Saint
Eusebe de Samosata, Icône, XVIIe siècle, Académie théologique de
Moscou
Евсевий Самосатский, священномученик. Источник: Минея - Июнь (фрагмент). Икона. Русь. Начало XVII в. Церковно-Археологический Кабинет Московской Духовной Академии.
Saint Eusèbe de Samosate
Évêque et martyr à
Dolikha en Syrie (+ 381)
L'empereur Valens l'exila
pour son attachement à la foi orthodoxe. Lorsque l'empereur mourut, il put
rentrer dans son diocèse mais il fut assassiné par une femme arienne, peu de
temps après.
Au temps de l'empereur
arien Constance, il visita, déguisé en soldat, les Églises de Dieu, pour les
affermir dans la foi catholique. Ensuite, sous l'empereur Valens, il fut
relégué en Thrace et, quand la paix fut rendue à l'Église, au temps de
Théodose, il fut rappelé de son exil. Il recommençait ses visites aux Églises,
quand une femme arienne lui jeta, du haut d'une maison, une tuile qui lui brisa
la tête, et il succomba ainsi en martyr.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1360/Saint-Eusebe-de-Samosate.html
Saint Eusèbe de Samosate
Programme
du IVème dimanche après la Pentecôte – saint Eusèbe de Samosate – ton 3
2 juillet 2020 par Henri de Villiers
Paroisse
catholique russe de la Très-Sainte Trinité, le dimanche 5 juillet 2020 du
calendrier grégorien – 22 juin 2020 du calendrier julien, tierce & sexte à
8h55, divine liturgie de saint Jean Chrysostome à 9h15.
Dimanche du ton IV de
l’Octoèque. Nous fêtons aussi en ce jour le saint hiéromartyr Eusèbe de
Samosate.
Saint Eusèbe était natif
de Samosate(Σαμόσατα), appelée aussi Antioche de Commagène, ville du
Nord de la Syrie sur l’Euphrate (la Samsat des Turcs, engloutie sous
les eaux du barrage Atatürk créé en 1989) et ancienne capitale du petit royaume
de Commagène, absorbé en 72 dans la province romaine de Syrie.
Saint Eusèbe était devenu
évêque de sa ville natale de Samosate. On ne sait rien de sa vie avant l’an 361
où il participa au concile d’Antioche réuni pour élire le patriarche de cette
ville. Les évêques étaient divisés entre les deux tendances nicéennes &
ariennes, et on se résolut à élire saint Mélèce, personnage que les Ariens
estimaient faible et indécis et qu’ils pensaient être dans leurs rangs. Le
décret canonique de cette élection fut remis à saint Eusèbe de Samosate. Une
fois élu, saint Mélèce proclama un courageux discours en faveur de la foi
catholique devant l’empereur arien Constance II, qui ulcéré, l’exila aussitôt
et chercha à annuler canoniquement son élection. L’empereur envoya un messager
à Samosate demander à Eusèbe de remettre le décret canonique de l’élection de
Mélèce. Eusébe refusa, répondant qu’ayant reçu ce dépôt de la main des évêques,
il ne pouvait le rendre qu’à eux-mêmes & qu’il fallait les réunir pour ce
sujet. L’empereur Constance, irrité, envoya une seconde délégation lui ordonnant
de rendre le décret canonique, sous peine de se voir couper la main droite. Le
saint évêque, ayant lu la lettre sans s’effrayer, présenta ses deux mains,
disant qu’on pouvait les couper, mais qu’il ne rendrait jamais cet acte, qui
était une conviction manifeste de l’impiété des Ariens. Cette réponse
courageuse fut admirée de l’empereur lui-même.
Julien l’Apostat
(361-363), ayant succédé à Constance II, s’emploie à restaurer le culte des
idoles. Saint Eusèbe, déguisé en soldat et portant une tiare, parcourt alors la
Syrie, la Phénicie & la Palestine ravagées par la persécution, exhortant
les chrétiens à la fidélité et ordonnant clandestinement des clercs, des
diacres, des prêtres et des évêques.
En 363, Eusèbe participe
à un concile de 27 évêques syriens réuni à Antioche autour de saint Mélèce et y
signe le Symbole de Nicée, à la suite d’une lettre synodale que le concile
adresse au nouvel empereur Jovien, un chrétien qui a succédé à Julien
l’Apostat. Cette lettre met l’accent sur le terme « consubstantiel »,
mais l’explique en disant qu’il est un équivalent de « semblable en
substance », dans une volonté manifeste de réconciliation avec les franges
les moins hérétiques du parti arien.
Ayant montré son courage
lors de la persécution arienne de Constance et celle païenne de Julien
l’Apostat, Eusèbe est tenu en haute estime par les chrétiens de son temps.
C’est ainsi que saint Basile le Grand, encore jeune prêtre, lui écrit en 368
(Lettre 27) et le considère comme un père spirituel, estimant que la Sagesse
personnifiée du livre des Proverbes au chapitre 9 figure l’image de l’Esprit
Saint qui habite ce confesseur de la foi.
Justement, en 370, le
siège de Césarée de Cappadoce devient vacant, et saint Grégoire de Naziance
l’Ancien, le père du Théologien, appelle saint Eusèbe pour présider à
l’élection du nouvel évêque de Césarée, quoique cette ville ne soit pas de sa
province ecclésiatique. L’assemblée des évêques choisit d’élire saint Basile et
l’amitié des deux saints continua de grandir. Basile écrivit de très nombreuses
lettres à Eusèbe, allant lui rendre visite à Samosate pour y goûter « le
miel si doux et si agréable de cette Eglise » (cf. Lettres 145 & 157).
