedenktag katholisch: 2. August
nicht gebotener Gedenktag
gebotener Gedenktag im Erzbistum Mailand und im Orden der
Augustiner-Chorherren/-frauen
nicht gebotener Gedenktag im mozarabischen Ritus:
26. September
Todestag: 1. August
Gedenktag
III. Klasse: 16. Dezember
Todestag: 1. August, Tag
der Weihe zum Bischof: 15. Dezember
Name bedeutet: der
Gottesfürchtige (griech.)
erster Bischof von Vercelli, Märtyrer (?)
* um 283 in Cagliari (?) auf Sardinien in Italien
† 1. August 371 (?) in Vercelli in
Italien
Eusebius kam der
Überlieferung zufolge nach dem Märtyrertod seines Vaters zusammen mit seiner
Mutter Restituta und
seiner Schwester auf die Insel Sardinien und
dann nach Rom.
Er wurde hervorragend ausgebildet, vom römischen Bischof Marcus I. zum
Lektor und vom römischen Bischof Julius I. zum
Priester geweiht. 345 wurde er erster Bischof von Vercelli.
Er gilt als engagierter Kämpfer gegen den Arianismus,
wovon auch drei erhaltene Briefe zeugen. Die Bekenntnisschrift De
Trinitate, Über die Dreieinigkeit, wird ihm aber wohl zu Unrecht zugeschrieben.
In Bischof Hilarius
von Poitiers hatte er einen Verbündeten im Kampf gegen die Irrlehre.
Als Eusebius von den
Arianern verfolgt wurde, fand er der Überlieferung zufolge Zuflucht in
der Kirche
San Giuliano in Vercelli, nach anderer Überlieferung auf dem Sacro
Monte bahe Serralunga di Crea bei Alessandria, wo er sich an der
Stelle eines alten keltischen Heiligtums aufhielt und dann zum Dank die Marienstatue
stiftete, die heute dort im Sanktuarium verehrt wird.
355 erreichte Eusebius
auf Bitten von Papst Liberius bei
Kaiser Konstantius II. die Einberufung der Synode von Mailand.
Liberius war mit dem Verlauf der Synode von 353 in Arles nicht
zufrieden. Die Versammlung in Mailand wurde von mehr als 300 Abgeordneten aus
dem Westen, aber nur von wenigen aus dem Osten besucht; Kaiser Konstantius
verlangte vom abendländischen Episkopat die Verurteilung des Patriarchen Athanasios
von Alexandria, der als konsequenter Bekämpfer des Arianismus galt,
dazu die Aufhebung der Beschlüsse des 1.
Konzils von Nicäa und stattdessen die Anerkennung der 1.
sirmischen Formel, der Formulierung der Synode von Sirmium - dem heutigen Sremska
Mitrovica in Serbien - von 351, die vermieden hatte, Jesus
Christus als mit dem Vater wesenseins zu bezeichnen. Aus
politischen Gründen vertrat der Kaiser arianische Auffassungen und setzte sie
auch auf der Synode durch. Die Bischöfe, die sich weigerten, seinen Forderungen
zuzustimmen, wurden von ihm verbannt: Eusebius 355 erst nach Scythopolis - dem
heutigen Bet
She'an in Palästina -, dann nach Kappadokien,
schließlich in die Thebais - die Gegend um Theben -
heute Ruinen bei Al-Uqsur in Ägypten.
Erst nach sieben Jahren -
unter Kaiser Julian Apostata - konnte Eusebius 362 wieder in seine
Diözese Vercelli zurückkehren.
362 nahm er an der Synode in Alexandria teil.
Patriarch Athanasios wollte
eine Übereinstimmung aller Gegner des Arianismus erreichen,
die nur das Bekenntnis
von Nicäa anerkennen, ansonsten aber in ihrer Auslegung frei bleiben
sollten. Die Synode beauftragte Eusebius, nach Antiochia - dem heutigen Antakya -
zu reisen, um über die Aufhebung der in diesen Auseinandersetzungen
entstandenen Spaltung mit Patriarch Meletios
von Antiochia zu verhandeln, was aber erfolglos blieb.
