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Eusebius, Bishop of Pelusium

Wace's Dictionary of Early Christian Biography

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Eusebius (71) , bp. of Pelusium, between Ammonius and Georgius. He was present at the council of Ephesus in 431 (Mansi, iv. 1127 A, 1219 B, 1366 D; v. 615 C). His contemporary Isidore, abbat of Pelusiurn, depicts him in the darkest colours, as a man of some taste and some ability, an "agreeable" preacher (Ep. i. 112; cf. v. 301), but hot-tempered (v. 196; cf. iii. 44) and easily swayed by men worse than himself (ii. 127; v. 451); his hands were not clear of simoniacal gain, which he employed in building a splendid church (i. 37; ii. 246); he "entrusted the flock to dogs, wolves, foxes" (v. 147), "the monasteries to herdsmen and runaway slaves" (i. 262); he was forgetful of the poor, and inaccessible to remonstrance (iii. 260). His confidants were Lucius the archdeacon, who was said to take money for ordinations (i. 29); Zosimus a priest, who disgraced his grey hairs by vices (i. 140; ii. 75, 205, etc.) and retained contributions meant for the poor (v. 210); and three deacons, Eustathius, Anatolius, and Maron (i. 223; ii. 28, 29, etc.), with whom Gotthius (ii. 10), Simon, and Chaeremon (v. 48, 373) are associated. The greediness of those who administered the church property was insatiable (v. 79). The offences of these men, or of some of them, were so gross that men cried out against them as effective advocates of Epicureanism (ii, 153, 230), and Isidore had to tell his correspondents that he had done his best (as, indeed, many of his letters shew, e.g. i. 140, 436; ii. 28, 39, etc.) to reclaim the offenders, but that the physician could not compel the patient to follow his advice, that "God the Word Himself" could not save Judas (iv. 205.) that a good man should not soil his lips by denouncing their conduct (iii. 229; v. 116), and that nothing remained but to pray for their conversion (v. 2, 105, etc.), and in the meantime to distinguish between the man and the office (ii. 52), and to remember that the unworthiness of the minister hindered not the effect of the sacraments (ii. 32). But the fullest account of the misgovernment of the church of Pelusium is given in the story of Martinianus (ii. 127), whom Eusebius had ordained, and made "oeconomus" or church steward. He played the knave and tyrant, treated the bishops as his tool, was more than once in peril of his life from the indignation of the citizens, went to Alexandria, was menaced by archbp. Cyril with excommunication, but returned and imputed to Cyril himself a participation in simony. Such things induced many to leave Pelusium in disgust; "the altar lacked ministers" (i. 38); a pious deacon, such as Eutonius, was oppressed by Zosimus (ii. 131) and attacked by the whole clergy, to some extent out of subserviency to the bishop (v. 564). Eusebius is not mentioned among the Fathers of the council of Chalcedon in 451. In 457 he and Peter, bp. of Majuma, assisted at the ordination of Timotheus Aelurus to the see of Alexandria (Evagr. H. E. ii. 8), and those who were parties to that proceeding are stated by Theodorus Lector ( H. E. i. 9) to have been deposed bishops. The epistle of the Egyptian bishops to Anatolius ( Cod. Encyc. in Mansi, vii. 533 A) represents the two bishops (here unnamed) who ordained Timotheus as having no communion with the Catholic church. Le Quien, Or. Chr. ii. 533; Tillem. Mém. xv. 747, 748, 782-788.

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