Ces nombreuses lettres de saint Basile témoignent du zèle apostolique de saint
Eusèbe. Malheureusement, aucune des lettres d’Eusèbe n’a été conservée. Saint
Basile l’appelle « le généreux défenseur de la foi et le protecteur
infatigable des Eglises ». Grégoire le Théologien – qui entretint
également une correspondance importante avec saint Eusèbe – salue en lui
« la colonne et le fondement de l’Église, le luminaire du monde, la règle
de la foi et l’ambassadeur de la vérité. »
Saint Eusèbe était resté
sur son siège au milieu de la persécution du nouvel empereur Valens (364-378),
qui cherchait à imposer l’arianisme. Cependant ce prince fit exiler Mélèce en
Arménie et, en 374, choisit de déposer Eusèbe de son siège de Samosate et de
l’exiler en Thrace. Aux messagers de l’empereur qui lui apportaient cet ordre,
Eusèbe dit de cacher le motif de leur venue, « car si le peuple, dit-il,
en avait connaissance, comme il a été élevé dans le zèle de la religion, il
vous noierait dans le fleuve, & on me rendrait responsable de votre
mort ». Eusèbe célébra les vêpres dans sa cathédrale comme à l’ordinaire
puis partit de nuit avec les envoyés de l’empereur et descendit le fleuve
jusqu’à Zeugma. Dès le lendemain, tous les habitants de Samosate se jetèrent
dans des barques à la poursuite de saint Eusèbe pour le retenir et refusèrent
de le laisser partir plus loin. Le saint évêque leur lut alors le passage de
l’Apôtre qui commande d’obéir aux princes. On le laissa partir, non sans avoir
tenté de le combler de cadeaux, qu’il refusa. Exilé en Thrace, saint Eusèbe
continua une correspondance active avec ses amis saint Basile le Grand et saint
Grégoire de Naziance le Théologien. Il échappa en particulier aux massacres
perpétrés par les Goths qui envahirent plusieurs fois cette province.
Successivement, deux évêques ariens furent nommé par l’empereur pour occuper le
siège de Samosate mais le peuple manifesta sa parfaite fidélité à l’orthodoxie.
Le premier évêque arien s’appelait Eunome, personnage plutôt doux, mais aucun
habitant de la ville ne voulut se tenir dans une assemblée liturgique en sa
présence, ni même lui adresser la parole ou le fréquenter, de sorte que,
découragé, il démissionna. Le second s’appelait Lucius et tenta d’employer des
manières plus contraignantes, exilant les prêtres & clercs fidèles à la foi
catholique orthodoxe exprimée au concile de Nicée, mais ne parvint pas
davantage à rallier les habitants, qui évitaient soigneusement tout contact
avec lui, le considérant comme impur.
Fin 377 – début 378, le
pape Damase réunit un concile à Rome en présence de saint Pierre d’Alexandrie
qui avait été chassé de son siège patriarcal par les Ariens. Au cours des
débats, saint Pierre d’Alexandrie compta au rang des hérétiques ariens saint
Mélèce d’Antioche et saint Eusèbe de Samosate, ce qui provoqua la stupeur puis
la colère du prêtre Dorothée, légat de saint Basile de Césarée auprès du Pape.
Saint Pierre d’Alexandrie retenait que saint Mélèce avait été élu par une
partie des évêques ariens, et citait la profession de foi du concile d’Antioche
de 363. Saint Basile lui-même dut intervenir auprès de saint Pierre
d’Alexandrie, assurant de l’orthodoxie de Mélèce et d’Eusèbe et rappelant que
les souffrances & l’exil que ces deux saints souffraient des Ariens étaient
la meilleure preuve de leur catholicité (Lettre 263).
En 378 enfin, le nouvel
empereur Gratien rétablit la liberté de l’Église et rappela tous les nombreux
évêques qui avaient été exilés par Valens pour leur foi. Eusèbe revint à
Samosate et assista au concile d’Antioche de 379 où il est marqué le premier
après saint Mélèce d’Antioche dans la liste des pères conciliaires.
Dès son retour d’exil, le
soucis constant d’Eusèbe fut de placer de nouveaux pasteurs sur les sièges
restés vacants par suite de la persécution de Valens, soit en les sacrant
lui-même, soit en assistant à leur élection.
Le 22 juin 379, comme il
entrait dans la ville de Dolique (Dolikha, petite cité de Commagène à 41 miles
de Samosate, alors infectée fortement par l’arianisme) pour y introniser Maris,
le nouvel évêque qu’il avait déjà ordonné, il reçut une tuile sur la tête
lancée par une adepte de l’arianisme du haut d’un toit. Avant de mourir, priant
pour ses ennemis, il exhorta le peuple à ne pas poursuivre la coupable, leur rappelant
les paroles de Notre Seigneur sur la croix : « Père, pardonne-leur,
car ils ne savent pas ce qu’ils font », ainsi que celles de saint Etienne
le Protomartyr : « Seigneur, ne leur impute pas ce péché ».
Les officiers de la
justice impériale tentèrent de poursuivre la coupable, mais c’est le peuple
catholique qui obtint en effet qu’elle ne soit point punie, conformément à la
demande du saint pasteur.
« Telle fut, dit
Théodoret (Histoire ecclésiastique, livre V, chapitre 4), la fin de la vie
sainte et de tant de combats et de si glorieux travaux du grand Eusèbe, qu’il
avait endurés. Après avoir échappé à la fureur des barbares dans la Thrace, il
ne put éviter la cruauté des hérétiques : mais leur inhumanité ne servit qu’à
lui acquérir la couronne du martyre ».
Saint Eusèbe de Samosate
est fêté au 21 juin dans le rit romain.
Aux heures
A tierce & à sexte : Tropaire du dimanche, ton 4. Gloire au Père. Tropaire
du Hiéromartyr. Et maintenant. Theotokion de l’heure. Kondakion : du dimanche.
Tropaires des Béatitudes : 8 tropaires du dimanche, ton 4 :
1. A cause de l’arbre défendu * Adam fut exilé du Paradis, mais par l’arbre de la croix le Larron y entra ; * car l’un, goûtant de son fruit, méprisa le commandement du Créateur, * l’autre, partageant ta crucifixion, confessa ta divinité : ** Souviens-toi de moi dans ton royaume.
2. Seigneur exalté sur la Croix, * tu as brisé la puissance de la mort, * effaçant la cédule écrite contre nous ; * accorde-nous la repentance du Larron * et donne à tes fidèles serviteurs, ô Christ notre Dieu, * de te crier comme lui : ** Souviens-toi de nous aussi dans ton royaume.
3. D’un coup de lance, sur la croix * tu as déchiré la cédule écrite contre nous ; * et, compté parmi les morts, tu as enchaîné le prince de l’Enfer, * délivrant tous les hommes des liens de la mort * par ta Résurrection, dont la lumière a brillé sur nous ; * Seigneur ami des hommes, nous te crions : ** Souviens-toi de nous aussi dans ton royaume.
