Pope Eusebius (died 21 October 310) was the
bishop of Rome from 18 April 309 until his exile on 17 August 310.
Biography
Not much is known about Eusebius' early life, but he was probably a
Greek.
As in the case of his predecessor,
Marcellus I, difficulty arose out of Eusebius's attitude toward the
lapsi.
Eusebius maintained the attitude of the Roman Church, adopted after the
Decian persecution
Christians were persecuted in 250 AD under the Decius, Roman emperor Decius. He had issued an edict ordering everyone in the empire to perform a sacrifice to the Roman gods and the well-being of the emperor. The sacrifices had to be performed ...
s (250–51), that the apostates should not be
forever debarred from ecclesiastical communion, but readmitted after doing proper penance. This view was opposed by a faction of Christians in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
under the leadership of
Heraclius.
Johann Peter Kirsch believes it likely that Heraclius was the chief of a party made up of apostates and their followers, who demanded immediate restoration to the Roman Church. Emperor
Maxentius intervened and exiled them both.
Eusebius died in exile in
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
very soon after being banished and was buried in the
catacomb of Callixtus.
placed an
epitaph over his tomb because of his firm defence of ecclesiastical discipline and the banishment which he suffered thereby.
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Notes
External links
Opera Omnia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eusebius
310 deaths
4th-century Christian saints
4th-century Romans
Greek popes
Papal saints
Popes
People from Sardinia
Year of birth unknown
4th-century popes
Ancient Roman exiles