Lucifer of Calaris

Lucifer of Cagliari , also called Lucifer Calaritanus , († 371 ) was Bishop of Cagliari and is venerated there as a saint of the Catholic Church . Its name means "light bringer" and goes back to the Latin name for the morning star .

Lucifer of Cagliari appears for the first time in 354 as a member of a papal embassy at the court of the Roman emperor Constantius II in Arles , whose task it was to work towards the convening of a council on behalf of Pope Liberius . As a legate of the Pope at the Synod of Milan in 355, he proved to be an unwavering defender of the Nicene Creed . He refused to sign the condemnation of Athanasios sought by Constantius and was then banished first to Syria, then to Palestine and finally to Egypt. His uncompromising struggle against the Arians did not enable him to even get in touch with them. He was also unwilling to attend the Council of Alexandria initiated by Athanasios or even to accept its result - the agreement with the Meletians - although Emperor Julian had allowed him to return to his homeland in 362.

Instead, in Antioch , he appointed Paulinos, his own bishop, for the community that adhered to the Nicene Creed, which deepened the Antiochian schism .

Lucifer of Cagliari is not a notable personality as a theologian. He certainly gathered a large number of followers - among them Gregory of Elvira , Heraklidas of Oxyrhynchus and Ephesius of Rome - who, as Luciferians , were able to exert a certain influence for a short time. The Altercatio Luciferiani et orthodoxi from the pen of the church father Jerome, who was opposed to them, provides information about the exact views of the Luciferians . Lucifer's writings are important sources of linguistic history, as he often used Vulgar Latin in them .

literature

• Ekkart Sauser :  Lucifer, Bishop of Calaris. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 5, Bautz, Herzberg 1993, ISBN 3-88309-043-3 , Sp. 298-301.