Nach seiner Rückkehr
nach Vercelli führte
Eusebius für die ihm anvertrauten Geistlichen als erster im Abendland das
gemeinsame Leben ein: eine halbklösterliche Gemeinschaft, ähnlich der
Mönchsgemeinschaft, wie sie später Augustinus begründete;
die Anregung hierzu erhielt er wohl durch die Begegnung mit dem östlichen
Mönchtum während seines Exils. Die Legenden berichteten später, Eusebius sei
von aufgebrachten Anhängern des Arianismus zu
Tode gesteinigt worden; nach wohl historisch zuverlässigen Quellen erlitt er
zwar manche Pein, starb aber eines natürlichen Todes.
Worte des Heiligen
Eusebius schrieb folgenden Brief an seine Gemeinde aus der Verbannung, wobei er auch ungläubige Sympathisanten grüßen lässt:
Liebe Brüder, ich weiß nun, dass ihr ohne Tadel seid, so wie ich es wünschte. Es kommt mir vor, als sei ich zu euch gekommen, plötzlich über die ganze Weite der Erde zu euch hingetragen, wie es Habakkuk geschah, den ein Engel zu Daniel brachte (vgl. Daniel 14, 32 - 39). Wenn ich von einigen von euch Briefe bekam und beim Durchlesen dieser Schreiben eure heilige Gesinnung und eure Liebe spürte, mischten sich bei mir Freude und Tränen; und der Geist, der gerne gelesen hätte, wurde durch die Tränen daran gehindert. Beides musste sein, damit jeder Einzelne dabei den Wunsch empfinde, die Sehnsucht durch Taten der Liebe zu ergänzen und zu übertreffen. Tagelang war ich damit beschäftigt, und es kam mir vor, als unterhielte ich mich mit euch. Ich vergaß darüber die Mühsal der Vergangenheit; so sehr umgaben mich Freuden von allen Seiten. Die Freuden gaben mir festen Glauben, Liebe und Frucht, dass es mir inmitten so großer Güter vorkam, als sei ich bei euch. Liebe Brüder, ich freue mich über euren Glauben und über das Heil aus dem Glauben. Ich freue mich über die Früchte, die ihr nicht nur den dort Weilenden, sondern auch denen in der Ferne darreicht. Denn wie der Bauer dem guten Baum dient, der wegen der Früchte nicht die Streiche der Axt zu fürchten braucht und nicht dem Feuer überantwortet wird, so wollen und wünschen wir euch nicht nur dem Fleisch nach zu dienen, sondern unser Leben für euch hinzugeben.
Wir haben übrigens beim Schreiben dieses Briefes Gott unaufhörlich gebeten, er
möge unseren Wächter von Stunde zu Stunde hinhalten und dafür sorgen, dass der
Diakon euch nicht so sehr von unserer Drangsal berichte als vielmehr euch
unsere brieflichen Grüße überbringe. Darum bitte ich euch: Wahrt in aller
Wachsamkeit den Glauben, wahrt die Eintracht, widmet euch dem Gebet, denkt
stets an uns, damit Gott seine Kirche befreit, die auf dem ganzen Erdkreis
bedrängt wird, und damit wir, die Unterdrückten, uns mit euch der Freiheit
erfreuen dürfen. Auch bitte ich euch bei dem Erbarmen Gottes, jeder möge aus
diesem Brief seinen Gruß entnehmen. Denn unter dem Zwang der Notwendigkeit
konnte ich nicht wie sonst jedem Einzelnen schreiben. Darum rufe ich in dieser
meiner Not euch alle an, euch, Brüder, und euch, heilige Schwestern, Söhne und
Töchter. Jedes Geschlecht, jedes Lebensalter bitte ich, mit diesem Gruß
zufrieden zu sein. Grüßt in unserem Auftrag auch diejenigen, die außerhalb unserer
Gemeinschaft sind und uns dennoch lieben.
Quelle: Eusebius von
Vercelli: Epistola II, 1, 3 - 2, 3 und 10, 1 - 11, 1. In: CCL 9, S. 104 f., S.
