Eusebius of Samosata
Encyclopedia
Saint Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata
(died c. 379, Dolikha
) was a Christian martyr and opponent of Arianism
. His feast day is June 21 in the Western Church and June 22 in the Eastern Church.
In 361 he became bishop of the ancient Syrian city of Samosata. Eusebius had been entrusted with the official record of the election (360) of Bishop St. Meletius of Antioch
, who was supported by the Arian bishops, who were under the mistaken notion that he would prove sympathetic to their cause. When Meletius expounded his orthodoxy, the bishops persuaded the Roman emperor Constantius II
, a staunch Arian, to extort the record from Eusebius and destroy it. In 361 Constantius threatened Eusebius with the loss of his right hand because he refused to surrender the record, but the threat was withdrawn when Eusebius offered both hands.
During the persecution of orthodox Christians under the Eastern Roman emperor Valens
(also an Arian), Eusebius travelled incognito through Syria
and Palestine
, restoring orthodox bishops and priests who had been deposed by the Arians. In 374 Valens banished him to Thrace
, a region in the Balkan Peninsula, but after the Emperor's death in 378, Eusebius was restored to his see of Samosata. While in Dolikha
to consecrate a bishop, he was killed after being struck on the head with a roof tile by an Arian woman.
Samosata
Samosata was an ancient city on the right bank of the Euphrates whose ruins existed at the modern city of Samsat, Adıyaman Province, Turkey until the site was flooded by the newly-constructed Atatürk Dam....
(died c. 379, Dolikha
Dolikha
Ancient and small episcopal city in Commagene, northern Syria, forty-one miles from Samosata, in the province of Asia Minor. It was the scene of the murder of St. Eusebius of Samosata c. 379....
) was a Christian martyr and opponent of Arianism
Arianism
Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...
. His feast day is June 21 in the Western Church and June 22 in the Eastern Church.
In 361 he became bishop of the ancient Syrian city of Samosata. Eusebius had been entrusted with the official record of the election (360) of Bishop St. Meletius of Antioch
Meletius of Antioch
Saint Meletius of Antioch was a Christian bishop, or Patriarch of Antioch, from 360 until his death. There were contrasting view about his theological position: on the one hand, he was exiled three times under Arian emperors; on the other, he was strongly opposed by those faithful to the memory...
, who was supported by the Arian bishops, who were under the mistaken notion that he would prove sympathetic to their cause. When Meletius expounded his orthodoxy, the bishops persuaded the Roman emperor Constantius II
Constantius II
Constantius II , was Roman Emperor from 337 to 361. The second son of Constantine I and Fausta, he ascended to the throne with his brothers Constantine II and Constans upon their father's death....
, a staunch Arian, to extort the record from Eusebius and destroy it. In 361 Constantius threatened Eusebius with the loss of his right hand because he refused to surrender the record, but the threat was withdrawn when Eusebius offered both hands.
During the persecution of orthodox Christians under the Eastern Roman emperor Valens
Valens
Valens was the Eastern Roman Emperor from 364 to 378. He was given the eastern half of the empire by his brother Valentinian I after the latter's accession to the throne...
(also an Arian), Eusebius travelled incognito through Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, restoring orthodox bishops and priests who had been deposed by the Arians. In 374 Valens banished him to Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
, a region in the Balkan Peninsula, but after the Emperor's death in 378, Eusebius was restored to his see of Samosata. While in Dolikha
Dolikha
Ancient and small episcopal city in Commagene, northern Syria, forty-one miles from Samosata, in the province of Asia Minor. It was the scene of the murder of St. Eusebius of Samosata c. 379....
to consecrate a bishop, he was killed after being struck on the head with a roof tile by an Arian woman.