Ossius of Cordoba

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Ossius of Córdoba on an icon from Bucharest, Romania

Ossius of Córdoba (also: Hosius, Hozius, Ossios ; * around 257; † 357/358) was bishop of Córdoba for over 60 years, i.e. at least from around 297 . Often he is assigned a major political importance as an influential advisor to the Roman emperor Constantine the Great (ruled 306–337), but the ancient source base for this is relatively narrow. In 324/325 he was on the road on behalf of this ruler to mediate in the emerging Arian dispute , and in 325 he led the First Council of Nicaea . In doing so, he took a stance rejecting Arianism , as was the case in 343 at the Council of Serdica , which also met under his chairmanship. Consequently, under the sole rule of the Arian-friendly emperor Constantius II from 350 onwards, conflicts with him came about. At the Synod of Sirmium in 357, Ossius finally signed a resolution that established the Arian idea of ​​Christ's submission to God. It is not clear whether he deviated from his earlier convictions under political pressure, personal coercion or out of pragmatism. In the last decades of his life he was one of the most respected bishops of the Roman Empire, for which, in addition to his (service) age, his professorship during the persecution of Christians at a young age was responsible.

Ossius is venerated as a saint by the Orthodox Church as "Ossius the Confessor", but not by the Catholic Church. His feast day in the Orthodox Church is August 27th.

Life

Early evidence

The year of birth of Ossius can be determined by a note in the writing "Historia Arianorum ad monachos" by the church father Athanasius the Great as 256/257. In the same work it is noted in the year 356 that Ossius was ordained bishop more than 60 years ago. As the latest possible date ( terminus ante quem ) for the consecration results for the year to 295. A own later letter, according to which in turn is quoted by Athanasius, he was during the Diocletian persecution of Christians for confessors ( confessor ). His name can also be found on the list of bishops who approved the resolutions ( canons ) passed there at the Synod of Elvira . The time of this church meeting cannot be determined more precisely than the time between 295 and 314.

Traditionally, it is often assumed that Ossius got to know Emperor Constantine the Great during his campaign against Maxentius in 312. Accordingly, he was one of the bishops who interpreted the ruler's nocturnal dream sign of a Christogram (see In hoc signo vinces ) and was then accepted into Constantine's personal advisory staff. As a result, Ossius is assigned a particularly influential role in research for the emperor's (religious) policy. However, there is no ancient evidence of Ossius' participation in said campaign, and the testimonies do not allow a definitive statement about the importance of the bishop in the coming years.

From the year 312/313 a letter from Constantine has survived, which deals with the controversial election of Caecilianus as bishop of Carthage and according to which a certain Hosius (the Greek spelling for "Ossius") would send a list of African bishops to said Caecilianus. The fact that this Hosius refers to Bishop Ossius of Cordoba cannot necessarily be concluded. In any case, this is not mentioned on the lists of participants of the synods that negotiated the resulting Donatist dispute in the following years . Only Augustine of Hippo wrote in a polemic against the Donatist bishop Parmenianus from the end of the 4th century that the Donatists had accused Ossius in 316 of exerting influence on the emperor to their disadvantage. Augustine himself considers this accusation to be false, and even research does not see in his remark any definite evidence of a significant influence of Ossius at the imperial court in this phase. From the following years only one edict of Constantine is known, which this April 18, 321 addressed to Ossius and which deals with the release of slaves by bishops.

Role in the beginning Arian dispute 324/325

Certain news about an activity of Ossius is only available again from the year 324, when the Arian dispute broke out in the city and the diocese of Alexandria , which revolved around basic questions of the doctrine of the Trinity . That year, Constantine Eusebius of Caesarea sent a conciliatory letter to the main adversaries, delivered by "a man from the group of godly men who accompanied him". This clergyman "[...] had proven himself through his chaste lifestyle and the excellence of his faith and distinguished himself through his confessions of piety in earlier times"; now, according to Eusebius, he was appointed "as justice of the peace" to Alexandria. According to the late antique church writers Socrates Scholastikos and Sozomenos , it was Ossius of Cordoba, on the other hand, the formulation in Eusebius indicates a certain Marianus , who is described in another place with very similar words. On the other hand, there is clear evidence of Ossius' participation in a local synod which took place a little later in Alexandria and at which the "Arians" were expelled from the city. The fact that Ossius was the bearer of the letter mentioned by Eusebius and, in the function of the “justice of the peace”, also played a leading role in the settlement of the conflict, is again only one - albeit widespread - hypothesis.