109 = Patrologia Latina 12, Sp. 947 - 950; zitiert nach: Monastisches Lektionar
zum 2. August
Zitat von Eusebius von
Vercelli:
In einem Brief an Gregor, den Bischof von Elvira - dem heutigen Stadtteil Albaicín in Granada - in Spanien lobt Eusebius diesen, weil er den Arianern widerstanden und den rechten nizänischen Glauben bewahrt hat:
Wir beglückwünschen dich deswegen und auch uns, weil du in diesem Vorsatz und
Glauben stark bist und unserer gedacht hast. Wenn du in demselben Bekenntnis
verharrst und keine Verbindung mit den [arianischen] Heuchlern beibehältst,
dann stelle dir die Gemeinschaft mit uns in Aussicht! Weise mit allen dir zu
Gebote stehenden Maßnahmen und aller Mühe die Übertreter zurecht, tadle die
Ungläubigen, befürchte dabei nichts von Seiten der irdischen Herrschaft, wie du
es [bisher ja auch] gehalten hast: denn der in uns ist, ist dem überlegen, der
in dieser Welt ist. Wir, deine Mitpriester, die zum dritten Mal verbannt sind,
sagen dies, was wir für offenkundig hielten: denn alle Hoffnung der Arianer
ruht nicht auf einer selbstbestimmten Übereinkunft, sondern hängt ab vom Schutz
der weltlichen Herrschaft. Dabei ignorieren sie die Worte der Schrift, dass die
verflucht sind, die ihre Hoffnung auf einen Menschen setzen (Jeremia 17, 5).
Unsere Hilfe aber ist im Namen des Herrn, der Himmel und Erde geschaffen hat
(Psalm 124, 8). Wir wünschen im Leiden auszuharren, um gemäß dem Schriftwort
(Römerbrief 8, 17), um die Möglichkeit zu haben, im Reich [Gottes] verherrlicht
zu werden.
Quelle: Patrologia Latina
10, Sp.713f; eigene Übersetzung
zusammengestellt von Abt
em. Dr. Emmeram Kränkl OSB,
Benediktinerabtei Schäftlarn,
für die Katholische
SonntagsZeitung
Schriften
von Eusebius gibt es online zu lesen in den Documenta Catholica Omnia.
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Quellen:
• Vera Schauber, Hanns Michael Schindler: Heilige und Patrone im Jahreslauf.
Pattloch, München 2001
• P. Ezechiel Britschgi: Name verpflichtet. Christiana, Stein am Rhein, 1985
• Friedrich-Wilhelm Bautz. In: Friedrich-Wilhelm Bautz (Hg.): Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon, Bd. I, Hamm 1990
• Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, begr. von Michael Buchberger. Hrsg. von Walter Kasper, 3., völlig neu bearb. Aufl., Bd. 3. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1995
• Charlotte Bretscher-Gisinger, Thomas Meier (Hg.): Lexikon des Mittelalters.
CD-ROM-Ausgabe J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2000
korrekt zitieren: Joachim Schäfer: Artikel Eusebius von Vercelli, aus dem Ökumenischen Heiligenlexikon - https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienE/Eusebius_von_Vercelli.html#, abgerufen am 19. 4. 2025
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet das Ökumenische
Heiligenlexikon in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte
bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über https://d-nb.info/1175439177 und https://d-nb.info/969828497 abrufbar.
SOURCE : https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienE/Eusebius_von_Vercelli.html#
Eusebius-Kirche in Wendlingen, Ansicht von Südwesten. Die Kirche mit dem Hl. Eusebius von Vercelli als Patron (wenn ich es richtig sehe, die einzige in BW) stammt von 1478, der Turm wurde 1510 erbaut.
Eusebius-Kirche in Wendlingen, Ansicht von Südwesten. Die Kirche mit dem Hl. Eusebius von Vercelli als Patron (wenn ich es richtig sehe, die einzige in BW) stammt von 1478, der Turm wurde 1510 erbaut.
