Baring-Gould’s sources: Ancient and Modem Roman Martyrologies. Florus, Ado, Usuardns, Notker. At Albi on Sept. 6th, on account of a translation of relics. Authorities: —An account in Gregory of Tours, from a book of the sufferings of the African Martyrs under the Vandals, which he had under his eyes when he wrote (a.d. 591), mention by S. Isidore of Seville, in his Little History of the Vandal Persecution, and last, but not least, Victor of Utica, in his contemporary History of the Vandal Persecution (cca. Genseric, king of the Vandals in Africa, died at the beginning of the year 477, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Huneric. At first he exhibited moderation towards the Catholics, so that they began to assemble in the places whence Genseric had driven them. Huneric commenced his series of persecutions by attack. ing the Manichees; he burnt many of them, and killed others.
The church of Carthage had been without a bishop for twenty-four years; but at last, at the prayer of the emperor Zeno and the Princess Placida, whose sister Huneric had married, he permitted the Catholics to choose a bishop; but made the not unreasonable stipulation that, if he tolerated Catholic bishops and priests in Africa, Zeno should accord to Arian [followers of Arius, who taught that the Son is a created being, not fully God] teachers a like toleration in the Eastern empire. On the 18th June, 481, his edict was read by his notaries before the ambassador of Zeno and the assembled African prelates, in the church at Carthage. The bishops hesitated to accept these terms; but the commissary refused to accept their protest, and the election was proceeded with.
Eugenius was ordained bishop of Carthage to the great joy of the people, some of the younger of whom had never seen a bishop occupy the throne in the great July U-] Eugenius.
church. Eugenius soon attracted the respect or love of all the Carthaginians by his virtues. His reputation as a preacher excited the jealousy of the Arian prelates, who besieged Huneric to forbid the bishop from admitting any wearing Vandal costume within the gates of the Catholic churches. Eugenius refused, and Huneric, angiy, no doubt, that the Eastern emperor had paid no attention to his demand for toleration to the Arians, placed officers at the church doors, who should arrest and pluck out the hair of any Vandal entering to hear the bishop preach the co-equal godhead of the Son. Those who proved earnest in their resolution to abandon the errors of Arianism, lost their eyes, or died in consequence of the cruel usage to which they were subjected. A favourite torment was to twist little knotted sticks in the hair, and then tear them from the head, bringing away often large pieces of the scalp. Women, with their heads thus torn, were conducted round the city by a public crier, who denounced similar treatment to all such as should embrace the Catholic faith.
On Ascension Day, 483, in the presence of Reginus, ambassador of the emperor Zeno, Huneric sent an edict to Eugenius, to be read in the church of Carthage, and copies to all the African Churches. In the edict a conference was summoned to be held on the 1st February following, between the Arian and Catholic bishops, in his presence, on the subject of controversy between them. The Catholic prelates answered that to hold a proper synod the bishops of the rest of the Church must be assembled, “ Write to the kings, your allies,” said Eugenius, “and I will write to the bishops, my brethren; and we will show you, when they come, what is our common faith.”
[July is. Between this summons and the assembly of the meeting, a miracle was wrought, which confounded the Arians. A blind man dreamt, that on the feast of the Epiphany he was bidden anoint his eyes with the chrism wherewith the baptismal fonts were anointed, and he would see. He went to the church as the ceremony was being performed, narrated his vision to Eugenius, who struck his eyes with the holy oil, and the man saw.
The conference led to nothing satisfactory. It assembled on the ist February under the most ominous circumstances. Huneric arrested several of the ablest champions of the orthodox cause, on the most frivolous charges, and condemned them to death. One of the wisest and most learned of the Catholic prelates, Laetus, he consigned to the flames, to intimidate the rest. When the assembly met, therefore, the Catholic bishops did not expect to be fairly treated; nevertheless they determined to maintain their cause, and defend their teaching undauntedly. Cyril, the Arian patriarch [the title of the bishops of the great ancient sees: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem], occupied an exalted throne, the Catholic bishops were made to stand beneath as culprits on their trial. They complained; “In a conference there should be equality and impartiality.”
A notary of Huneric began, “The patriarch Cyril has said ” 44 Stay,” interrupted the Catholics; 44 by what authority does Cyril claim his title of patriarch ?” The Arians burst into loud and angry exclamations. 44 Who is to stand as umpire ?” asked the Catholics. 44 Let the king delegate notaries, or admit the people.” The insolent Arian prelates ordered the Catholic bishops to receive a hundred blows each for having dared to make such a proposition. Then S. Eugenius exclaimed, J«iy is.) S. Eugenius.
