CYCLOPEDIA of BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL and ECCLESIASTICAL LITERATURE Eusebius- Ezri by James Strong & John Mcclintock
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THE AGES DIGITAL LIBRARY REFERENCE CYCLOPEDIA of BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL and ECCLESIASTICAL LITERATURE Eusebius- Ezri by James Strong & John McClintock To the Students of the Words, Works and Ways of God: Welcome to the AGES Digital Library. We trust your experience with this and other volumes in the Library fulfills our motto and vision which is our commitment to you: MAKING THE WORDS OF THE WISE AVAILABLE TO ALL — INEXPENSIVELY. AGES Software Rio, WI USA Version 1.0 © 2000 2 Eusebius the only pope of this name, and, according to a tradition, the son of a physician, became bishop of Rome in 310, after the death of Marcellus. The time of his pontificate is variously stated at from four months to six years. No events of importance are recorded of his pontificate. According to an epitaph published by Baronius (but which Baronius himself refers, not to the pope, but to some priest of the same name), the lapsi (q.v.) in Rome demanded immediate absolution, which Eusebius refused. Tumult arose, in consequence of which Eusebius was exiled by the usurper Maxentius to Sicily. He is commemorated as a saint on the 26th of September. Several decrees circulating under his name, as well as three letters to the bishops of Gaul, to the Egyptians, and to the bishops of Tuscia and Campania, are spurious. — Herzog, Real-Encyklopadie, 4:246; Acta Sanct. ad 26 Septbr.; Pagi, Breviarum pontific. Roman. (1, page 65); Bower, Hist. of the Popes; Ersch u. Gruber, Allgem. Encyklop. (section 1, volume 40, page 445). Eusebius Of Alexandria. I. In the Eastern churches, a number of homilies, ascribed to one Eusebius of Alexandria, enjoyed a great reputation, especially during the 6th and 7th centuries. They are either dramatic representations of the chief events in the life of Christ, or discussions of moral and practical questions. Their author is variously designated as monk, bishop, archbishop, or papa; most frequently bishop or archbishop of Alexandria. An ancient biography, published by cardinal Mai (Spicileg. Romans 9, page 103), represents him as a sainted monk living near Alexandria, and endowed with the faculty of working ciracles, who became successor of Cyril in the see of Alexandria, transferred his episcopal functions, after seven years (another reading says twenty years), to a noble Alexandrine named Alexander, and died in the retirement of a monastery. That this account is false we know from the list of bishops of Alexandria, which nowhere leaves room for a bishop Eusabius. According to Thilo (Ueber die Schriften des Eusebius von Alexandrien und des Eusebius von Emesa, Halle, 1832), the author was either one of the four monks known in the Origenistic controversies under the name of the four "tall brothers," and distinguished among the monks of the Nitrian desert for piety and theological learning, or a presbyter at the court of Justinian I, who, honored with the title Papa, took an active part in the dogmatic controversies of the 6th century. Semisch (in Herzog's Real- 3 Encyklop. s.v.) thinks that neither of these two men has all the qualifications which one would expect from the author of the Homilies. The only thing certain, in his opinion, is that the homilies were compiled in the 5th or 6th century. The number of homilies that are at present known is twenty-one. Some of them were published at Paris, 1575, and Antwerp, 1602. Augusti (Euseb. Emes qua supersunt opuscula, Elberfeld, 1829) wrongly attributed three of the homilies (of the dramatic class) to Eusebius of Emesa. Thilo, in the work already mentioned, combated the views of Augusti, and in an appendix published a revised text of four of the homilies, to which, in 1834, he added an edition of a new homily on astrology. His views were confirmed by cardinal Mai (Spicil. Roman. 9), who, from a Vatican manuscript, published a number of homilies for the first time. A homily on alms, which has never been printed is to be found in the Vienna Imperial Library. — Herzog, Real-Encyklop. 4:226; Fabricius, Bibl. Graec. (ed. Harles), 7:409. (A.J.S.) II. Eusebius, bishop of Laodicea, being a native of Alexandria, is sometimes called Eusebius of Alexandria. Eusebius with the surname BRUNO, after 1047 bishop of Angers. Little is known of his early life. Soon after becoming bishop he was suspended with a number of other bishops, being suspected, it is thought, of simony. But he seems to have fully justified himself, for in 1049 he was present at the reformatory council of Rheims, and was chosen a member of the committee to welcome pope Leo IX in the name of the council. In a letter written from Rome (1049), he complained of the measures taken by the pope against Berengar, who, in his opinion, was free from any heresy. Berengar himself