HOSIUS

This article appears in Volume V13, Page 790 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: HOR-I25

HOSIUS , or Osius (c. 257359), bishop of

Cordova

CORDOVA (Span. C6rdoba)
CORDOVA (Span. Cordoba; Lat. Corduba)

, was born about A.D. 257, probably at

Cordova

CORDOVA (Span. C6rdoba)
CORDOVA (Span. Cordoba; Lat. Corduba)

, although from a passage in Zosimus it has sometimes been conjectured that he was believed by that writer to be a native of Egypt. Elected to the see of Cordova before the end of the 3rd century, he narrowly escaped martyrdom in the persecution of Maximian (303305). In 305 or 306 he attended the council of Illiberis or Elvira (hisname appearing second in the

list

LIST (O.E.
lisle
- LISLE, ALICE (c. 1614-1685)
, a Teutonic word, cf. Dut. lust, Ger. Leiste, adapted in Ital. lista and Fr.
lisle
- LISLE, ALICE (c. 1614-1685)
)
LIST, FRIEDRICH (1789-1846)

of those present), and upheld its severe canons concerning such points of discipline as the treatment of the lapsed and clerical marriages. In 313 he appears at the court of Constantine, being expressly mentioned by name in a constitution directed by the emperor to Caecilianus of Carthage in that year. In 323 he was the bearer and possibly the writer of Constantine's

letter

LETTER (through Fr. lettre from Lat. littera or litera, letter of the alphabet; the origin of the Latin word is obscure; it has probably no connexion with the root of linere, to smear, i.e. with wax, for an inscription with a stilus)

to Bishop Alexander of Alexandria and Arius his deacon, bidding them cease disturbing the peace of the church; and, on the failure of the negotiations in Egypt, it was doubtless with the active concurrence of Hosius that the council of Nicaea was convened in 325. He certainly took part in its proceedings, and was one of the large number of " confessors " present; that he presided is a very doubtful assertion, as also that he was the principal author of the Nicene Creed. Still he powerfully influenced the judgment of the emperor in favour of the orthodox party. After a period of quiet life in his own diocese, Hosius presided in 343 at the fruitless synod of Sardica, which showed itself so hostile to Arianism; and afterwards he spoke and wrote in favour of Athanasius in such a way as to bring upon himself a sentence of banishment to Sirmium (355) From his

exile

EXILE (Lat. exsilium or exilium, from exsul or exul, which is derived from ex, out of, and the root sal, to go, seen in salire, to leap,
consul
- CONSUL
- CONSUL (in Gr. generally ihraros,ashortened form of errpavgybs 8hraeos, i.e. praetor maximus)
, &c.; the connexion with solum, soil, country is now generally considered wrong)

he wrote to Constantius II. his only extant composition, a

letter

LETTER (through Fr. lettre from Lat. littera or litera, letter of the alphabet; the origin of the Latin word is obscure; it has probably no connexion with the root of linere, to smear, i.e. with wax, for an inscription with a stilus)

not unjustly characterized by the

great

GREAT

French historian Sebastian Tillemont as displaying gravity, dignity, gentleness, wisdom, generosity and in fact all the qualities of a

great

GREAT

soul and a great bishop. Subjected to continual pressure the old man, who was near his hundredth year, was weak enough to sign the

formula

adopted by the second synod of Sirmium in 357, which involved communion with the Arians but not the condemnation of Athanasius. He was then permitted to return to his diocese, where he died in 359.
See S. Tillemont, Memoires, vii. 300321 (1700) ; Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, vol. i.; H. M. Gwatkin, Studies of Arianism (

Cambridge

, 1882, 2nd ed., 1900) ; A. W. W. Dale, The Synod of Elvira (London, 1882) ; and article s.v. in

Herzog

HERZOG, HANS (1819–1894)
HERZOG, JOHANN JAKOB (1805-1882)

-Hauck, Realencyklopadie (3rd ed., 1900), with bibliography.

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