4. Crucifié & ressuscité du tombeau, * Dieu tout-puissant, le troisième jour, * avec toi, seul Immortel, tu ressuscitas le premier homme, Adam ; * donne-moi, Seigneur, de prendre aussi la voie du repentir * afin que, de tout mon cœur * & dans l’ardeur de ma foi, je te crie : ** Souviens-toi de moi, Sauveur, en ton royaume.
5. Pour nous l’Impassible devient homme de douleur * et sur la croix se laisse clouer, * afin de nous ressusciter avec lui ; * aussi nous glorifions avec la Croix * les Souffrances & la sainte Résurrection * par lesquelles nous fûmes rénovés, * obtenant le salut en criant : ** Souviens-toi de nous aussi dans ton royaume.
6. Ressuscité d’entre les morts * et dépouillant l’empire de la Mort, * il apparut aux Myrrophores, leur annonçant la joie ; * et nous fidèles, prions-le * d’épargner à nos âmes la corruption, * lui répétant sans cesse la parole du bon Larron : ** Souviens-toi de nous aussi dans ton royaume.
7. Fidèles, glorifions d’un même cœur * le Père, le Fils & l’Esprit saint, * invoquons en trois personnes l’unique Divinité * indivisible, inaccessible, sans confusion, ** qui nous sauve des flammes du châtiment.
8. Ta mère, Seigneur, t’enfanta virginalement * et vierge elle est demeurée
même après l’enfantement : * c’est elle que nous te présentons pour intercéder
auprès de toi : * accorde à sa prière le pardon des péchés * pour ceux qui ne
cessent de te crier : ** Souviens-toi de nous aussi dans ton royaume.
A la petite entrée :
1. Tropaire du dimanche, ton 4 : Ayant appris de l’Ange la prédication lumineuse de la Résurrection, * et le terme de l’ancestrale condamnation, * les femmes disciples du Seigneur * dirent, pleine de fierté, aux apôtres : * « Renversée est la mort ! * Le Christ Dieu est ressuscité, ** donnant au monde sa grande miséricorde ! »
2. Tropaire du Hiéromartyr, ton 4 : Comme tu as pris part aux travaux des Apôtres et que tu as siégé sur leur trône, * tu as ainsi expérimenté que leur activité était une voie vers la vision divine, * O divinement inspiré ! * C’est pourquoi, témoignant de la parole de vérité, * tu as souffert pour la Foi jusqu’à l’effusion de ton sang, * O hiéromartyr Eusèbe ! * Supplie le Christ-Dieu ** que nos âmes soient sauvées.
3. Gloire au Père, & au Fils, & au Saint-Esprit.
4. Kondakion du Hiéromartyr, ton 4 : Ayant vécu saintement dans l’épiscopat * et pris le chemin des martyrs, * pontife Eusèbe, tu as éteint * les foyers de l’hérésie ; * par le crédit que tu possèdes auprès de lui * prie le Christ notre Dieu ** d’accorder à nos âmes le salut.
5. Et maintenant, & toujours, & dans les siècles des siècles. Amen.
6. Kondakion du dimanche, ton 4 : Mon Sauveur & mon libérateur *
a ressuscité tous les mortels, * les arrachant par sa force divine aux chaînes
du tombeau ; * il a brisé les portes de l’Enfer ** et en maître souverain il
est ressuscité le troisième jour.
Prokimen
Du dimanche, ton 4 :
R/. Que tes œuvres sont grandes, Seigneur ! Toutes, avec sagesse tu les fis (Psaume 103, 24).
V/. Bénis le Seigneur, mon âme ! Seigneur, mon Dieu, tu es si grand ! (Psaume
103, 1).
Épître
Du dimanche : Romains (§ 103) X, 1-10.
Si vous confessez de bouche que Jésus est le Seigneur, et si vous croyez de cœur que Dieu l’a ressuscité d’entre les morts, vous serez sauvé.
Alleluia
Du dimanche, ton 4 :
V/. Va, chevauche pour la cause de la vérité, de la piété & de la justice (Psaume 44, 5).
V/. Tu aimes la justice, tu hais l’impiété (Psaume 44, 8).
Évangile
Du dimanche : Matthieu (§ 28) VIII, 28 à IX, 1.
Deux possédés qui étaient si furieux que personne n’osait passer par ce
chemin-là, sortirent des sépulcres, et vinrent au-devant de lui ; ils se mirent
en même temps à crier, et à lui dire : Jésus, fils de Dieu ! qu’y a-t-il entre
vous et nous ?
Verset de communion
Du dimanche : Louez le Seigneur du haut des cieux, louez-le au plus haut
des cieux. (Psaume 148, 1).
SOURCE : https://schola-sainte-cecile.com/tag/saint-eusebe-de-samosate/
Also
known as
Eusebio
Profile
Bishop of Samosata, Syria.
Fought Arianism,
and defended Orthodox Christianity in
the 4th century.
Active in the Synod of Antioch in 361,
a site of great debate over Arianism.
Emperor Constantius was displeased, and demanded that Eusebius turn over
records from the synod, threatening to amputate the bishop‘s
hand if he refused; he refused; Constantius was impressed, and let him go.
Worked with Christians in Syria and Palestine,
encouraging their faith during the persecutions of Valens.
This work got him exiled to
Thrace, but when Valens died in 378,
Eusebius returned to Samosata. Killed by
an Arian woman when
he went to Dolikha, Syria to
ordain a Catholic bishop.
hit with
a thrown roof tile at Dolikha, Syria in 379
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
fonti
in italiano
Martirologio Romano, 2005 edition
MLA
Citation
“Saint Eusebius of
Samosata“. CatholicSaints.Info. 27 June 2020. Web. 7 December 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-eusebius-of-samosata/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-eusebius-of-samosata/
New
Catholic Dictionary – Saint Eusebius of Samosata
Article
Bishop of
Samosata; died 379 or 380.
In 361 he
assisted in the election of Saint Meletius to the Patriarchate of Antioch and,
notwithstanding the threats of the Emperor Constantius, refused to deliver to
the Arians the
synodal acts which proved its lawfulness. He was a close friend of Saint Basil
of Caesarea and exhibited untiring zeal during the Arian persecution
under Valens who banished him to Thrace. At the emperor’s death he returned,
and was slain by a tile thrown by an Arian woman
from the roof of her house. His relics were preserved in church of Saint John
the Baptist, Constantinople. Feast, 21
June.
MLA
Citation
“Saint Eusebius”. New Catholic Dictionary. CatholicSaints.Info.
