Eusebius of Nicomedia
Eusebius of Nicomedia and Constantinople, (d.
341) was a bishop of Berytus (modern-day
Beirut) in
Phoenicia, then of
Nicomedia where the imperial court resided, and finally of
Constantinople from
338 up to his death.
Distantly related to the imperial family of
Constantine, he not only owed his removal from an insignificant to the most important episcopal see to his influence at court, but the great power he wielded in the Church was derived from that source. With the exception of a short period of eclipse, he enjoyed the complete confidence both of Constantine and
Constantius II; and it was he who baptized the former May,
337.
Like
Arius, he was a pupil of Lucian of Antioch, and it is probable that he held the same views as Arius from the very beginning. He afterward modified his ideas somewhat, or perhaps he only yielded to the pressure of circumstances; but he was, if not the teacher, at all events the leader and organizer, of the
Arian party.
At the
First Council of Nicaea,
325, he signed the Confession, but only after a long and desperate opposition. His defense of Arius angered the emperor, and a few months after the council\nhe was sent into exile. After the lapse of three years, he succeeded in regaining the imperial favor;\nand after his return in
329 he brought the whole machinery of the state government into action in\norder to impose his views upon the
Church.
He is primarily remembered today for writing his
Ecclesiastical History, which recorded much of the early history of Christianity, as well as preserving many primary sources.
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Category:Ancient Roman Christianity
