June 22. Holy Hieromartyr Evseviy, Bishop of Samosata.
The Holy Hieromartyr Evseviy, Bishop of Samosata (4); the Holy Martyrs Zinon and Zina; the Holy Martyrs Galaktion and Iulianiya with her son Saturnin.
The Holy Hieromartyr Evseviy, Bishop of Samosata
Hieromartyr Evseviy, bishop of Samosata, firmly stood for the Orthodox confession established at the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea in 325, for which he suffered persecution from the Arians, who repeatedly deprived him of his see and sent him into exile. Emperor Konstantsiy (337–361), a supporter of the Arians, upon learning that Saint Evseviy possessed the conciliar act confirming the election of the Orthodox Archbishop Meletiy to the See of Antioch, sent an order demanding he surrender this document. The hierarch resolutely refused to comply. The enraged emperor sent word that if Evseviy would not surrender the act, his right hand would be cut off. Saint Evseviy extended both hands to the messenger and said: “Cut them off, but I will not give up the act of the council, in which the malice and lawlessness of the Arians are exposed.” Emperor Konstantsiy was amazed at the bishop’s boldness, but did him no harm.
After Konstantsiy, Julian the Apostate (361–363) came to the throne. Times became even harder — open persecution of Christians began. Saint Evseviy, disguising his episcopal rank, dressed as a soldier, traveled throughout Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine, strengthening Christians in the Orthodox faith. He appointed priests and deacons to vacant churches and ordained bishops who rejected the Arian heresy.
After the death of Julian the Apostate, the pious emperor Iovian (363–364) ascended the throne, and persecution ceased. The exiled Archbishop Meletiy, at the advice of Saint Evseviy, convened a local council in Antioch in 379. Twenty-seven bishops participated, and the Orthodox teaching accepted at the First Ecumenical Council was affirmed. The Arians, fearing the steadfast confessors of Orthodoxy — Saints Meletiy, Evseviy, and Pelagiy — who enjoyed the emperor’s favor, signed the council’s decree.
After the death of Emperor Iovian, the Arian Valens (364–378) reigned. Once again, the Orthodox faced persecution. Saint Meletiy was exiled to Armenia, Saint Pelagiy to Arabia, and Saint Evseviy was sentenced to exile in Thrace. Receiving the imperial decree, Saint Evseviy departed Samosata by night, to avoid an uprising from the people who loved him. When the faithful learned of his departure, they caught up to him, weeping and begging him to return. The hierarch refused, saying that one must obey the established authorities. He exhorted his flock to remain steadfast in Orthodoxy, blessed them, and set off for his place of exile. An Arian named Evnomiy was sent to the Samosata see, but the people did not accept the heretic. The Orthodox would not go to church or even meet with him, and the Arian understood he could not attract his own flock.
When Emperor Gratsian (375–383) came to power, he restored all Orthodox hierarchs who had suffered under the Arians. Saint Evseviy returned to Samosata and resumed his labors for the good order of the Church. Together with Saint Meletiy, they replaced the Arians with Orthodox hierarchs and clergy. Around the year 380, he arrived in the Arian city of Dolikhina to ordain the Orthodox bishop Marin. There, an Arian woman cast a roof tile down from above, striking the hierarch’s head. As he was dying, he, following the example of the Savior, forgave her and asked those around him not to harm her. The body of Saint Evseviy was brought to Samosata and, amid weeping, was buried by his flock. His nephew, the blessed Antioch, was elevated to his see, and the Church of Samosata continued to confess the Orthodox faith, firmly planted by the labors of the holy hieromartyr Evseviy.