20 December 2012. Web. 7 December 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-eusebius-of-samosata/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-eusebius-of-samosata/
Saints of
the Day – Eusebius of Samosata
Article
Died c.379. Bishop
Eusebius of Samosata (Sempsat), capital of Comagene, Syria, was a staunch
defender of orthodoxy, though most of the other bishops under the metropolitan
of Hieropolis were Arians. He was active at the synod of Antioch, in 361, in
helping to elect Meletius patriarch of Antioch. Most of those voting were Arians
and expected Meletius to favor Arianism, but Eusebius was well assured of his
zeal for the orthodox faith. Although Eusebius was known to be an
irreconcilable enemy to their heresy, they entrusted to him the synodal act of
the election. When Meletius’s vigorous preaching of the 20th canon of the
Nicene Council in his first sermon to his people made it obvious that he was
orthodox, Emperor Constantius, an Arian, demanded that Eusebius surrender to
him the election acts of the synod that were in his custody. When Eusebius
refused saying that it would require the consent of all parties, the emperor
threatened to cut off his right hand. Eusebius still refused. The saint
stretched out not only his right hand, but also his left, saying he might cut
them both off, but he would still not consent to such an unjust action. This so
impressed Constantius with his courage that he released him.
Eusebius spent the next
two years laboring to reconcile the orthodox (Catholics) and Arians, but was
unsuccessful. His participation in their councils, in order to ensure that the
truth was given voice, caused scandal, so he discontinued having any
relationship with them after the Council of Antioch in 363.
He helped elect Saint
Basil bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia in 370. He became close friends with
both Basil and Saint Gregory Nazianzen, who in a letter written about that time
styles Eusebius the pillar of truth, the light of the world, the instrument of
the favors of God on his people, and the support and glory of all the orthodox.
Dressed as an officer,
Eusebius traveled through Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine encouraging the
Catholics to resist Valens and his persecution. He wanted to strengthen his own
flock and others against the poison of heresy. He ordained priests where they
were needed and helped to fill vacant sees with worthy pastors. His zeal so
steadied the orthodox that in 374 he was exiled to Thrace by Valens. Ever
solicitous for his flock, when the imperial messenger arrived in the evening
with the order of banishment, Eusebius begged him to keep it a secret, saying,
“If the people should be apprised, such is their zeal for the faith, that they
would rise in arms against you, and your death might be laid to my charge.”
Therefore he celebrated the night office as usual and when everyone else had
gone to bed, he walked to the Euphrates with one trusty servant and boarded the
vessel to Zeugma.
The next morning, when
the people discovered what had transpired, they began to search for him by
boat. He was overtaken at Zeugma, where they begged him not to leave them to
the ravening wolves. He exhorted them to confidence in God and said that he had
to obey. They offered him money, clothes, and provisions for his exile, but he
accepted very little and continued on to Thrace.
The Arians intruded
Eunomius, a man of moderation, into his see, yet the people universally shunned
him. Disgusted at his situation, Eunomius withdrew and left the people to
themselves. The Arians then put in his place Lucius, a violent man, who banished
the deacon Evoltius to the desert beyond Egypt, the priest Antiochus into a
remote corner of Armenia, and others to other places. Yet the people ostracized
him the same way they had his predecessor. For instance, it is mentioned that
one day as he passed through a public square some children playing hit their
ball against his mule’s hoof. They treated the ball as if it were defiled –
they threw it into the fire.
Eusebius returned to
Samosata when Valens died in 378. Thereafter, he traveled throughout the country
to seek candidates for election as Catholic bishops for the sees that were
destitute: Beraea, Hierapolis, and Cyrus. At Dolikha, a small episcopal city in
Comagene, forty-one miles from Samosata, Maris was to be ordained bishop.
Because all the inhabitants of the town were obstinate Arians, Saint Eusebius
escorted his to take possession of his church. He died there a few days after
being struck on the head by a tile thrown from a rooftop by an Arian woman. In
his last moments, in imitation of his divine Master, he bound his friends by
oath never to prosecute his murderer or her accomplices (Benedictines, Delaney,
Encyclopedia, Husenbeth).
MLA
Citation
Katherine I
Rabenstein. Saints of the Day, 1998. CatholicSaints.Info.
27 June 2020. Web. 7 December 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-day-eusebius-of-samosata/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-day-eusebius-of-samosata/
St. Eusebius
Bishop of Samosata (now
Samsat) in Syria; date of
birth unknown: d. in 379 or 380. History makes no mention of him before the
year 361, when as bishop of Samosata,
he took part in the consecration of
St. Meletius, the newly elected Patriarch of Antioch.
Just then the Eastern
Church was rent by Arianism and
its affiliated heresies.
Most of the episcopal
sees were occupied by Arian bishops,
and Meletius himself was elected Patriarch of Antioch only
because the Arians believed
him to be a supporter of their heresy. Tillemont and
a few other historians even maintain that Eusebius was at that time leaning
towards Arianism.
Whatever might have been the faith of
Eusebius previously, it is certain that
at the synod held
in Antioch in 363 the Nicene formula, with express mention of homoousios,
was accepted, and the document was signed by Eusebius and twenty-four
other bishops.
When the Arians discovered
that Meletius upheld the doctrine of
the Nicene Council, they declared his election invalid and attempted to obtain
from Eusebius, to whom they had been entrusted, the synodal acts proving the
lawfulness of the election. The emperor Constantius, who supported the Arians,
ordered Eusebius to surrender the document, but without success. Thereupon
Constantius threatened Eusebius with the loss of his right hand, but the bishop calmly
presented both of his hands to the bearer of the message, saying: "Strike
them both off. I will not surrender the document by which the injustice of
the Arians can
be proved."
The emperor was struck by the constancy of Eusebius and left the document in
his possession.
It was chiefly due to the
concerted efforts of St. Eusebius and St.
Gregory Nazianzen that, in 370, St.
Basil was elected Archbishop of Cæsarea in
Cappadocia. From this time also dates the tender friendship between St.
Eusebius and the last-named Father, which is attested to by some still extant
letters written by St. Basil to the Bishop of
Samasota. Eusebius displayed his greatest activity during the persecution of
the Catholics by
the Arian emperor Valens.
Disguised as a military officer, he visited the persecuted Churches
of Syria,
Phoenecia, and Palestine, exhorting the afflicted Catholics to
remain faithful to their faith,
ordaining orthodox priests where
they were needed, and in many other ways assisting the Catholic bishops in
the difficult exercise of their duties during
these troublesome times. It is on account of this untiring zeal of
Eusebius that St.
