Secundianus of Singidunum () was bishop of
Singidunum
Singidunum ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Сингидунум, Singidunum) was an ancient city which later evolved into modern Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. The name is of Celtic origin, going back to the time when the Celtic tribe Scordisci settled the a ...
(in the Roman province of
Dacia
Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ro ...
, modern
Belgrade
Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
). Little is known of his life; except that he was condemned for heresy at the
Council of Aquileia (in the northeast of modern Italy) in 381.
Palladius of Ratiaria (province of Dacia, modern Bulgaria) had been assured by
Gratian
Gratian (; ; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian was raised to the rank of ''Augustus'' as a child and inherited the West after his father's death in ...
, the senior
Roman emperor, that several bishops from the Eastern Empire, a stronghold of
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 ...
, would attend the Council. He had been deceived.
Saint Ambrose
Ambrose of Milan (; 4 April 397), venerated as Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Ari ...
had persuaded Gratian to change its original purpose. Palladius and his friend Secundianus were outnumbered at Aquileia by thirty-four to two, and found themselves on trial. The charge against them was that they believed God the Son to be subordinate to God the Father; instead of being of equal rank, as stipulated in the
Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed, also called the Creed of Constantinople, is the defining statement of belief of Nicene Christianity and in those Christian denominations that adhere to it.
The original Nicene Creed was first adopted at the First Council of N ...
of 325.
[The Nicene Creed says, "Jesus Christ, the Son of God ..being of one substance with the Father".]
From the Council, Ambrose wrote to Gratian:
No record of what action Gratian took seems to have survived; but it seems likely that if he had taken none, Ambrose would have sent a reminder.
Notes
References
Date of birth unknown
Place of birth unknown
Date of death unknown
Place of death unknown
Arian bishops
4th-century Arian Christians
4th-century Romans
Roman Dacia
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