11 May God behold the violence dealt us, and the persecutions we endure.” The Catholic bishops said to Cyril, “ Bring forward the matter in dispute, make your proposition.” “I do not know Latin,” answered Cyril. The Catholics replied, “You have always spoken it hitherto, why evade the controversy you have yourself proposed, by such a quibble ?”
But the Arians could not be brought to discuss the matter openly. Then a Catholic profession of faith was read, declaring the unity of substance in the Godhead, and the Trinity of persons; that the Son was of one substance with the Father, the Holy Ghost of one substance with the Father and the Son. This memoir was dated April 20th, 484, so that the conference must have been protracted nearly three months. The Arians, on hearing this confession, took objection to the orthodox assuming to themselves the sole right to the title of Catholic.
No conclusion was come to by this assembly, none could have been come to; and Huneric broke it off by issuing an edict to close all the churches in Africa, and give the substance of the Catholic clergy and bishops to the Arian clergy. In this edict he said that the bishops who had been summoned to Carthage to defend their use of the word, Homoousios (of one substance) as applied to Christ, had not done so; they had equivocated, and postponed their answers, and had called in the people tumultuously to maintain their cause against their opponents. The edict was dated Feb. 25th, and therefore must have been drawn up before the conclusion of the conference.
When it was promulgated, Huneric ordered the bishops to be driven out of Carthage, their horses to be taken from them; they were to be deprived of their slaves and their clothes. Any who should harbour them would be burned along with their houses. The unfortunate bishops, cast outside the gates of Carthage, knew not where to go; they remained there, exposed to the air, starving, destitute. One day Huneric rode forth with his train of Vandals. The bishops came to him suppliantly, 44 What evil have we done ? We assembled at thy command, and now we perish from cold and hunger.” “Ride them down!” said Huneric, turning to his followers. The barbarians galloped among the defenceless old men, and wounded and trampled under foot some of the most aged and feeble.
They were all summoned to meet in the Temple of Memory. A closed paper was presented to them; and they were told, 11 The king, though irritated at your disobedience, is disposed to treat you better. Swear then to do that which is written in this paper, and he will send you back to your churches.” All replied, “ We hold the one true apostolic faith; we are Catholic bishops.”
When the oath was again urged on them, two, Hortulanus and Florentianus, said in the name of the rest, 44 What ! are we beasts, to swear to that we do not know ?”
The emissaries of the king said, 44 Swear that, on the death of the king, you will support his son Hilderic; and that none of you will write letters beyond the sea.”
Some of the bishops took the required oath. The rest, S. Eugenius included, refused it. It is difficult to understand their refusal. Huneric foresaw what even6 *. Eugenius.
tually took place, that his nephews, Gundamund and Thrasimund, would dispute the throne with the child. As it fell out, Gundamund and Thrasimund were persecutors, the mild Hilderic favoured the Catholics.
Those of the bishops who refused the oath did so by an unworthy quibble, li The Scriptures say, Swear not at all.” Huneric involved those who had sworn, and those who had not, in common proscription; those who took the oath were banished to the fields to plough, and sow, and garner corn, and were forbidden to exercise their sacred offices, and so much as to handle a book. Those who refused the oath were exiled to Corsica, and condemned to hew wood and build ships. S. Eugenius of Carthage* seeing himself carried oft into banishment, without time allowed him to exhort his flock, wrote them a letter, in which he conjured them, by the majesty of God, to remain firm to the true faith and the one baptism.
With him was sent Vindemialis, bishop of Capsei, in the province of Byzacene, and Longinus of Pamara, in Mauritania Caesariana. We have a list of all the bishops who attended the conference, and were exiled. In all there were four hundred and sixty-six, of whom eighty-eight died. Forty-six were sent to Corsica, three hundred and two to other places, twenty-six sought refuge in flight; and eighty-eight conformed to Arianism.
The hardships of ten years exile must have reduced their numbers, and the Catholic succession would have expired had they conformed to the law of Thrasimund, which prohibited episcopal ordinations. They disobeyed; and their disobedience was punished by a second exile of two hundred and twenty bishops into Lives 0/ the Saints.
CJ«iy *3 Sardinia; where they languished fifteen years, till the accession of the gracious Hilderic. Eugenius had been recalled at the close of the reign of Gundamund, in 488, but was involved in the second edict of banishment. He was sent to Gaul [roughly modern France and Belgium], perhaps to Alaric, an Arian like Thrasimund. He died at Albi in Provence, and his relics [the bodily remains of a saint, or objects they used, kept with honor] are still venerated there.
