Saint Eugenius of Carthage was a Christian saint, unanimously elected

Bishop of Carthage The Archdiocese of Carthage, also known as the Church of Carthage, was a Latin Catholic diocese established in Carthage, Roman Empire, in the 2nd century. Agrippin was the first named bishop, around 230 AD. The temporal importance of the city of ...

in 480 to succeed Deogratias. He was caught up in the disputes of his day between

Arianism Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...

and mainstream Christianity.

Biography

His episcopal election was deferred owing to the opposition of the Arian Vandal kings and was only permitted by

King Huneric Huneric, Hunneric or Honeric (died December 23, 484) was King of the (North African) Vandal Kingdom (477–484) and the oldest son of Gaiseric. He abandoned the imperial politics of his father and concentrated mainly on internal affairs. He was m ...

at the instance of Zeno and

Placidia Placidia () was a daughter of Valentinian III, Roman emperor of the West from 425 to 455, and from 454/455 the wife of Olybrius, who became western Roman emperor in 472. She was one of the last imperial spouses in the Roman west, during the Fall ...

, into whose family the Vandals had married. The bishop's governance, charity, austere lifestyle and courage are said to have won him the admiration of the Arians. In his uncompromising defence of the Divinity of the word of the Bible he was imitated by his flock, many of whom were exiled with him. This occurred after he had admitted Vandals into the Catholic Church, contrary to royal edict, and had engaged in argument against Arian theologians, whom the king pitted against the Catholics. Both sides claimed the name "Catholic", the Arians calling their opponents " Homoousians". The conference, held some time between 481 and February 484, ended by the withdrawal of the chief Arian bishop on the plea that he could not speak Latin. The Arians being enraged, Huneric exiled forty-six bishops to

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

and three hundred and two to the African deserts. Among the latter was Eugenius, who under the custody of a man named Antonius dwelt in the desert of

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

. On setting out he wrote a letter of consolation and exhortation to the faithful of Carthage which is still extant in the works of St. Gregory of Tours (P.L., LVII, 769–71). Gunthamund, who succeeded Huneric as Vandal king, allowed Eugenius to return to Carthage and permitted him to reopen the churches. After eight years of peace Thrasamund succeeded to the throne, arrested Eugenius and condemned him to death, but commuted the sentence into exile at Vienne, near Albi (Languedoc), where the Arian Alaric was king. Eugenius built there a monastery over the tomb of St. Amaranthus the martyr, and led a penitential life till his death on 13 July, 505.

Legacy

He wrote an ''Expositio Fidei Catholicae'', demanded of him by Huneric, probably the one submitted by the Catholic bishops at the conference. It argues the

Consubstantiality Consubstantiality, a term derived from la, consubstantialitas, denotes identity of substance or essence in spite of difference in aspect. It appears most commonly in its adjectival form, "consubstantial", from Latin ''consubstantialis'', and ...

of the Bible and the divinity of the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

. He wrote also an ''Apologeticus pro Fide''; ''Altercatio cum Arianis'', fragments of which are quoted by Victor de Vita; also pleas for the Catholics, addressed to Huneric or his successors. Both Gennadius of Massilia and

Pope Gelasius I Pope Gelasius I was the bishop of Rome from 1 March 492 to his death on 19 November 496. Gelasius was a prolific author whose style placed him on the cusp between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.The title of his biography by Walter Ullma ...

had heard of the subject by 494 and two pastoral letters survive.

Legend

The legend associated with him is that sometime before February 1, Felix a blind man of Carthage had a dream that Bishop Eugenius would pray for him and he would be healed. Twice the man ignored the dream, but he had it again. On the third time he roused himself and sought out the Bishop. The legend continues that Felix went to the Bishop and told his story. The Bishop protested his ability to heal but eventually acquiesced with the words ''"I have already told you I am a sinful man; but may he who has deigned to visit you act in accordance with your faith and open you eyes".'' The tale continues that when he prayed for Felix his sight was restored. When news of the miracle reached the Vandal king, Huneric is said to have unsuccessfully tried to kill Felix.Victor of Vita, History of the vandal persecution p42.

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