Eusebius-Kirche
in Wendlingen, Ansicht von Südwesten. Die Kirche mit dem Hl. Eusebius von
Vercelli als Patron (wenn ich es richtig sehe, die einzige in BW) stammt von
1478, der Turm wurde 1510 erbaut.
BENEDIKT XVI.
GENERALAUDIENZ
Mittwoch, 17. Oktober 2007
Hl. Eusebius, Bischof von
Vercelli
Liebe Brüder und
Schwestern!
Heute vormittag lade ich
euch zu einer Betrachtung über den hl. Eusebius von Vercelli ein, den ersten
Bischof Norditaliens, von dem wir sichere Nachrichten haben. Am Beginn des 4.
Jahrhunderts in Sardinien geboren, übersiedelte er noch im Kindesalter mit
seiner Familie nach Rom. Später wurde er als Lektor eingesetzt: Damit gehörte
er dem Klerus der Stadt an, und das in einer Zeit, in der die Kirche der
schweren Prüfung durch die arianische Irrlehre ausgesetzt war. Die große
Wertschätzung, die Eusebius entgegengebracht wurde, erklärt seine Wahl auf den
Bischofssitz von Vercelli im Jahr 345. Der neue Bischof begann in einem Gebiet,
das besonders in den ländlichen Gegenden noch weitgehend heidnisch war,
sogleich mit einer intensiven Evangelisierungstätigkeit. Inspiriert vom hl.
Athanasius – der das Leben des heiligen Antonius, des Begründers des
östlichen Mönchtums, geschrieben hatte –, gründete er eine
Priestergemeinschaft, die einer Mönchsgemeinschaft ähnlich war. Dieses Kloster
verlieh dem Klerus Norditaliens die bedeutungsvolle Prägung apostolischer
Heiligkeit und brachte bedeutende Bischofsgestalten hervor, wie Limenius und
Honoratus, die Nachfolger des Eusebius in Vercelli, Gaudentius in Novara,
Exuperantius in Tortona, Eustasius in Aosta, Eulogius in Ivrea, Maximus in
Turin, die alle von der Kirche als Heilige verehrt werden.
Eusebius, der eine solide
Ausbildung im nizänischen Glauben erhalten hatte, verteidigte so mit allen
Kräften die volle Gottheit Jesu Christi, der vom Nizänischen
Glaubensbekenntnis als dem Vater »wesensgleich« definiert wird. Zu diesem
Zweck schloß er sich den großen Vätern des 4. Jahrhunderts – vor allem dem hl.
Athanasius, dem Vorkämpfer der nizänischen Rechtgläubigkeit – gegen die
arianerfreundliche Politik des Kaisers an. Dem Kaiser erschien der einfachere
arianische Glaube als Reichsideologie politisch nützlicher. Für ihn zählte
nicht die Wahrheit, sondern politische Opportunität: Er wollte die Religion als
Bindemittel der Einheit des Reiches instrumentalisieren. Aber diese großen
Väter leisteten Widerstand, indem sie die Wahrheit gegen die Vorherrschaft der
Politik verteidigten. Deshalb wurde Eusebius wie viele andere Bischöfe in Ost
und West zur Verbannung verurteilt: Ebenso erging es Athanasius, Hilarius von
Poitiers – von dem wir vergangene Woche gesprochen haben –, Hosius von Córdoba.
