St Eustathius, Archbishop of Antioch (+337)

Saint Eustathius, Archbishop of Antioch (323–331), was born in the second half of the third century. He was Bishop of the city of Beroea, enjoyed the great love and respect of the people, and at their request was chosen for the see of Antioch by the fathers of the First Ecumenical Council.

A highly educated theologian, Saint Eustathius also had a good command of the secular sciences. When the heresy of Arius spread in the East, which did not acknowledge that the Son is consubstantial with God the Father, the father, shining with wisdom, boldly rose to defend Orthodoxy. In 325 the Emperor Constantine the Great, Equal to the Apostles (306–337), convened the First Ecumenical Council. The first president of the council was Saint Eustathius. The fathers gathered in Nicaea condemned the heresy of Arius and formulated the Creed of the Orthodox faith; they stripped the lawless Arius and his followers of their ranks and excommunicated them. As it later turned out, some Arian bishops had signed the Nicene Creed only so as to keep their rank. Afterwards they resorted to foul intrigues against Saint Eustathius. The wolves in sheep’s clothing persuaded the hierarch to convene a local council in Antioch, and then bribed a harlot and instructed her to appear at the council with an infant and name Saint Eustathius as the child’s father. According to the canons of the apostles, an accusation brought against a hierarch must be confirmed by two witnesses. The Arians disregarded this canon and exiled the holy father to Thrace without trial.

The chief shepherd’s innocence soon became clear: after the slander the woman fell gravely ill, called the clergy, and in the presence of many people confessed her deceit. By this time Saint Constantine the Great had died, and his son Constantius (337–361), a sympathiser and protector of the heretics, had ascended the throne. Saint Eustathius was not counted worthy to return to his flock. The venerable father committed his soul to the Lord in exile in 337. In exile the saint faithfully defended Orthodoxy until his end. In 482 the incorrupt relics of the Venerable Eustathius were translated with honour to Antioch.