Eusebius of Cremona was a 5th-century monk, pre-congregational saint,Eusebius of Cremona at Catholic Online and disciple of Jerome.
Life He was born in Cremona. As a young man he travelled to Rome where he became an associate of Jerome, who was a secretary for Pope Damascus. Like Jerome he was a student of ardent and ascetic religion. He also formed at this time an informal ascetic fraternity in Rome with Marcella, Oceanus and Pammachius.Testa, Rita Lizzi. "The ascetic portrayed: Jerome and Eusebius of Cremona in the Italian art and culture of the renaissance". From Rome to Constantinople: Studies in Honour of Averil Cameron. Amirav, Hagit, and Romeny, R. B. ter Haar, editors. Leuven: Peeters, 2007. Page 330.
Jerome wrote a commentary on the Book of Jeremiah for him.Andrew Cain, Josef Lössl, Jerome of Stridon: His Life, Writings and Legacy, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2009 p. 74.
He travelled with Jerome to the Holy Land, where he met Saint Paula and Saint Eustochium. They travelled to Jerusalem, after which Eusebius founded a monastery in Bethlehem and acted as its abbot for a time, until returning to Cremona in 400. From Jerusalem, he may have travelled to Egypt with Jerome at about this time.
In AD 400 Eusebius returned to Italy via Dalmatia to raise funds for a pilgrim hostel.Saint Eusebius of Cremona, at CatholicSaints.Info. It was then that he represented Jerome to the Pope, and convinced the Pope of the error of Origen.Anastasius ad Simplicianum in Jerome, Ep. 95, ed. Vall.
He succeeded Jerome as the head of his monastery,Testa, Rita Lizzi. "The ascetic portrayed: Jerome and Eusebius of Cremona in the Italian art and culture of the renaissance". From Rome to Constantinople: Studies in Honour of Averil Cameron. Amirav, Hagit, and Romeny, R. B. ter Haar, editors. Leuven: Peeters, 2007. Page 333. in Italy.
A tradition credits him with founding Guadalupe Abbey in Spain in latter life. Another late traditions credits him with raising three men from the dead,The Miracle of St. Eusebius of Cremona. an event painted twice by Raphael Sanzio. Saint of the Day – 5 March – St Eusebius of Cremona (died 423) Abbot.
He lived until 423AD and is remembered with a feast day on May 5. It is unknown where he died. One tradition holds he is buried next to Jerome in Bethlehem, and the crypt there is dedicated to him, however a second tradition holds he is buried in Italy.
Theology During the Origen Disputes he was a vigorous and active supporter of Jerome,Testa, Rita Lizzi. "The ascetic portrayed: Jerome and Eusebius of Cremona in the Italian art and culture of the renaissance". From Rome to Constantinople: Studies in Honour of Averil Cameron. Amirav, Hagit, and Romeny, R. B. ter Haar, editors. Leuven: Peeters, 2007. Page 330. and is believed to have persuaded Pope Anastasius to condemn Origen's writings.
During the controversy, a letter form John, Bishop of Jerusalem to Eusebius, was stolen,ad Pammachium, Ep. 57, § 2, ed. Vall.) and Jerome accused the thief of being in the service of Rufinus,Jeromem, contra Rufinius . iii. 4. who had until this time been on fairly good relations with Eusebius. Jerome made this claim because Rufinius sent the document to the Pope, accusing Jerome of having falsified the original. The pope eventually sides with Jerome. Rufinius accused Eusebius of being "evil in this matter"Elizabeth A. Clark, The Origenist Controversy: The Cultural Construction of an Early Christian Debate (Princeton University Press, 14 Jul. 2014) p20. and of conspiring with Marcella.Rufinius, Apologia I, 19.Elizabeth A. Clark, The Origenist Controversy: The Cultural Construction of an Early Christian Debate (Princeton University Press, 14 Jul. 2014) p. 32.
There is a pseudepigraphical letter from Eusebius to Pope Damascus.Testa, Rita Lizzi. "The ascetic portrayed: Jerome and Eusebius of Cremona in the Italian art and culture of the renaissance". From Rome to Constantinople: Studies in Honour of Averil Cameron. Amirav, Hagit, and Romeny, R. B. ter Haar, editors. Leuven: Peeters, 2007. Page 303. PSEUDO-EUSEBIUS OF CREMONA.
Eusebius also sided with Jerome in the disputes with Pelagius.
References
External links Lewis E 70 Letter to Damasus on the death of Saint Jerome at OPenn