325 Ossius took part in a synod in the Syrian capital Antioch on the Orontes , at which the anti- Arian Eustathios of Antioch was elected as the new patriarch , Arius himself condemned, a creed was formulated and three Arian bishops were excommunicated . Apparently he chaired this synod, since he is at the top of the list of signatures for the regulations passed. His role in the calling of this church assembly and his influence on the resulting resolutions is again unclear.

Also in 325 Ossius of Córdoba took part in the First Council of Nicaea and is again in the first place among the signatories of the decisions taken, so he should have presided over the council. In fact, the management was probably in the hands of the emperor Constantine, who was personally present. Athanasius the Great also writes that Ossius “stated the faith” or “established” (“πίστιν εξέθετο”) at the meeting. This could mean that the ceiling fixed on the Council and the Nicene Creed has flowed faith formula of the essential equality of God the Father and Jesus Christ back to the Spanish bishop.

Activity after the death of Constantine (from 337)

Presumably Ossius returned to Spain after the Council of Nicaea, but source material is only available again for the time after the death of Constantine in 337. In the Council of Serdica in 343 he presided and therefore signed again as the first of the participating bishops to the council acts. In the circular, which was issued by the council and condemned the Arian bishops, the speech is of the “old, happy old Ossius, who because of his age and his profession, but also because he endured so much hardship, everyone Worth awe ”. Other ancient sources also comment on the reputation that Ossius had acquired because of his age. Presumably Ossius was also involved in the convening of the council by the successor of Constantine in the west of the empire, Constans , and stayed at the imperial court in Milan before the meeting .

Emperor Constantius II , the successor of Constantine in the eastern part of the empire and sole ruler from 350, promoted Arianism in contrast to Constantine and Constans and tried, among other things, to get Athanasius to be condemned by his fellow bishops. Ossius was personally called to the royal seat of Milan to give his consent to the condemnation, but according to Athanasius's own account in his Historia Arianorum ad monachos , he vehemently refused. Athanasius then quotes a letter of protest from Ossius to the emperor, in which the author criticized his Arian-friendly policies and his interference in ecclesiastical affairs. This document can be dated to the years 356/357.

In the summer of 357 Ossius took part in a synod in Sirmium , which Constantius organized there. The Bishop of Córdoba signed the resolutions of the assembly, which established the subordination of Christ to God in the sense of subordinatianism and thus corresponded to the Arian view promoted by Constantius. The fact that Ossius, who had previously been very anti-Arian, was now ready to do so is explained in research either with a “defection” to the Arian position now being promoted throughout the empire by the emperor, or with pressure that Constantius is said to have exerted. A report in the “Historia Arianorum ad monachos” Athanasius the Great, published a little later, is cited as evidence for this. According to this text, Ossius was summoned to the imperial residence after Sirmium, where he was imprisoned for a year and, despite his old age of 100, even violated. Thereupon he signed the Arian declarations at the Council of 357 contrary to his own convictions, but refused to confirm the condemnation of Athanasius. On his deathbed, however, Ossius declared that he had only consented to the Sirmium resolutions under duress, and again strongly condemned Arianism. Contrary to this report, Athanasius himself writes in other of his writings that Ossius was actually in exile in Sirmium. Both explanations are considered implausible in research. Socrates Scholastikos and Sozomenes also write that Ossius took part in the synod against his will, but probably derived this interpretation from the strongly partisan work of Athanasius, who was forced into exile by Constantius around 357. Most ancient sources, on the other hand, do not report that the emperor exerted pressure, although in such a case the non-Arian authors would certainly have had an interest in blaming Constantius for Ossius' "changing sides". Therefore it was also assumed that he was simply "dogmatically indifferent and averse to theological subtleties" and that he did not attach such importance to the dispute about the essential equality of God the Father and Jesus as the basis of the Arian dispute.

