Eugenius of Carthage was a Christian prelate unanimously elected
Bishop of Carthage in 480 to succeed
Deogratias. He was caught up in the disputes of his day between
Arianism
Arianism (, ) is a Christology, Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is co ...
and mainstream Christianity. He is revered as a saint.
Biography
His episcopal election was deferred owing to the opposition of the Arian
Vandal
The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vandal ...
kings and was only permitted by
King Huneric at the instance of
Zeno
Zeno may refer to:
People
* Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the given name
* Zeno (surname)
Philosophers
* Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes
* Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 B ...
and
Placidia, into whose family the Vandals had married.
[McNeal, Mark. "St. Eugenius of Carthage." The Catholic Encyclopedia]
Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909
The bishop's governance, charity, austere lifestyle and courage are said to have won him the admiration of the Arians. He had admitted Vandals into the Catholic Church, contrary to royal
edict, and had engaged in argument against Arian theologians, whom the king pitted against the Catholics. Both sides claimed the name "Catholic", the Arians calling their opponents "
Homoousians".
[
The conference, held some time between 481 and February 484, ended by the withdrawal of the chief Arian bishop on the plea that he could not speak Latin. The Arians being enraged, Huneric exiled forty-six bishops to ]Corsica
Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...
and three hundred and two to the African deserts. Among the latter was Eugenius, who under the custody of a man named Antonius dwelt in the desert of Tripoli. On setting out he wrote a letter of consolation and exhortation to the faithful of Carthage which is still extant in the works of St. Gregory of Tours (P.L., LVII, 769–71). In his uncompromising defence of the Divinity of the word of the Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
he was imitated by his flock, many of whom were exiled with him.[
Gunthamund, who succeeded Huneric as Vandal king, allowed Eugenius to return to Carthage and permitted him to reopen the churches. After eight years of peace Thrasamund succeeded to the throne, arrested Eugenius and condemned him to death, but commuted the sentence into exile at Vienne, near Albi (Languedoc), where the Arian Alaric was king. Eugenius built there a monastery over the tomb of St. Amaranthus the martyr, and led a penitential life till his death on 13 July, 505.][Lucchesi, Giovanni. " Sant' Eugenio of Carthage Bishop", Santi e Beati, January 30, 2018]
/ref>
Legend
The legend associated with him is that sometime before February 1, Felix a blind man of Carthage had a dream
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensation (psychology), sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around ...
that Bishop Eugenius would pray for him and he would be healed. Twice the man ignored the dream, but he had it again. On the third time he roused himself and sought out the Bishop. The legend continues that Felix went to the Bishop and told his story. The Bishop protested his ability to heal but eventually acquiesced with the words ''"I have already told you I am a sinful man; but may he who has deigned to visit you act in accordance with your faith and open you eyes".'' The tale continues that when he prayed for Felix his sight was restored.
When news of the miracle reached the Vandal king, Huneric is said to have unsuccessfully tried to kill Felix.
Legacy
He wrote an ''Expositio Fidei Catholicae'', demanded of him by Huneric, probably the one submitted by the Catholic bishops at the conference. It argues the Consubstantiality of the Bible and the divinity of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...
. He wrote also an ''Apologeticus pro Fide''; ''Altercatio cum Arianis'', fragments of which are quoted by Victor de Vita; also pleas for the Catholics, addressed to Huneric or his successors.
Both Gennadius of Massilia and Pope Gelasius I had heard of the subject by 494 and two pastoral letters survive.[Cain, Andrew. “Miracles, Martyrs, and Arians: Gregory of Tours' Sources for His Account of the Vandal Kingdom.” Vigiliae Christianae, vol. 59, no. 4, 2005, pp. 412–437]
JSTOR website
Retrieved 13 July 2019.
In 992 the bishop of Savona established a monastery on Bergeggi island dedicated to St. Eugenius.[
]
See also
* Athanasius of Alexandria
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eugenius Of Carthage
505 deaths
Saints from the Vandal Kingdom
6th-century Christian saints
Year of birth unknown
5th-century writers in Latin
5th-century bishops of Carthage
5th-century Christian saints