Ithacius
Ithacius of Ossonoba was bishop of Ossonoba ( Faro , Portugal ).
Ithacius had Bishop Priscillian's ascetic teaching condemned in October 380 at the synod of the Spanish and Aquitaine bishops in Caesaraugusta ( Saragossa , Spain ) .
In Gaul he won over Emperor Gratian , who hungered for the property of the wealthy Priscillian. After the murder of his patron Gratian and the accession to the throne of Magnus Maximus in 383, Ithacius fled to Trier . As a result of his presentation of the situation, another synod was held in Bordeaux in 384 . Ithacius attained particular importance through his role as accuser of Bishop Priscillian of Avila at the Synod of Trier in 385.
He cited sexual debauchery and sorcery as charges. Since the latter was considered a capital crime, he consciously accepted the death of Priscillian and his followers. More than the cited charges, the strictly ascetic way of life of the Priscillians is likely to have had a threatening effect on the decadent Bishop Ithacius. The number of followers of Priscillian spread rapidly in Spain and also as far as Aquitaine, so that the Spanish bishops, as well as the wealthy Gallic episcopate, were forced to intervene.
Ithacius' efforts to get a conviction by the new Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus led to the execution of Priscillian and several of his followers.
As a result of his actions, Ithacius was excommunicated a few years later and had to go into exile.
literature
- Henry Chadwick: Priscillian of Avila. The Occult and the Charismatic in the Early Church. Clarendon, Oxford 1997.
Individual evidence
- ^ Henry Chadwick: Priscillian of Avila. The Occult and the Charismatic in the Early Church. Oxford 1976, p. 148.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ithacius |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ithacius of Ossonoba |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Bishop of Ossonoba (Faro, Portugal) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | before 380 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Faro , Portugal |
| DATE OF DEATH | 4th century or 5th century |