Gregory Nazianzen calls him "A pillar of the Church",
"a gift of God", "a rule of faith", etc. (Migne,
P.G., XXI, 57). Incensed at the great success of Eusebius, the Arians prevailed
upon the emperor Valens to
banish him into Thrace. After the death of Valens in
378, he was allowed to return to his see.
On his journey from Thrace to Samosata he was instrumental in the appointment
of numerous orthodox bishops,
among whom were Acacius at Beroea,
Theodotus at Hierapolis,
Isidore at Cyrrhus,
and Eulogius at Edessa.
Having returned to his see,
he resumed his former activity against the Arians,
both in his own diocese and in the neighbouring churches. While he was taking
part in the consecration of
Bishop Maris, at the little town of Dolicha, near Samosata,
an Arian woman struck
him on the head with a tile thrown from the roof of her house. He died of this
wound a few days later. The Greeks honour him
as a Martyr on the 21st of June, the Latins on the 22nd.
Sources
BUTLER Lives of the
Saints, 21 June; BARING-GOULD, Lives of the Saints, 21 June;
REYNOLDS in Dict. Of Christ. Biogr., II 369-372; Acta SS., June,
V, 204-208; TILLEMONT, Mémoires pour servir á l'histoire ecclésiastique
des six premiers siècles (Paris 1693-1712), VIII, 310-336; LE QUIEN, Oriens
Christianus (Paris, 1740), II, 933 sqq.; BEJAN, Acta martyrum et
sanctorum in Syriac (Paris, 1890-7), VI, 355 sqq.
Ott,
Michael. "St. Eusebius." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.
5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909.21 Jun.
2019 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05614c.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by C.A. Montgomery. Dedicated to
Eusebia Casella Giovenco.
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/05614c.htm
June 21
St. Eusebius, Bishop of
Samosata, Martyr
THE CITY of
Samosata, capital of Comagene in Syria, now called Sempsat, was an ancient
episcopal see under the metropolitan of Hieropolis. By an appointment of divine
providence, St. Eusebius was placed in this see at a time when most of the
neighbouring bishoprics were occupied by Arians, in 361. In the same year he
was present in a council at Antioch, composed chiefly of Arians, whilst the
emperor Constantius was in that city. St. Eusebius concurred strenuously to the
election of St. Meletius, patriarch of Antioch, being well assured of his zeal
for the orthodox faith. Such was the opinion which the Arians themselves
entertained of Eusebius’s virtue, that though they knew him to be an
irreconcileable enemy to their heresy, they placed an entire confidence in his
probity. On this account, they entrusted in his hands the synodal act of the
election of St. Meletius. A few days after, being provoked at the vigour with
which Meletius preached the faith of the Nicene council in his first discourse
to his people, they sought to set him aside, and at their instigation
Constantius sent an officer to extort out of the hands of St. Eusebius the act
of his election. The saint answered he could not surrender it without the
consent of all the parties concerned in it. The officer threatened to cause his
right hand to be cut off if he refused to comply with the emperor’s orders. The
saint stretched out not only his right but also his left hand, saying he might
cut them both off; but that he would never concur to an unjust action. Both the
officer and the emperor admired his heroic virtue, and highly commended an
action which thwarted their favourite projects. For sometime St. Eusebius
refused not to assist at the councils and conferences of the Arians, in order
to maintain the truth. But finding this conduct gave scandal to some, he broke
off all commerce with them in ecclesiastical deliberations after the council of
Antioch in 363, in the reign of Jovian. In 370 he assisted at the election of
St. Basil, archbishop of Cæsarea, and contracted a strict friendship with that
great pillar of faith and virtue. So remarkable was the zeal of our saint and
so bright the lustre of his sanctity, that St. Gregory Nazianzen, in a letter
which he wrote about that time, styles him the pillar of truth, the light of
the world, the instrument of the favours of God on his people, and the support
and glory of all the orthodox.
When the persecution of
Valens began to rage, St. Eusebius not content to secure his own flock against
the poison of heresy, made several progresses through Syria, Phœnicia, and
Palestine, disguised in the dress of an officer, to strengthen the Catholics in
the faith, ordain priests where they were wanting, and assist the orthodox
bishops in filling vacant sees with worthy pastors. His zeal gave every day
some new stroke to the Arian party; so that in 374 Valens sent an order for his
banishment into Thrace. The imperial messenger arrived at Samosata in the
evening, and signified the emperor’s orders to the bishop, who begged he would
keep it secret, saying: “If the people should be apprized, such is their zeal
for the faith, that they would rise in arms against you, and your death might
be laid to my charge.” The holy bishop celebrated the night office as usual,
and when all were gone to rest, walked out with one trusty servant to the
Euphrates, which runs under the walls of the city, where going on board a small
vessel, he fell down the river seventy miles to Zeugma. In the morning the
people were in an uproar at what had happened, and in an instant the river was
covered with boats to search him out. He was overtaken by a great number at
Zeugma, who conjured him not to abandon them to the wolves. He was strongly
affected, but urging the necessity of obeying, exhorted them to confidence in
God. They offered him money, slaves, clothes, and all kind of provisions; but
he would accept very little, and commending his dear flock to God, pursued his
journey to Thrace. The Arians intruded into his chair one Eunomius, not the
famous heresiarch of that name, but a man of great moderation. Yet the people
universally shunned him, the city council and the magistrates above the rest; not
one of the inhabitants, rich or poor, young or old, of the clergy or laity,
would see him, and whether in the church, at home, or in public, he saw himself
left alone. Disgusted at his situation he withdrew and left the people to
themselves. The heretics substituted in his place one Lucius, a violent man,
who banished the deacon Evoltius to the desert of Oasis, beyond Egypt, a priest
named Antiochus into a remote corner of Armenia, and others to other places.
