Eustathios of Antioch

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Eustathios of Antioch ( Latin Eustathius ; * in Side , Pamphylia ) was an ancient bishop. Initially bishop of Beroea , Eustathios was elected Patriarch of Antioch in the mid-320s . He fought doggedly against the Arians , who finally managed to have him deposed and banished.

Life

Eustathios came from Side in Pamphylia in Asia Minor. He was first bishop of Beroea in Syria (now Aleppo ). During this time he got to know Alexander , the influential Bishop of Alexandria , who at that time got into a dispute with the presbyter Arius ( Arianism ). Alexander wrote a circular against the teaching of Arius, to whose recipients also Eustathios belonged. Presumably Eustathios can already be regarded as an opponent of 'Arianism' at that time, but Eustathios' theological position is better suited to describe him as an opponent of Origen or rather as an opponent of some of the further developments of his theology after Origen's death. When Philogenius , the Metropolitan of Antioch , died, Eustathios was elected as his successor in early 325 at a synod in Antioch under the direction of the 'anti-Arian' Bishop Ossius of Cordoba . In this context, he made friends with Ossius.

At the First Council of Nicaea in 325, which was supposed to settle the Arian dispute, he appeared as an influential Metropolitan of Antioch against 'Arianism' or Origenistic theologies. Allegedly, he and his followers are said to have finally enforced the Nicaenum as a creed, which God and his Son Jesus Christ calls "essential being", which contradicts "Arian" ideas. But the Nicaenum deviates recognizably theologically from Eustathios' Trinitarian position. Even after the Nicene Council he fought against Origenistic theologies and clerics or 'Arians'. So he probably denied 'Arians' admission into the clergy on various occasions. The later bishops Eustathius of Sebaste , Stephanos of Antioch and Leontius of Antioch were also affected by this measure . Eustathios is said to have made himself even less popular in the 'Arian' camp when he accused the influential Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea of deviations from the Nicaenum, which he had also signed. But Eusebius cannot be counted among the 'Arians', but rather in the so-called ' Origenistic middle group', a movement that follows the theology of Origen.

326 the non-Arian Ossius of Córdoba, until then court bishop Constantine the great , was dismissed. As a result, supposedly Arian bishops, but actually those clerics of the 'Origenist middle group, such as Eusebius of Nicomedia in particular , determined the power of church politics at court. The strengthened 'Origenist middle group' now resolutely defended itself against its theological opponents, especially from the anti-Arian camp, in many cases because the anti-Arians counted the 'Origenist middle group' as 'Arianism' and defamed and opposed it as heretical . At a synod that took place in Antioch between 327 and 330/331, Eustathios was accused of Sabellianism by Cyrus , his successor on the bishopric of Beroea , whereupon he was deposed. Another variant of the deposition was handed down by Bishop Theodoret : Eusebius of Nicomedia bribed a prostitute with some other 'Arian' bishops, who then testified that she had conceived a child by Eustathios. However, this tale seems to be a later invention.

There was then violent unrest in the city, so that the emperor had to intervene in the dispute. He interrogated Eustathios, who was also accused of insulting Helena , Constantine's mother. The emperor confirmed the synod's resolution to depose the metropolitan and banished him and many of his followers to Trajanopolis in Thrace . In Antioch, the remaining followers of Eustathius formed their own community and a schism ensued . Eustathius himself seems to have lived even longer in exile, since he wrote a pamphlet against Photinus of Sirmium . However, the exact date of death is uncertain. In 482 his bones were transferred to Antioch as relics.

Eustathios was considered one of the most important Orthodox church teachers from an early age. The church father Jerome praised him not only for his excellent knowledge of the Bible, but also for his familiarity with the secular writings of the philosophers. Athanasius the Great , with whom he had fought against the 'Arians' or Origenistic theology, called him "the great" even during his lifetime. He is said to have had influence on Theodoret and Eustratios , Gelasius of Rome and Facundus of Hermiane , who studied his writings.

The only completely preserved work by Eustathius is the theological treatise De Engastrimytho contra Origenem . Here he criticizes Origen's usual allegorical exegesis using the example of his interpretation of the story of the witch of Endor ( 1st book Samuel 28), since Origen does not interpret allegorically here, but largely literally. He also wrote a treatise de anima ("On the Soul") and a work against the Arians, divided into eight books. This and his other writings have only survived in fragments. The surviving fragments of his writings leave many questions unanswered with regard to his dogmatic-theological position. It is clear that he thought strictly anti-origins and spoke of a “true divine generation” in relation to the Logos.

His feast day is February 21.

expenditure

  • Eustathius Antiochenus, Opera omnia. JH Declerck (ed.), Turnhout: Brepols, 2002 (Corpus Christianorum Series Graeca, 51), CDLXII + 288 p., 155 × 245 mm, ISBN 978-2-503-40511-7 .

literature

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Hieronymus, de viris illustribus 85.
  2. ↑ Theodoret, Church History 1,4,62.
  3. ^ Rudolf Lorenz:  Eustathius of Antioch . In: Theologische Realenzyklopädie (TRE). Volume 10, de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1982, ISBN 3-11-008575-5 , pp. 543-546. ( Retrieved for a fee from Theologische Realenzyklopädie , De Gruyter Online), p. 544f.
  4. ↑ Hilarius von Poitiers , in: Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum latinorum 65,66,16-28; Sozomenos 3:11, 16.
  5. ↑ Theodoret reports that Eustathios was even chairman of the council and gave the welcome speech ( Church history 1, 7, 10; letter 151). However, this is not reported by any other author and seems rather unlikely; Lorenz, in: TRE, vol. 10, p. 544, suspects an “Antiochene local tradition” behind this.
  6. ↑ Hanns Christof Brennecke :  Nicaea, Ecumenical Synods: Nicaea I . In: Theologische Realenzyklopädie (TRE). Volume 24, de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1994, ISBN 3-11-014596-0 , pp. 429-441. ( Retrieved for a fee from Theologische Realenzyklopädie , De Gruyter Online), p. 433f.
  7. ^ A b Athanasius, historia Arianorum 1,4.
  8. ↑ Socrates Scholastikos 1,23,8; Sozomenos 2,18,3f.
  9. ↑ Jan Rohls : God, Trinity and Spirit (History of Ideas of Christianity, Volume III / 1). Mohr Siebeck , Tübingen 2014, p. 122f.
  10. ↑ Socrates Scholastikos 1,24,2.
  11. ^ Theodoret 1.21. On this Lorenz, in: TRE, vol. 10, p. 544: "hagiographic legend".
  12. ↑ On the riots in Antioch, Eusebius of Caesarea, Vita Constantinii 3.59, who also mentions the interrogation.
  13. ^ Theodorus Lector , epitome 435.
  14. ↑ Hieronymus, Letter 70.4 (to Magnus).
  15. ↑ Christoph Bultmann, Lutz Danneberg (Ed.): Hebraistics - Hermeneutics - Homiletics. The 'Philologia Sacra' in early modern Bible study . Walter de Gruyter , Berlin / Boston 2011, p. 165.
predecessor Office successor
Paulinos I. Bishop of Antioch
325–332 		Paulinus I.
personal data
SURNAME Eustathios of Antioch
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Eustathius; Eustathios of Antioch
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Patriarch of Antioch
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd century
PLACE OF BIRTH Side , Pamphylia
DATE OF DEATH 4th century