Eustathius of Antioch ( Greek Ευστάθιος Αντιοχείας ; † 337 or 346) - Archbishop of Antioch , one of the Church Fathers of the 4th century , has been an energetic fighter against Arianism all his life [1] . It is revered in the guise of saints , the memory in the Orthodox Church takes place on February 21 ( March 5 ) in a leap year , February 21 ( March 6 ) in non-leap years.
| Eustathius of Antioch | |
|---|---|
| Ευστάθιος Αντιοχείας | |
 miniature Minology Vasily II | |
| Birth | |
| Death | |
| Is revered | in the Orthodox church |
| In the face | saints |
| Day of Remembrance | February 21 ( March 5 ) in a leap year , February 21 ( March 6 ) in a non-leap year |
| Asceticism | fighter against arianism |
Content
Biography
Born in Side of Pamphylia in the second half of the III century. He was a bishop of the city of Beria, enjoyed the love and respect of the people and, at the request of the flock, was raised by the fathers of the First Ecumenical Council (325) to the Antioch pulpit .
Saint Eustathius was a deeply educated theologian, and also distinguished himself by his extensive knowledge of secular sciences. When Arianism began to spread in the East, Eustathius zealously fought - verbally and in writing - for the purity of the Orthodox faith. In 325, Emperor Constantine the Great (306–337) convened the First Ecumenical Council . The first chairman at this Council was St. Eustathius. The Council condemned the teachings of Arius and set out the Orthodox confession in the Creed . "Berserk Aria, " as St. Eustathius called it, who did not want to abandon his error, and his like-minded Council, depriving him of dignity, excommunicated.
However, among the bishops who signed the Nicene Creed, there were also those who sympathized with the heresies Arius and signed the acts of the Council not by conviction, but fearing excommunication . After the Council, their machinations against St. Eustathius began. With great cunning, they obtained his consent to convene a local council in Antioch. Having bribed one harlot, they persuaded her to come to the cathedral with an infant and to testify that St. Eustathius was the father of the baby, violating the Apostolic rules that the accusation against a clergyman should be accepted with the confirmation of two witnesses. According to the version set forth by Athanasius the Great in The History of the Arians, after the disclosure of the first lie, Eusebius of Nicomedia informed Emperor Constantine that Eustathius spoke insultingly of his mother. As a result, the council declared Eustathius deposed. He was sent to exile in Thrace without trial.
But the falsity of the accusation soon opened: she became seriously ill after slander, the woman repented, called on clergy, and confessed her sin in the presence of many people. However, by this time, Constantine the Great had died, and his son Constantius ascended the throne, who shared the views of Arius and patronized the Arian bishops.
Saint Eustathius, and in exile, still zealously fought for Orthodoxy. He died in exile in the city of Philippi , or Trayanopol , in 337 (according to N.P. Barsov - about 346 years).
In 482, the relics of St. Eustathius were transferred with honor from Philip to Antioch to the great joy of the Antiochs, who did not cease to honor and love their patriarch-confessor. Saint Eustathius was honored by the great saints of the 4th century Vasily the Great , John Chrysostom , Athanasius of Alexandria , Epiphanius of Cyprus , Anastasius of Sinai and Jerome of Stridon . Church historian Bishop Theodorite of Cyrus called St. Eustathius the pillar of the Church and piety, along with St. Athanasius of Alexandria and other bishops, the main advocates of Orthodoxy.
Creations
His writings were mainly devoted to the polemic against the Arians:
- “Eight Books Against Aria”;
- “About the soul” (actually about the soul of Jesus Christ);
- interpretation of the Book of Proverbs (VIII, 22 and IX, 5), psalms (15, 56, 92).
Excerpts from these works were preserved by Theodorite in his Dialogues, and in the acts of the Second Ecumenical Council .
In full force, only two works by Eustathius reached us: “ On the Endor Sorceress ” and “ Speech to Emperor Constantine ”.
The writings of St. Eustathius are included in the 18th volume of Patrologia Graeca .
From the works of Eustathius in Russian published:
- A word about the meal in the house of Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha. / per. N.P. Kudryavtseva. // Theological Bulletin. - 1903, July - August. - No. II. - S. 1-14.
Notes
- ↑ Barsov N.I. Eustathius, Bishop of Antioch // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
Literature
- Barsov N.P. Representatives of the dogmatic-polemical type of sermon in the IV century. - Kharkov, 1886.
- Eustathius // Orthodox Encyclopedia . - M .: Church and Scientific Center "Orthodox Encyclopedia" , 2008. - T. XVII. - S. 286-293. - 752 s. - 39,000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-89572-030-1 .
- Nikiforov M.V. St. Eustathius of Antioch and his treatise on the Endor sorceress. // Church and time: magazine. - No. 61.
Links
- St. Eustathius, Archbishop of Antioch on the site Orthodoxy.Ru
- Eustathius of Antioch . On the Chronos website .