De sancto Eusebio
The Meaning of a Holy Name
The name Eusebius is interpreted as a sign of goodness, eloquence, and faithful worship.
The name Eusebius is derived from 'eu,' which means good, and 'sebe,' which refers to eloquence or a firm standing. Alternatively, Eusebius means 'good worship.' For he truly possessed goodness in his own sanctification, eloquence in the defense of the faith, a firm standing in the constancy of his martyrdom, and good worship in his reverence for God. .
A Life of Divine Favor
Eusebius is marked by angelic protection and early zeal in purging the Church of heresy.
Eusebius, who remained a virgin, received baptism from Pope Eusebius while he was still a catechumen; and it is said that during this baptism, angelic hands were seen lifting him from the sacred font. A certain noblewoman, captivated by his beauty, tried to enter his room, but she could not reach him because angels were guarding it; so, when morning came, she fell at his feet and begged for his forgiveness. Once ordained a priest, he shone with such holiness that during the celebration of Mass, an angelic presence appeared at the most sacred part of his ministry. After this, when the Arian plague was infecting all of Italy and Emperor Constantius was favoring that same heresy, Pope Julian consecrated Eusebius as Bishop of Vercelli, which at that time held a position of leadership among the other cities of Italy. When the heretics heard of this, they had all the doors of the church locked; but Eusebius, having entered the city, knelt before the entrance of the main church—which is dedicated to the Blessed Mary—and by his prayer, he immediately opened all the doors. He cast out Maxentius, the Bishop of Milan, who had been corrupted by heretical depravity, and ordained the Catholic man Dionysius in his place; thus, Eusebius purged the entire Church of the West, and Athanasius purged the entire Church of the East, of the Arian plague. For Arius was a priest from Alexandria who claimed that Christ was a mere creature, asserting that there was a time when He did not exist, and that He was made for our sake so that God might create us through Him as through an instrument; and for this reason, the great Constantine had the Council of Nicaea convened, where this error was condemned. He himself, however, later died a miserable death, because he passed all his bowels and intestines through his bowels.
Standing Firm Against Malice
Despite the emperor's pressure and the threat of heresy, Eusebius remains steadfast in his commitment to the faith.
. Constantius, the son of Constantine, was corrupted by that very heresy. Because of this, Emperor Constantius grew very angry with Eusebius, called a council of many bishops, summoned Dionysius, and sent many letters to Eusebius. But Eusebius, knowing that malice often wins out in a crowd, refused to come and stood firm in his old age. Consequently, the emperor decreed that a council should be held in the nearby city of Milan to counter his refusal. When he saw that Eusebius was missing, he ordered the Arians to write down their faith and ordered Dionysius, the bishop of Milan, to... ...have thirty-three bishops subscribe to that same faith. Hearing this, Eusebius left his own city to set out for Milan, predicting that he would suffer many things. When he arrived at a certain river, in order to... ...continue to Milan, a boat that was far off on the other side of the river came to him at his command, and it carried him and his companions across without any other boatman.
The Courage of the Confessor
Eusebius endures physical abuse and brutal imprisonment for his refusal to compromise the truth.
