Though Eusebius was a Sardinian by birth, he was reared and educated in Rome by his widowed mother. He became a priest in the Eternal City and was eventually appointed Bishop of the newly erected diocese of Vercelli, Northern Italy, in 340. To foster prayer-life and clerical fellowship, the new Prelate encouraged community life among the priests of his diocese, thus combining monastic discipline with clerical life. In the meanwhile Arianism, a heresy that denied the divinity of Christ, was spreading its tentacles far and wide and sowing dissension among the faithful.Therefore, the Council of Milan was convened in 355 to settle the dispute. Eusebius attended the Council as an invitee of Emperor Constantius who was an ardent supporter of Arianism. When an attempt was made by the heretics to condemn St. Athanasius, Bishop Eusebius presented a draft of the Nicene Creed and proposed that it be signed first before the case of Athanasius was taken up. This sparked a great tumult among the heretics. When the Emperor pressurized the members to sign the condemnation of Athanasius, Eusebius insisted that no one could be condemned without being heard and that secular forces should not coerce Ecclesiastical decisions. As a result, the Emperor banished him into exile, which lasted for a period of six years. At the death of Constantius in 361, the new Emperor, Julian the Apostate, recalled Bishop Eusebius along with all the other Prelates who had been expelled. He spent the rest of his years in Vercelli where he had a peaceful death on August 1, 371.
Reflection: The courageous stand of Eusebius against the interference of Emperor Constantius in the administration of the Church could be considered the seed from which sprouted the theory of the separation of the Church and the State. The secular and spiritual powers, though independent, are to work in harmony for the common good of the society. Co-operation and not confrontation should be the underlying principle.
I beg you to keep the faith with all vigilance, to preserve harmony and to be earnest in prayer so that the Lord may give freedom to his Church, which is suffering through out the world.
(St. Eusebius)