In Skythopolis in Palästina, wo er zwischen 355 und 360 in der Verbannung
lebte, schrieb Eusebius eine wunderbare Seite seines Lebens. Auch hier gründete
er mit einer kleinen Gruppe von Schülern ein Kloster, und von hier aus besorgte
er die Korrespondenz mit seinen Gläubigen in Piemont, wie vor allem der zweite
der drei als authentisch anerkannten Briefe des Eusebius zeigt. In
der Folgezeit, also nach 360, wurde er zunächst nach Kappadokien und dann in
die Thebais verbannt, wo er schwere körperliche Mißhandlungen erlitt. Auf
Konstantius II., der 361 starb, folgte Kaiser Julian, genannt »Apostata« (der
Abtrünnige), der kein Interesse am Christentum als Reichsreligion hatte,
sondern einfach das Heidentum wiederherstellen wollte. Er beendete die
Verbannung dieser Bischöfe und erlaubte es somit auch Eusebius, seinen
Bischofsstuhl wieder in Besitz zu nehmen. Im Jahr 362 wurde er von Anastasius zur
Teilnahme am Konzil von Alexandrien eingeladen, das beschloß, den arianischen
Bischöfen unter der Bedingung zu vergeben, daß sie in den Laienstand
zurückkehren. Eusebius konnte noch ein Jahrzehnt, bis zu seinem Tod, sein
Bischofsamt ausüben, wobei er eine beispielhafte Beziehung zu seiner Stadt
herstellte, die den Hirtendienst anderer Bischöfe Norditaliens inspirierte, wie
des hl. Ambrosius von Mailand und des hl. Maximus von Turin, mit denen wir uns
in den nächsten Katechesen befassen werden.
Die Beziehung zwischen
dem Bischof von Vercelli und seiner Stadt wird vor allem durch zwei
Briefzeugnisse erhellt. Das erste Zeugnis findet sich in dem schon
erwähnten Brief, den Eusebius aus dem Exil in Skythopolis »an die
geliebten Brüder und an die Priester, nach denen ich mich so sehr sehne, sowie
an das glaubensfeste heilige Volk von Vercelli, Novara, Ivrea und Tortona«
schrieb (Ep. secunda, CCL 9, S. 104). Diese Einleitungsworte, die die
Gefühlsempfindung des guten Hirten gegenüber seiner Herde deutlich machen,
finden am Ende des Briefes in den warmherzigen Grüßen des Vaters an alle und
jedes einzelne seiner Kinder in Vercelli, mit Worten, die von Zuneigung und
Liebe überfließen, eine ausgiebige Bestätigung. Hervorzuheben ist vor allem die
ausdrückliche Beziehung, die den Bischof mit dem heiligen Volk, den »sanctae
plebes«, nicht nur von Vercellae/Vercelli – der ersten und noch für einige
Jahre einzigen Diözese in Piemont – verbindet, sondern auch von Novaria/
Novara, Eporedia/Ivrea und Dertona/Tortona, das heißt jener
christlichen Gemeinden, die innerhalb derselben Diözese eine gewisse Festigkeit
und Selbständigkeit erlangt hatten. Ein weiteres interessantes Element stellt
das Schlußwort des Briefes dar: Eusebius bittet seine Söhne und
Töchter, »auch jene zu grüßen, die außerhalb der Kirche stehen und die geruhen,
uns zu lieben: etiam hos, qui foris sunt et nos dignantur diligere«. Ein
offenkundiges Zeichen, daß die Beziehung des Bischofs zu seiner Stadt nicht auf
die christliche Bevölkerung beschränkt war, sondern sich auch auf diejenigen
ausdehnte, die – obwohl außerhalb der Kirche – in gewisser Weise dessen
geistliche Autorität anerkannten und diesen vorbildlichen Menschen liebten.
Das zweite Zeugnis für
die einzigartige Beziehung des Bischofs zu seiner Stadt stammt aus dem Brief,
den der hl. Ambrosius von Mailand um das Jahr 394, also zwanzig Jahre nach dem
Tod des Eusebius, an die Bevölkerung von Vercelli schrieb (Ep. extra
collectionem 14: Maur. 63). Die Kirche von Vercelli machte damals
eine schwierige Zeit durch: Sie war gespalten und ohne Hirten. Mit aller
Offenheit erklärt Ambrosius, daß er zaudere, in jenen Bewohnern von Vercelli
»die Abstammung von den heiligen Vätern« zu erkennen, »die Eusebius annahmen,
sobald sie ihn gesehen hatten, ohne ihn vorher je kennengelernt zu haben, wobei
sie sogar ihre Mitbürger vergaßen«. In demselben Brief bezeugt der
Bischof von Mailand mit aller Klarheit seine Wertschätzung für Eusebius: »Ein
so großer Mann« – schreibt er mit aller Entschiedenheit – »hatte es wohl
verdient, von der ganzen Kirche gewählt zu werden«. Die Bewunderung des
Ambrosius für Eusebius gründete vor allem darauf, daß der Bischof von Vercelli
die Diözese durch das Zeugnis seines eigenen Lebens leitete: »Mit der Strenge
des Fastens leitete er seine Kirche.« In der Tat war auch Ambrosius – wie er
selber zugibt – fasziniert von dem mönchischen Ideal der kontemplativen
Betrachtung Gottes, dem Eusebius in den Spuren des Propheten Elias gefolgt war.