There is no information about Ossius' death apart from the isolated report in the "Historia Arianorum ad monachos" of Athanasius. Regardless of the credibility of this variant, it can be concluded from this that the bishop must have died before the writing was completed (end of 357 or 358), i.e. fairly soon after the Sirmium resolutions were passed (middle of 357).

literature

  • Patricia Just: Imperator et Episcopus. On the relationship between state power and the Christian church between the 1st Council of Nicaea (325) and the 1st Council of Constantinople (381) (= Potsdam Classical Studies . Volume 8). Franz Steiner, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-515-08247-6 , pp. 78-93, pp. 143-147, pp. 176-179, pp. 214-217.
  • Oliver Kreis: A Hispanic bishop at the court of the Roman emperor. What influence did Ossius of Corduba have on Constantine the Great's church policy? In: Sabine Panzram (Ed.): Oppidum - Civitas - Urbs. Urban research on the Iberian Peninsula between Rome and al-Andalus (= history and culture of the Iberian world. Volume 13). Lit, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-643-13750-0 , pp. 401-427 (refutes or relativizes numerous speculations of older research).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Athanasius the Great, Historia Arianorum ad monachos 45.
  2. ^ Athanasius the Great, Historia Arianorum ad monachos 42.
  3. ↑ Athanasius the Great, Historia Arianorum ad monachos 44.
  4. ↑ Patricia Just: Imperator et Episcopus. On the relationship between state authority and the Christian church between the 1st Council of Nicaea (325) and the 1st Council of Constantinople (381). Franz Steiner, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-515-08247-6 , pp. 80-84; Oliver Kreis: A Hispanic bishop at the court of the Roman emperor. What influence did Ossius of Corduba have on Constantine the Great's church policy? In: Sabine Panzram (Ed.): Oppidum - Civitas - Urbs. Urban research on the Iberian Peninsula between Rome and al-Andalus. Lit, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-643-13750-0 , pp. 401-427.
  5. ↑ Eusebius of Caesarea , Historia ecclesiastica 10,6,2.
  6. ↑ Oliver Kreis: A Hispanic bishop at the court of the Roman emperor. What influence did Ossius of Corduba have on Constantine the Great's church policy? In: Sabine Panzram (Ed.): Oppidum - Civitas - Urbs. Urban research on the Iberian Peninsula between Rome and al-Andalus. Lit, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-643-13750-0 , pp. 401-427, here pp. 407-409.
  7. ^ Augustine of Hippo, Contra epistulam Parmeniani 1,5,10; 1,6,11; 1,8,13.
  8. ↑ Oliver Kreis: A Hispanic bishop at the court of the Roman emperor. What influence did Ossius of Corduba have on Constantine the Great's church policy? In: Sabine Panzram (Ed.): Oppidum - Civitas - Urbs. Urban research on the Iberian Peninsula between Rome and al-Andalus. Lit, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-643-13750-0 , pp. 401–427, here pp. 409–411.
  9. ↑ Codex Theodosianus 4,7,1.
  10. ^ Quotations from Eusebius of Caesarea, Vita Constantini 2,63. Translation after: Eusebius of Caesarea: De vita Constantini / About the life of Constantine. Translated and commented by Horst Schneider , introduced by Bruno Bleckmann (= Fontes Christiani . Volume 83). Brepols Publishers, Turnhout 2007, ISBN 978-2-503-52559-4 , p. 293.
  11. ↑ Socrates Scholastikos, Historia ecclesiastica 1,7,1; Sozomenos, Historia ecclesiastica 1,16,4. To this Oliver Kreis: A Hispanic bishop at the court of the Roman emperor. What influence did Ossius of Corduba have on Constantine the Great's church policy? In: Sabine Panzram (Ed.): Oppidum - Civitas - Urbs. Urban research on the Iberian Peninsula between Rome and al-Andalus. Lit, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-643-13750-0 , pp. 401-427, here p. 415.
  12. ↑ Athanasius the Great , Apologia contra Arianos 74.4.
  13. ↑ Oliver Kreis: A Hispanic bishop at the court of the Roman emperor. What influence did Ossius of Corduba have on Constantine the Great's church policy? In: Sabine Panzram (Ed.): Oppidum - Civitas - Urbs. Urban research on the Iberian Peninsula between Rome and al-Andalus. Lit, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-643-13750-0 , pp. 401–427, here pp. 418–420.