Then Dionysius met him, fell at his feet, and asked for forgiveness. Since Eusebius couldn't be swayed by the emperor’s threats or flattery, he said before everyone, "You claim the Son is lesser than the Father; why, then, have you preferred my son and disciple over me?" For a disciple is not above his master, nor a servant above his lord, nor a son above his father. Moved by this logic, they immediately offered him the document they had written and to which Dionysius had subscribed. But he replied, "I will by no means write after a son, over whom I have authority; burn this one, and if you wish, write a new one for me to sign." And so, by the will of God, the document that Dionysius and the other thirty-three bishops had signed was burned. The Arians then wrote another and handed it to Eusebius and the other bishops to sign, but since they were encouraged by Eusebius and wouldn't consent, they rejoiced greatly to see the document they had been forced to sign completely destroyed. Then, in a rage, Constantius handed Eusebius over to the will of the Arians. They immediately seized him from among the other bishops and, beating him cruelly, dragged him up and down the palace stairs. Because he had lost so much blood from his head being struck, and still would not agree, they tied his hands behind his back and dragged him along by a rope around his neck. He, however, gave thanks and said he was ready to die for the confession of the Catholic faith. Then Constantius sent Pope Liberius, Dionysius, Paulinus, and all the other bishops who had been encouraged by his example into exile, while the Arians took Eusebius to Scythopolis, a city in Palestine, and treated him in a certain place as follows. They shut him in a very tight space, so that it was shorter than him in length and narrower in width, such that he was hunched over and could neither stretch out his feet nor turn onto his other side; with his head pressed down, he was able to move only his shoulders and elbows.
Final Victory and Martyrdom
After periods of exile and return, Eusebius ultimately gives his life for the faith and leaves a lasting legacy of purity in his city.
However, after Constantius died, Julian succeeded him and, wanting to please everyone, ordered the exiled bishops to be recalled, the temples of the gods to be opened, and everyone to enjoy peace under the law as they wished. So Eusebius left that place, went to Athanasius, and explained to him how much he had suffered. After Julian died and Jovian began to reign, the Arians were quieted, and Eusebius returned to Vercelli, where the people received him with great joy. But when Valens began to reign, the Arians rose up again; they surrounded Eusebius's house, dragged him outside, threw him on his back, and stoned him to death, and so, happily departing to the Lord, he was buried in the church he himself had built. It is also said that Eusebius obtained this grace from God for his city through his prayers: that no Arian could live there. According to the chronicle, he lived to be at least eighty-eight years old. He flourished around the year 350.
Read the original Latin
Eusebius ducitur ab eu, quod est bonum, et sebe, quod dicitur eloquentia vel statio. Vel Eusebius sonat bonus cultus. Ipse namque habuit bonitatem in sanctificatione sui, eloquentiam in defensione fidei, stationem in constantia martirii, bonum cultum in reverentia Dei. .
Eusebius semper virgo exsistens dum adhuc catechumenus esset, ab Eusebio papa baptisma suscepit et nomen, in quo baptismo manus angelicae visae sunt, quae ipsum de sacro fonte levaverunt. Matrona quaedam ejus pulchritudine capta cum ipsius cubiculum vellet adire, custodientibus angelis pervenire non potuit, unde facto mane ad ejus pedes procidit et ab eo veniam petiit. Ordinatus presbiter tanta sanctitate emicuit, ut in missarum sollemniis inter maius ejus ministerium angelicam appareret. Post hoc cum Ariana pestis totam Italiam inficeret, imperatore Constantio eidem haeresi favente Julianus papa Eusebium in Vercellensem episcopum consecravit, quae tunc obtinebat inter alias urbes Italiae principatum. Quod haeretici audientes omnes fores ecclesiae claudi fecerunt, at Eusebius urbem ingressus ante ostium majoris ecclesiae, quae est beatae Mariae, genua flexit et omnia ostia mox sua oratione aperuit. )Maxentium Mediolanensem episcopum haeretica pravitate corruptum de episcopatu ejecit et pro eo virum catholicum Dyonisium ordinavit sicque Eusebius totam ecclesiam occidentis et Athanasius totam ecclesiam orientis ab Arianorum peste purgabant. Arius namque presbiter Alexandrinus fuit, qui Christum puram creaturam esse dicebat, asserens, quod erat, quando non crat, et quod propter nos factus est, ut nos per eum tamquam per insiramentum Deus crearet, et ideo magnus Constantinus celebrari fecit Nicaenum concilium, ubi error condemnatus est. Ipse autem postmodum miserabili morte interiit, quia omnia viscera et intestina per secessum emisit.