Als Erster – so merkt Ambrosius an – sammelte der Bischof von Vercelli seinen
Klerus in vita communis und erzog ihn zur »Befolgung der monastischen
Regeln, obwohl sie mitten in der Stadt lebten«. Der Bischof und sein Klerus
sollten die Probleme der Mitbürger teilen, und das haben sie auf glaubwürdige
Weise gerade dadurch getan, daß sie gleichzeitig eine andersgeartete
Bürgerschaft pflegten: jene des Himmels (vgl. Hebr 13,14). Und auf
diese Weise haben sie wirklich eine echte Bürgerschaft, eine echte gemeinsame
Solidarität unter den Bürgern von Vercelli aufgebaut.
Während Eusebius so die
Sache der »sancta plebs« von Vercelli zu seiner eigenen Sache machte, lebte er
inmitten der Stadt wie ein Mönch und öffnete die Stadt zu Gott hin. Dieser
Wesenszug tat also seiner beispielhaften pastoralen Dynamik keinerlei Abbruch.
Unter anderem scheint er in Vercelli die Pfarreien für einen geordneten und
stabilen kirchlichen Dienst eingerichtet und die Marienheiligtümer für die
Bekehrung der heidnischen Landbevölkerung gefördert zu haben. Mehr noch: Dieser
»monastische Wesenszug« verlieh der Beziehung des Bischofs zu seiner Stadt eine
besondere Dimension. Wie schon die Apostel, für die Jesus bei seinem Letzten
Abendmahl betete, sind auch die Hirten und die Gläubigen der Kirche »in der
Welt« (Joh 17,11), aber sie sind nicht »von der Welt«. Deshalb – daran
erinnerte Eusebius – müssen die Hirten die Gläubigen ermahnen, die Städte der
Welt nicht als ihren festen Wohnsitz zu betrachten, sondern die zukünftige
Stadt zu suchen, das endgültige himmlische Jerusalem. Dieser »eschatologische
Vorbehalt« erlaubt es den Hirten und den Gläubigen, die rechte Werteskala zu
wahren, ohne sich den Moden des Augenblicks und den ungerechten Ansprüchen der
herrschenden politischen Macht zu beugen. Die wahre Werteskala – das scheint
das ganze Leben des Eusebius zu sagen – kommt nicht von den Herrschern von
gestern und heute, sondern von Jesus Christus, dem vollkommenen Menschen, dem
Vater gleich in der Gottheit und dennoch Mensch wie wir. Während er auf diese
Werteskala Bezug nimmt, wird Eusebius nicht müde, seinen Gläubigen »inständig
zu empfehlen, mit aller Sorgfalt den Glauben zu wahren, die Eintracht
aufrechtzuerhalten, im Gebet eifrig zu sein« (Ep. secunda, a.a.O.).
Liebe Freunde, auch ich
empfehle euch aus ganzem Herzen diese ewigen Werte, während ich euch mit
denselben Worten grüße und segne, mit denen der heilige Bischof Eusebius seinen
zweiten Brief schloß: »Ich wende mich an euch alle, meine Brüder und
heiligen Schwestern, Söhne und Töchter, Gläubige beiderlei Geschlechts und
jeden Alters, auf daß ihr unseren Gruß auch denen überbringt, die außerhalb der
Kirche stehen, und die geruhen, uns zu lieben« (ebd.).
Heute wird der »Welttag
der Absage an die Armut« begangen, der von den Vereinten Nationen unter der
Bezeichnung »Internationaler Tag für die Beseitigung der Armut« anerkannt wird.