Yet he could not gain any over to his interest. The behaviour of the people was
the same to him as it had been to his predecessor; for an instance of which, it
is mentioned, that as he passed one day through a public square where several
children were at play, their ball hit the hoof of his mule, and as if it had
been defiled, they threw it into the fire. The Goths plundered Thrace in 379,
and to escape their swords, St. Eusebius obtained leave to return to his
church, but to crown his sufferings with martyrdom. He appeared no way broken
or daunted by his banishment, but seemed more indefatigable than ever in his
labours for the church. When the death of Valens had put an end to the
persecution in 378, he travelled over great part of the country to procure
Catholic bishops to be chosen where the sees were destitute. This he effected
at Beræa, Hierapolis, and Cyrus. At Dolicha, a small episcopal city in
Comagene, forty-one miles from Samosata, Maris was by his endeavours ordained
bishop. The whole town being inhabited by obstinate Arians, St. Eusebius would
attend him thither when he went to take possession of his church. An Arian
woman seeing him pass in the street, threw a tile from the top of her house
upon his head; of which wound he died a few days after, in 379 or 380. In his
last moments, in imitation of his divine Master, he bound his friends by oath
never to prosecute his murderer or her accomplices. He is honoured by the
Greeks on the 22nd, by the Latins on the 21st of June. See Theodoret, l. 4, c.
13, l. 5, c. 4; St. Greg. Nazianz. ep. 28; Godeau, Éloges des Évêques
Illustres, p. 178; Ceillier, t. 6, p. 433
Rev. Alban
Butler (1711–73). Volume VI: June.The Lives of the
Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : https://www.bartleby.com/210/6/215.html
Eusebius, bishop of
Samosata
Eusebius (77), bp. of
Samosata (360-373), the friend alike of Basil the Great, Meletius, and Gregory
Nazianzen. All that is definitely known of Eusebius is gathered from the
epistles of Basil and of Gregory, and from some incidents in the Ecclesiastical
History of Theodoret. The fervent and laudatory phrases applied to him
might suggest hyperbole if they were not so constant (Epp. xxviii. xxix.
Greg. Naz. Opp. ed. Prunaeus, Colon. vol. i. 792; Ep. xxxiv.
Basilii opera, ed. Par. t. iii.). As bp. of Samorata in 361, he took part in
the consecration of Meletius to the see of Antioch. Meletius was then in
communion with the Arians, an a coalition of bishops of both parties place the
document affirming the consecration in the hands of Eusebius. Meletius soon
proclaimed explicitly his Nicene Trinitarianism and was banished by Constantius
on the charge of Sabellianism. Meanwhile Eusebius had returned to Samosata with
the written record of the appointment of Meletius to Antioch. The Arians,
anxious to destroy this proof of their complicity, persuaded Constantius to
demand, by a public functionary, the reddition of the document. Eusebius
replied, "I cannot consent to restore the public deposit, except at the
command of the whole assembly of bishops by whom it was committed to my
care." This reply incensed the emperor, who wrote to Eusebius ordering him
to deliver the decree on pain of amputation of his right hand. Theodoret says
the threat was only meant to intimidate the bishop; if so, it failed, for
Eusebius stretched out both hands, exclaiming, "I am willing to suffer the
loss of both hands rather than resign a document which contains so manifest a
demonstration of the impiety of the Arians."
Tillemont hesitates to
claim for Eusebius, as many writers have done, the honour of being the
Christian confessor in the persecutions under Julian. According to Greg. Naz. (Orat.
c. Julianum, i. p. 133 b.c.), when suffering on the rack and finding
one part of his body not as yet tortured, Eusebius complained to the
executioners for not conferring equal honour on his entire frame. The death of
Julian and the accession of Jovian gave liberty to the church.
During and after this temporary
lull in the imperial patronage of the Arian party, the great exertions of
Eusebius probably took place. He is represented as travelling in the guise of a
soldier (Theod. iv. 13) through Phoenicia and Palestine, ordaining presbyters
and deacons, and must thus have become known to Basil, who on the death of
Eusebius of Caesarea wrote to Gregory (Bas. Ep. xlvii. Paris ed.),
the father of Gregory of Nazianzus, advising the selection of Eusebius of
Samosata for the vacant bishopric. The Paris editors of Basil plausibly suggest
that the letter thus numbered was written by Gregory to Eusebius concerning
Basil, rather than by Basil concerning Eusebius. The part which Eusebius did
take in the election of Basil is well known. Basil's appointment gave Gregory extreme
satisfaction (Greg. Naz. Ep. xxix.). He dilates on the delight which
the visit of Eusebius to Caesarea had given the community. The bedridden had
sprung from their couches, and all kinds of moral miracles had been wrought by
his presence. Thereafter the correspondence between Basil and Eusebius reveals
the progress of their joint lives, and throws some light upon the history of
the church. The two ecclesiastics were passionately eager for one another's
society, and appear to have formed numerous designs, all falling through, for
an interchange of visits.
In 372 Eusebius signed,
with Meletius, Basil, and 29 others, a letter to the Western bishops, in view
of their common troubles from Arian opponents. The letter (Basil, Ep. xcii.
Paris ed.), a melancholy Jeremiad, recounts disaster and disorder, uncanonical
proceedings and Arian heresy. The Eastern bishops look to their brethren in
Italy and Gaul for sympathy and advice, paying a tribute to the pristine purity
which the Western churches had preserved intact while the Eastern churches had
been lacerated, undermined, and divided by heretics and unconstitutional acts.
Later in 372 Basil entreats Eusebius to meet him at Phargamon in Armenia, at an
assembly of bishops (Ep. xcv.). If Eusebius will not or cannot attend the
conference, neither will Basil; and (xcviii.) he passionately urges him to
visit him at Caesarea. Letters from Eusebius appear to have been received by
Basil, who once more (c.) begs a visit at the time of the festival of the
martyr Eupsychius, since many things demanded mutual consideration. At the end
of 372 Basil (cv.) managed the laborious journey to Samosata, and secured from
his friend the promise of a return visit. This promise, said he, had ravished
the church with joy. In 373 Basil urged Eusebius to fulfil his promise, and
(cxxvii.) assured him that Jovinus had answered his expectations as bp. of
Nicopolis. Jovinus was a worthy pupil of Eusebius, and gratified Basil by his
canonical proprieties. Everywhere the θρέμματα of Eusebius exhibit
the image of his sanctity. Other authorities (Tillem. Art. iii.)
record that Jovinus relapsed afterwards into Arianism. The good offices of
Eusebius were solicited by Eustathius of Sebaste, who had quarrelled with
Basil. Basil's principle of "purity before reconciliation" convinced
Eusebius of his wisdom and moderation. At the council of Gangra, probably in
372 or 373, Eustathius of Sebaste was condemned for Arian tendencies and
hyperascetic practices. There is a difficulty in deciding who was the Eusebius
mentioned primo loco without a see in the synodal letter. It may have
been the bp. of Samosata, and as Basil entreated his advice as to Eustathius,
he may have joined him, Hypatius, Gregory, and other friends whose names occur
in this pronunciamiento. His age and moral eminence would give him
this prominent position. The 20 canons of Gangra are detailed with interesting
comment by Hefele, who thinks the chronology entirely uncertain. We venture the
above suggestion, which would throw considerable light on the practical
character of the bp. of Samosata. In 373 a letter of Basil (Ep. cxxxvi.)
shews that Eusebius had successfully secured the election of a Catholic bishop
at Tarsus. In consequence, he was eagerly entreated to visit Basil at Caesarea.