. Constantius autem Constantini filius ipsa haeresi corruptus fuit, quocirca Constantius imperator contra Eusebium plurimum indignatus multorum episcoporum concilium onvocavit et Dyonisium accersivit multasque epistolas ad Eusebium destinavit, qui sciens malitiam in multitudine praevalere, venire contemsit et suam senectutem opposuit. Unde imperator statuit contra suam excusationem in Mediolanensi urbe, quae prope erat, concilium celebrari. Ubi cum Eusebium deesse videret, jussit Arianos fidem suam describere et Dyonisium episcopum Mediolanensem ae !) XXXIII episcopos eidem fidei subscribere. Quod audiens Eusebius ex urbe sua profecturus Mediolanum exiit et se multa passurum praedixit. Cum igitur ad quendam fluvium venisset, ut. Mediolanum pergeret, "mavis procul ex alia parte fluminis exsistens eo jubente ad eum venit et ipsum cum sociis sine gubernatore alio transportavit.
Tunc ei praedictus Dyonisius obviavit et ad pedes ejus procidens veniam postulavit. Cum igitur Eusebius ab imperatore nec minis nec blanditiis flecti posset, coram omnibus dixit: vos dicitis filium minorem esse patre, eur ergo mihi filium meum et discipulum praetulistis? Non est enim discipulus super magistrum nec servus super dominum suum nec filius super patrem. Qua illi ratione commoti statim chirographum, quem scripserant et cni Dyonisius subscripserat, ei obtulerunt. At ille: nequaquam post filium scribam, cui auctoritate praesum, sed istum incendite novumque, cui subscribam, si vultis, conscribite. Sicque nutu Dei succensus est chirographus, cui Dyonisius et alii XXXIII episcopi subscripserant, rursumque Ariani alium chirographuur conscripserunt et Eusebio et aliis eprscopis, ut subscriberent, tradiderunt, sed cum ab Eusebio animati nullatenus consentirent, coeperunt plurimum gratulari, quod chirographum, cui coacti subscripserant, penitus combustum videbant. Tunc iratus Constantius Eusebium voluntati Arianorum tradidit. Qui protinus ipsum de medio aliorum episco: porum rapientes et durius flagellantes eum per gradus palatii a summo usque ad imum et rursus ab imo usque ad summum traxerunt.
Cum ergo capiteconcusso multum sanguinem fudisset et adhuc non assentire, vinctis post tergum manibus per collum cum fune ipsum trahebant. Ipse autem gratias agens dicebat, se pro confessione catholicae fidei mori esse paratum. Tunc Constantius Liberium papam, Dyonisium, Paulinum et omnes alios episcopos; qui ejus exemplo fuerant animati, in exsilium mitti fecit, Eusebinm vero apud Scytopolin, urbem Palaestinae, Ariani duxerunt et ipsum in quodam loco sic. artissimo recluserunt, ut esset illo longitudine brevior, latitudine angustior, ita ut curvatus nec pedes extendere nec se in latus alterum vertere posset, capiteque depresso humeros tantum et cubitos movere valebat. Verumtamen Constantio defuncto Julianus eidem succedens et omnibus placere volens juhet exsulatos episcopos revocari et Deoram templa aperiri et pace frui, sub lege, qua quisque vellet. Et sic Eusebius inde exiens ad Athanasium venit et quanta passus fuerat, eidem exposuit. Defuncto autem Juliano et Joviniano regnante sopitis Arianis Eusebius Vercellas rediit et eum populus cum magna exsultatione suscepit. Sed iterum Valente regnante Ariani repullulant et Eusebii domum vallantes et extra domum supinum ipsum trahentes lapidibus eum obruerunt et sic ad dominum feliciter migrans in ecclesia, quam ipse construxerat, sepultus est.
Fertur quoque hanc gratiam suae civitati Eusebius a Deo precibus impetrasse, ut nullus Arianus ibidem vivere posset. Vixit autem secundum chronicam ad minus LXXXVIII annis. Floruit circa annos domini CCCL.
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