Ursacius ( 335–346) was the bishop of

Singidunum Singidunum ( sr, Сингидунум/''Singidunum'') was an ancient city which later evolved into modern Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. The name is of Celts, Celtic origin, going back to the time when Celtic tribe Scordisci settled the area in ...

(the ancient city which was to become

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

), during the middle of the 4th century. He played an important role during the evolving controversies surrounding the legacies of the Council of Nicaea and the theologian

Arius Arius (; grc-koi, Ἄρειος, ; 250 or 256 – 336) was a Cyrenaic presbyter, ascetic, and priest best known for the doctrine of Arianism. His teachings about the nature of the Godhead in Christianity, which emphasized God the Father's un ...

, acting frequently in concert with his fellow bishops of the

Diocese of Pannonia The Diocese of Pannonia ( la, Dioecesis Pannoniarum, lit. "Diocese of the Pannonias"), from 395 known as the Diocese of Illyricum, was a diocese of the Late Roman Empire. The seat of the ''vicarius'' (governor of the diocese) was Sirmium. Hist ...

(or "Illyria"),

Germinius of Sirmium Germinius, born in Cyzicus, was bishop of Sirmium, (today the town Sremska Mitrovica, in the territory of Srem in Serbia) and a supporter of Homoian theology, which is often labelled as a form of Arianism. Along with Valens of Mursa and Ursaciu ...

and

Valens of Mursa Valens of Mursa was bishop of Mursa (Osijek in modern Croatia) and a supporter of Homoian theology, which is often labelled as a form of Arianism, although semi-Arianism is probably more accurate. Life Valens and his fellows were seen by contempo ...

. Found at various times during their episcopal careers staking positions on both sides of the developing theological debate and internal Church politicking, Ursacius and his fellows were seen to vacillate according to the political winds. __TOC__

Early life

Born at the latest in c. 300, little is known of Ursacius' early career, but he appears already to have become bishop of Singidunum by 335, in which capacity he formed part of the group of bishops empanelled at the Synod of Tyre to investigate the veracity of accusations of impropriety made against

Athanasius of Alexandria Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...

. The endorsement by the group of the fabricated charges made against Athanasius is generally attributed to their partisanship for the theology of Arius. The association of Ursacius (and his fellow Illyrian bishops) with Arius is postulated by

Wace Wace ( 1110 – after 1174), sometimes referred to as Robert Wace, was a Medieval Norman poet, who was born in Jersey and brought up in mainland Normandy (he tells us in the ''Roman de Rou'' that he was taken as a child to Caen), ending his care ...

to have begun during the period of Arius' exile in Illyria in the period immediately after the Council of Nicaea. Ursacius and Valens next appear in 342 at

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

assisting with the consecration of Macedonius as bishop of the metropolis. On the restoration of

to his see in 346, Ursacius, along with his confederate Valens, recanted both of their previous hostility to Athanasius and to his Trinitarian theology. Accordingly, they journeyed to Rome, presenting a written recantation to its bishop,

Julius The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the ...

, and wrote to Athanasius, expressing their willingness to hold communion with him in the future. Found at various times during their episcopal careers staking positions on both sides of the developing theological debate and internal Church politicking, Ursacius and his fellows were seen by contemporaneous and later

Church history __NOTOC__ Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual ...

sources (such as

Socrates of Constantinople Socrates of Constantinople ( 380 – after 439), also known as Socrates Scholasticus ( grc-gre, Σωκράτης ὁ Σχολαστικός), was a 5th-century Greek Christian church historian, a contemporary of Sozomen and Theodoret. He is the ...

) to vacillate according to the political winds, being 'always inclined to side with the dominant party.'Socrates Scholasticus, ''Church History'', Book 2. 37.

References

External links

Dictionary of Christian Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ursacius Of Singidunum Moesia History of Belgrade Ancient history of Serbia 4th-century deaths 4th-century bishops in the Roman Empire Year of birth unknown 4th-century Romans 4th-century Latin writers