He may have done so, and presided at the council of Gangra. An encyclical which
Eusebius proposed to send to Italy was not prepared, but Dorotheus and Gregory
of Nyssa were induced to visit Rome in 374. The Paris editors assign to 368 or
369 Basil's letters (xxvii. xxxi.) descriptive of his illness, and the famine
that arrested his movements, but whensoever written, they reveal the
extraordinary confidence put by Basil in his brother bishop. He had been healed
by the intercessions of Eusebius, and now, all medical aid having failed
Hypatius his brother, he sends him to Samosata to be under the care and prayers
of Eusebius and his brethren. It is remarkable that Eusebius was left
undisturbed during the bitter persecutions of the orthodox by the emperor
Valens. At length his hour came, and few pages in the history of the time are
more vivid than those which portray the circumstances of his exile. Valens
promised the Arian bp. Eudoxius, who had baptized him, that he would banish all
who held contrary opinions. Thus Eusebius was expelled from Samosata (Theod.
iv. 13). The imperial sentence ordered his instant departure to Thrace (ib. 14).
Ceillier (v. 3) places this in 374. The officer who served the summons was
bidden by Eusebius to conceal the cause of his journey. "For if the
multitude (said Eusebius), who are all imbued with divine zeal, should learn
your design, they would drown you, and I should have to answer for your
death." After conducting worship, he took one domestic servant, a
"pillow, and a book," and departed in the dead of night. The effect
of his departure upon his flock is graphically described by Theodoret. The
clamour, the weeping, the pursuit, the entreaties to return to Samosata and
brave the wrath of the emperor, the humble submission of the bishop to the will
of the prince on the ground of the authority of St. Paul, the refusal of costly
gifts, the parting of the old man from his people, and the disappearance of the
venerable confessor on his long and perilous journey to the Danube, are all
told in a few striking sentences. Eusebius had excited a persistent and intense
antagonism to the views of the Arians which assumed very practical forms. The
Arian bp. Eunomius was avoided as if smitten with deadly and contagious pest. The
very water he used in the public bath was wasted by the populace as
contaminated. The repugnance being invincible, the poor man, inoffensive and
gentle in spirit, retired from the unequal contest. His successor, Lucius,
"a wolf and a deceiver of the flock," was received with scant
courtesy. The children spontaneously burned a ball upon which the ass on which
the Arian bishop rode had accidentally trodden. Lucius was not conquered by
such manifestations, and took counsel with the Roman magistracy to banish all
the Catholic clergy. Meanwhile Eusebius by slow stages reached the Danube when
"the Goths were ravaging Thrace and besieging many cities." The most
vigorous eulogium is passed upon his power to console others. At this dark time
his faithfulness was a joy to the Eastern bishops. Basil congratulated
Antiochus, a nephew of Eusebius, on the privilege of having seen and talked
with such a man (Ep. clxviii.), and Gregory thought his prayers for their
welfare must be as efficacious as those of a martyr. For Eusebius, concealed in
exile, Basil contrived means of communication with his old flock. Numerous
letters passed between the two, more in the tone of young lovers than of old
bishops, and some interesting hints are given as to difficulty of communication.
Eusebius was eagerly longing for letters, while Basil protested that he had
written no fewer than four, which never reached their destination. To Eusebius
(ccxxxix.) Basil complains bitterly of the lack of fair dealing on the part of
the Western church, and mysterious hints are not unfrequently dropped as to the
sentiment entertained at Rome with reference to himself, Eusebius, and
Meletius. In 377 Dorotheus found that the two latter were, to the horror of
Basil, reckoned at Rome as Arians. Eusebius suffered less from the barbarian
ravages of the Goths than from this momentary assault on his honour. In 378 the
persecuting policy of Valens was closed by his death. Gratian recalled the
banished prelates, and gave peace to the Eastern church. Theodoret (H. E. v.
4, 5) expressly mentions the permission to Eusebius to return. Notwithstanding
the apparently non-canonical character of the proceeding, Eusebius ordained
numerous bishops on his way from Thrace to the Euphrates, including Acacius at
Beroea, Theodotus at Hierapolis, Isidore at Cyrus, and Eulogius at Edessa. All
these names were appended to the creed of Constantinople.
When taking part in the
ordination of Maris at the little town of Dolica (Theod. H. E. v. 4),
a woman charged with Arian passion hurled at Eusebius a brick, which fell upon
his head, and wounded him fatally. Theodoret records that the aged bishop, in
the spirit of the protomartyr and his Divine Lord, extorted promises from his
attendants that they would make no search for his murderess. On June 22 the
Eastern churches commemorate his so-called martyrdom. His nephew Antiochus
probably succeeded to the bishopric of Samosata. Tillem. viii. 326;
Ceillier, v. 5.
[H.R.R.]
SOURCE : http://www.ccel.org/ccel/wace/biodict.html?term=Eusebius,%20bishop%20of%20Samosata
Hieromartyr Eusebius the
Bishop of Samosata
The Hieromartyr Eusebius,
Bishop of Samosata, stood firmly for the Orthodox Confession of Faith
proclaimed at the First Ecumenical Council at Nicea in the year 325. For this
he underwent persecution by the Arians, being repeatedly deprived of his see
and banished. The emperor Constantius (337-361), patron of the Arians, learned
that Saint Eusebius kept a conciliar decree regarding the election of the
Orthodox Archbishop Meletius to the See of Antioch. He commanded him to give up
the decree. The saint boldly refused to do as ordered. The enraged emperor sent
a message that if he did not give up the decree, then his right hand would be
cut off. Saint Eusebius stretched out both hands to the emissary saying, “Cut
them off, but I will not give up the Decree of the Council, which denounces the
wickedness and iniquity of the Arians.” The emperor Constantius marveled at the
audacity of the bishop, but did not harm him.