  14. ↑ Athanasius the Great, Historia Arianorum ad monachos 42,3 . Translation with "expounded" according to Athanasius: Two writings against the Arians. Introduced, translated and commented by Werner Portmann (= Library of Greek Literature . Volume 65). Anton Hiersemann, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 978-3-7772-0605-9 , p. 239. Translation with “fixed” by Oliver Kreis: A Hispanic bishop at the court of the Roman emperor. What influence did Ossius of Corduba have on Constantine the Great's church policy? In: Sabine Panzram (Ed.): Oppidum - Civitas - Urbs. Urban research on the Iberian Peninsula between Rome and al-Andalus. Lit, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-643-13750-0 , pp. 401–427, here p. 422. There p. 421–425 on Ossius' importance at the council.
  15. ↑ Quoted in Athanasius the Great, Apologia contra Arianos 42.7. Translation according to: Athanasius: Two writings against the Arians. Introduced, translated and commented by Werner Portmann (= Library of Greek Literature . Volume 65). Anton Hiersemann, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 978-3-7772-0605-9 , p. 126.
  16. ↑ Athanasius the Great, Apologia de fuga sua 5; Athanasius the Great, Historia Arianorum ad monachos 42 f .; Theodoret , Historia ecclesiastica 2.15.9; Socrates Scholastikos, Historia ecclesiastica 2,31.
  17. ↑ Patricia Just: Imperator et Episcopus. On the relationship between state authority and the Christian church between the 1st Council of Nicaea (325) and the 1st Council of Constantinople (381). Franz Steiner, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-515-08247-6 , p. 85.
  18. ↑ Athanasius the Great, Historia Arianorum ad monachos 43. For an explanation of the imperial behavior in this question, see for example the theory in Patricia Just: Imperator et Episcopus. On the relationship between state authority and the Christian church between the 1st Council of Nicaea (325) and the 1st Council of Constantinople (381). Franz Steiner, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-515-08247-6 , pp. 177-179.
  19. ↑ Athanasius the Great, Historia Arianorum ad monachos 44. On the dating of Athanasius: Two writings against the Arians. Introduced, translated and commented by Werner Portmann (= Library of Greek Literature . Volume 65). Anton Hiersemann, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 978-3-7772-0605-9 , p. 240, note 269.
  20. ↑ Patricia Just: Imperator et Episcopus. On the relationship between state authority and the Christian church between the 1st Council of Nicaea (325) and the 1st Council of Constantinople (381). Franz Steiner, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-515-08247-6 , p. 90 (with the antique references).
  21. ↑ Athanasius the Great, Historia Arianorum ad monachos 45.4 f.
  22. ↑ Athanasius the Great, Apologia ad Constantium 27; Athanasius the Great, Apologia de fuga sua 5.
  23. ↑ Socrates Scholastikos, Historia ecclesiastica 2.29; Sozomenos, Historia ecclesiastica 4,6,4 f.
  24. ↑ Patricia Just: Imperator et Episcopus. On the relationship between state authority and the Christian church between the 1st Council of Nicaea (325) and the 1st Council of Constantinople (381). Franz Steiner, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-515-08247-6 , pp. 88–92 (summarizing the research discussion about Ossius' “Seitenwechsel”), quotation on p. 92.
  25. ↑ Athanasius: Two writings against the Arians. Introduced, translated and commented by Werner Portmann (= Library of Greek Literature . Volume 65). Anton Hiersemann, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 978-3-7772-0605-9 , p. 244.
personal data
SURNAME Ossius of Cordoba
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hosius; Hozius; Ossios
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop of Cordoba, Church Father and opponent of Arianism in the Western Church
DATE OF BIRTH at 257
PLACE OF BIRTH unsafe: Cordoba (Spain)
DATE OF DEATH 357 or 358
Place of death Cordoba (Spain)