Wie viele Völker leben noch immer in Verhältnissen extremer Armut! Das Ungleichgewicht
zwischen Reich und Arm ist offensichtlicher und beunruhigender geworden, selbst
innerhalb der wirtschaftlich besser gestellten Nationen. Diese
besorgniserregende Situation bedrängt das Gewissen der Menschheit, denn die
Lebensverhältnisse, in denen sich eine große Zahl von Menschen befindet, sind
derart, daß sie die Würde des Menschen verletzen und folglich den echten und
harmonischen Fortschritt der Weltgemeinschaft beeinträchtigen. Ich ermutige
deshalb dazu, die Anstrengungen zur Beseitigung der Ursachen der Armut und der
tragischen Folgen, die sich aus ihr ergeben, zu vermehren.
* * *
ANKÜNDIGUNG EINES
KONSISTORIUMS ZUR KREIERUNG NEUER KARDINÄLE
»Mit Freude kündige ich
an, daß ich am kommenden 24. November, am Vorabend des Hochfestes Christkönig,
ein Konsistorium abhalte, bei dem ich, abweichend von der von Papst Paul VI.
festgelegten und von meinem verehrten Vorgänger Papst Johannes Paul II. in der
Apostolischen Konstitution Universi
dominici gregis (vgl. Nr. 33) bestätigten Höchstzahl, 18 Kardinäle
kreieren werde. Ihre Namen sind:
1. Msgr. Leonardo
Sandri, Präfekt der Kongregation für die Orientalischen Kirchen;
2. Msgr. John
Patrick Foley, Pro-Großmeister des Ritterordens vom Heiligen Grab zu Jerusalem;
3. Msgr. Giovanni
Lajolo, Präsident der Päpstlichen Kommission und des Governatorates des Staates
der Vatikanstadt;
4. Msgr. Paul Joseph
Cordes, Präsident des Päpstlichen Rats »Cor Unum«;
5. Msgr. Angelo
Comastri, Erzpriester des Petersdoms, Generalvikar Seiner Heiligkeit für den
Staat der Vatikanstadt und Präsident der Dombauhütte von St. Peter;
6. Msgr. Stanisław
Ryłko, Präsident des Päpstlichen Rats für die Laien;
7. Msgr. Raffaele
Farina, Archivar und Bibliothekar der Heiligen Römischen Kirche;
8. Msgr. Agustín
García-Gasco Vicente, Erzbischof von Valencia (Spanien);
9. Msgr. Seán
Baptist Brady, Erzbischof von Armagh (Irland);
10. Msgr. Lluís
Martínez Sistach, Erzbischof von Barcelona (Spanien);
11. Msgr. André
Vingt-Trois, Erzbischof von Paris (Frankreich);
12. Msgr. Angelo
Bagnasco, Erzbischof von Genua (Italien);
13. Msgr.
Théodore-Adrien Sarr, Erzbischof von Dakar (Senegal);
14. Msgr. Oswald
Gracias, Erzbischof von Bombay (Indien);
15. Msgr. Francisco
Robles Ortega, Erzbischof von Monterrey (Mexiko);
16. Msgr. Daniel N.
Di Nardo, Erzbischof von Galveston-Houston (Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika);
17. Msgr. Odillo
Pedro Scherer, Erzbischof von São Paulo (Brasilien);
18. Msgr. John Njue,
Erzbischof von Nairobi (Kenia).
Zudem möchte ich drei
verehrte Bischöfe und zwei geschätzte Geistliche mit der Kardinalswürde
auszeichnen, die sich durch ihren Einsatz im Dienst an der Kirche besondere
Verdienste erworben haben.
1. S. Seligkeit
Emmanuel III. Delly, Patriarch von Babylon der Chaldäer;
2. Msgr. Giovanni
Coppa, Apostolischer Nuntius;
3. Msgr. Estanislao
Esteban Karlic, em. Erzbischof von Paraná (Argentinien);
4. P. Urbano
Navarrete, S.J., ehem. Rektor der Päpstlichen Universität Gregoriana;
5. P. Umberto Betti,
O.F.M., ehem. Rektor der Päpstlichen Lateranuniversität.