During the reign of
Julian the Apostate (361-363), even more difficult times ensued, and an open
persecution against Christians began. Saint Eusebius, having concealed his
identity, went about in the garb of a soldier across the whole of Syria,
Phoenicia and Palestine, urging Christians to the Orthodox Faith. He
established priests and deacons in desolated churches, and he consecrated
bishops who renounced the Arian heresy. After Julian the Apostate’s death, he
was succeeded by the pious emperor Jovian (363-364), during whose reign the
persecutions stopped. Returning from exile, Saint Meletius (February 12)
convened a local Council at Antioch in the year 379 on the advice of Saint
Eusebius. Twenty-seven bishops participated, and it reaffirmed the Orthodox
teaching of the First Ecumenical Council. The Arians signed the conciliar
definition, fearing the steadfast defenders of Orthodoxy, the holy hierarchs
Meletius, Eusebius and Pelagios, who had great influence with the emperor.
After the death of Jovian the Arian Valentinian (364-378) came to power.
The Orthodox were again
subjected to persecution. Saint Meletius was banished to Armenia, Saint
Pelagius to Arabia, and Saint Eusebius was condemned to exile in Thrace. Having
received the imperial decree, Saint Eusebius left Samosata by night so as to
prevent tumult among the people that esteemed him. Having learned of of the
bishop’s departure, believers followed after him and with tears entreated him to
return. The saint refused the entreaty of those who had come, saying that he
had to obey the authorities. The saint urged his flock to hold firm to
Orthodoxy, blessed them and set off to the place of exile. The Arian Eunomios
became Bishop of Samosata, but the people did not accept the heretic. The
Orthodox would not go to the church and avoided meeting with him. The heretical
Arian perceived that it was impossible to attract the independent flock to him.
The emperor Gracian
(375-383) came upon the throne, and all the Orthodox hierarchs banished under
the Arians were brought back from exile. Saint Eusebius also returned to
Samosata and continued with the task of building up the Church. Together with
Saint Meletius he supplied Orthodox hierarchs and clergy to Arian places. In
the year 380 he arrived in the Arian city of Dolikhina to establish the
Orthodox bishop Marinus there. An Arian woman threw a roof tile at the holy
bishop’s head. As he lay dying, he asked her for wine and requested those
around not to do her any harm. The body of Saint Eusebius was taken to Samosata
and was buried by his flock. The saint’s nephew, Antiochus, succeeded him and
the Samosata Church continued to confess the Orthodox Faith, firmly spread
through the efforts of the holy Hieromartyr Eusebius.
SOURCE : https://oca.org/saints/lives/2008/06/22/101779-hieromartyr-eusebius-the-bishop-of-samosata
Sant’ Eusebio di Samosata Vescovo
Sant’Eusebio, vescovo di
Samosata, al tempo dell’imperatore ariano Costanzo era solito visitare in
incognito, vestito da militare, le chiese di Dio, per confermarle nella fede
cattolica. Sotto l’imperatore Valente fu poi esiliato in Tracia, ma ritornata in
seguito la pace per la Chiesa fu richiamato dall’esilio sotto l’imperatore
Teodosio; finche portò a compimento il suo martirio presso Doliche in Siria,
mentre visitava di nuovo le chiese, colpito al capo mortalmente da una tegola
scagliatagli addosso da una donna ariana.
Martirologio
Romano: A Dülük in Siria, ora in Turchia, sant’Eusebio, vescovo di
Samosata, che, al tempo dell’imperatore ariano Costanzo, vestendosi da soldato,
visitava in incognito le Chiese di Dio per rinsaldarle nella fede cattolica; successivamente,
sotto l’impero di Valente, fu relegato in Tracia, ma, ritornata la pace per la
Chiesa, fu richiamato dall’esilio al tempo dell’imperatore Teodosio; infine,
mentre era di nuovo in visita alle Chiese, morì martire colpito al capo da una
tegola lanciatagli contro dall’alto da una donna ariana.
Fu uno dei più zelanti
difensori dell'ortodossia nel IV sec. Non si sa quando fu nominato vescovo di
Samosata nella Siria Eufratese, perché non appare nella storia prima
dell'elezione di Melezio al seggio patriarcale di Antiochia (360-61), elezione
per cui egli aveva fermamente lavorato. Egli passava allora per ariano, ma era
ortodosso nel cuore e lo mostrò bene quando l'imperatore Costanzo gli fece
richiedere il processo verbale dell'elezione di Melezio, che a lui era stato
rimesso; Eusebio rifiutò per ben mostrare la sua adesione al nuovo
patriarca. Nel 370 sostenne s. Basilio e riuscì a farlo nominare vescovo
di Cesarea. Da allora, ebbe stretta relazione con lui per la loro azione
comune in favore della fede di Nicea. Si hanno ventidue lettere indirizzategli
da s. Basilio (PG, XXXI, coll. 303-996, nn. 27, 30, 31, 34. 48, 96, 98, 100,
127, 128, 136, 138, 141, 145, 162, 166, 167, 198, 237, 239, 261, 268). Fu pure
in relazione con s. Gregorio di Nazianzo, che gli scrisse cinque lettere (PG,
XXXVII, coll. 87-129, nn. 42, 44, 64, 65, 66) : due di queste lettere sono
state pure pubblicate dal Bedjan nella loro versione siriaca (AMS, VI, pp.
377-80). La sua lotta contro lo arianesimo lo fece esiliare in Tracia
dall'imperatore Valente (374). Alla morte del persecutore (378) rientrò
nella sua città episcopale che gli era rimasta fedele, malgrado l'intrusione di
Eunomio. Percorse allora la Siria del Nord per combattere l'eresia e fare
nominare dei vescovi ortodossi; quando arrivò a Doliché, una donna ariana gli
gettò un mattone sulla testa; morì per la ferita domandando grazia per la sua
assassina (22 giug. 380). I greci lo festeggiano in questo giorno. I
diversi calendari della Chiesa di Antiochia lo celebrano egualmente al 22
haziràn (giug.) e con la menzione « martirizzato dagli Ariani ». È da notare a
questo proposito che una Vita siriaca di E. è stata pubblicata dal Bedjan da un
manoscritto del British Museum (add. 12174). Viene ricordato al 21 giug. nel
Martirologio Romano; non si hanno suoi scritti.
Autore: Raymond
Janin
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/93029
Voir aussi : https://www.goarch.org/fr/chapel/saints?contentid=96