counted Eusebius among his patrons, and it was the advice of Eusebius which induced him to take, at the Synod of Tours in 1054, the oath which the synod demanded from him. One of the foremost opponents of Berengar, bishop Theotwin of Liege, calls Eusebius one of the chief renewers of the heresy which finds in the Lord's Supper nothing but a shadow and an image of the body of Christ. But when count Geoffroi of Anjou, the powerful protector of the French heretics, died (1060), the courage of Eusebius was at an end. At the Episcopal Convention of Angers in 1062 he showed an inclination to accept the doctrine of the Church, though he still made a profession of personal friendship for Berengar. The same indecision shows itself in the celebrated letter, written between 1063 and 1066, in which 4 Eusebius de. chines to act as arbiter at a theological disputation which Berengar desired to told with the priest Gaufrid Martini, and defines his dogmatical position. The letter (which is regarded by Lessing as the ablest theological essay of the 11th century) deprecates new dogmatic explanations concerning the Eucharist, and declares that we ought not to appeal to the fathers, but to adhere to Scripture, and abide by the simple words that the bread and wine are the true body and blood of Christ as a duty of pious faith. The letter may be found in Menardus (Augustini c. Juliani operis imperfecti 1.2 priores), with arbitrary alterations in De Roye (Vita, haeres. et poenit. Berengar.), and Boulay (Hist. Univers. Paris). Two other letters of Eusebius are given by Sudendorf (Bereng. Turon.,185,0). Eusebius died at Angers Aug. 27, 1081. — Herzog, Real- Encykl. 4:228; Lessing, Werke (edit. Lachmann), volume 8; Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Gener. 16:778; Neander, Church History (Torrey), 3:576; Neander, Hist. of Dogmas (Ryland), 2:462. (A.J.S.) Eusebius Of Caesarea, the "father of Church history," was born about 270. The place of his birth is not certainly known, but it is supposed to have been Caesarea in Palestine. Coming to Antioch towards the end of the 3d century, he there studied the Scriptures under Dorotheus (Eusebius, H.E. 7:32). On his return to Caesarea he was ordained by Agapius then bishop of that place. Here he became intimate with Pamphilus, a learned presbyter, who was head of a divinity school at Caesarea and who had gathered many books illustrative of Scripture and theology, especially the writings of Origen. This friendship was lifelong, and from it Eusebius took the name Eujse>biov (oJi>lov) tou~ Pamfi>lou, Eusebius Pamphili. It was probably under Pamphilus that Eusebius imbibed his fondness for the writings of Origen. During the persecution by Dioclesian, Pamphilus was imprisoned, and finally died a martyr (A.D. 309). Eusebius taught in the school of Pamphilus for years, but during the persecution he went to Tyre and to Egypt, where he himself was imprisoned as a confessor, and where he witnessed the sufferings of the faithful described in his Church History (book 8, c. 7, 9). Epiphanius (Her. 58:7) tells. us that Eusebius was charged at the Synod of Tyre (A.D. 335, where he sided against Athanasius), by Potamon, bishop of Heraclea, with having shown cowardice during the persecution in Egypt, and even with having offered incense to idols. But the charge doubtless arose from party feeling, as it is not likely that he could, with such a character, have been made bishop in 5 that age. In 313 or 315 he was chosen bishop of Caesarea, which see he administered with eminent success for twenty-five years. The part taken by Eusebius in the Arian controversy has been the subject of much dispute. When Arius was deposed by Alexander, he enlisted numerous bishops in his behalf, especially Eusebius of Nicomedia, namesake and friend of Eusebius of Caesarea; and the latter wrote to Alexander, bishop of Alexandria (two letters, of which fragments are extant), aiming, not to settle the doctrinal dispute, but rather to show that the views of Arius were misrepresented. He sought to reconcile the contending parties, and this conciliatory, if not compromising temper, characterized Eusebius through life. SEE ARIUS; SEE ATHANASIUS. The part taken by Eusebius in the Council of Niceas (Nice, A.D. 325) is described by Valesius (Introd. to his edit. of Eusebius) as follows: "In this greatest and most celebrated council, Eusebius was far from an unimportant person; for he both had the first seat on the right hand, and in the name of the whole synod addressed the emperor Constantine, who sat on a golden chair, between the two rows of the opposite parties. This is affirmed by Eusebius himself (Life of Constantine), and by Sozomen (Ecclesiastes Hist.). Afterwards, when there was a considerable contest amongst the bishops relative to a creed or form of faith, Eusebius proposed a formula at once simple and orthodox, which received the general commendation both of the bishops and of the emperor himself.