* * *
Es war mein Wunsch, unter
den Letztgenannten auch den betagten Bischof von Koszalin-Kolobrzeg in Polen,
Ignacy Jez, zum Kardinal zu erheben, der gestern plötzlich verstorben ist.
Ihm gilt unser Gebet.
* * *
Die Schar der neuen
Purpurträger, die aus verschiedenen Teilen der Welt kommen, spiegelt vielsagend
die Universalität der Kirche mit der Vielfalt ihrer Ämter wider: neben
Bischöfen, die sich in ihrer Tätigkeit für den Heiligen Stuhl verdient gemacht
haben, sind auch Hirten, die ihre Kräfte im direkten Kontakt mit den Gläubigen
einsetzen.
Es gäbe noch weitere, von
mir sehr geschätzte Personen, die es aufgrund ihres hingebungsvollen Dienstes
verdienten, in den Kardinalsrang erhoben zu werden. Ich hoffe, daß ich in
Zukunft die Möglichkeit haben werde, ihnen und ihren Herkunftsländern auch auf
diese Weise meine Wertschätzung und Zuneigung zu erweisen.
Wir empfehlen die
Neuerwählten dem Schutz der seligsten Jungfrau Maria an, die wir bitten, ihnen
in ihren jeweiligen Aufgaben beizustehen, damit sie ihre Liebe zu Christus und zur
Kirche in allen Situationen mutig zu bezeugen wissen.
Heute wollen wir uns dem
heiligen Eusebius zuwenden, der als erster geschichtlich bezeugter Bischof im
norditalienischen Vercelli ein Zeitgenosse und Mitstreiter des heiligen
Hilarius war, über den wir am vergangenen Mittwoch gesprochen haben. Eusebius
wurde um 300 in Sardinien geboren. Die Familie siedelte bald nach Rom über, wo
der junge Eusebius zum Lektor geweiht und damit in den Klerikerstand
aufgenommen wurde. Die große Hochachtung seitens der Gläubigen führte zu seiner
Wahl auf den Bischofsstuhl von Vercelli im Jahr 345. Hier widmete sich der neue
Bischof der intensiven Missionierung des noch heidnisch geprägten Hinterlandes.
Inspiriert durch ein Werk des heiligen Athanasius gründete Eusebius eine
Priestergemeinschaft, die in Norditalien den Anstoß für ein fruchtbares
apostolisches Wirken gab und aus der eine Reihe großer Bischöfe hervorgegangen
ist, die heute als Heilige verehrt werden.
In der Auseinandersetzung
mit der Irrlehre des Arius trat Eusebius für die Lehre des Konzils von Nizäa
ein, daß Jesus Christus wahrer Gott und wahrer Mensch ist. Er wurde deshalb vom
Kaiser – welcher der arianischen Lehre nahe stand – in die Verbannung nach
Kleinasien geschickt. Im Exil blieb Eusebius seinen Gemeinden im Herzen nahe,
was mehrere Pastoralbriefe dieser Zeit von 355 bis 360 eindrucksvoll bezeugen.
Der Bischof ermahnte die Christen, daß sie in der Welt keine bleibende Heimat
haben, sondern auf dem Weg zum himmlischen Jerusalem sind. „Wahrt in aller
Wachsamkeit den Glauben, wahrt die Eintracht, widmet euch dem Gebet“, rief er
den Gläubigen zu.
* * *
Von Herzen grüße ich die
Pilger und Besucher deutscher Zunge, insbesondere das Generalkapitel der
Missionare von der Heiligen Familie. Mit dem hl. Eusebius möchte ich euch
zurufen: Stärkt die Einheit unter den Menschen im Gebet und durch gute Werke!
So helft ihr dem Nachfolger Petri in seinem Hirtendienst. Gott, der Herr
unseres Lebens, geleite uns Tag um Tag.
© Copyright 2007 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Copyright © Dicastero per
la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
SOURCE : https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/de/audiences/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20071017.html
Voir aussi : https://www.fourthcentury.com/eusebius-of-vercelli-chart/
