Eusebius of Nicomedia

Eusebius of Nicomedia (died 341) was the man who baptised Constantine the Great. He was a bishop of Berytus (modern-day Beirut) in Phoenicia, then of the See of Nicomedia, where the imperial court resided, and finally of Constantinople from 338 up to his death.

Influence in the Imperial family and the Imperial court

Distantly related to the imperial family of Constantine, he owed his progression from a less significant Levantine bishopric to the most important episcopal see to his influence at court, and the great power he wielded in the Church was derived from that source. In fact, during his time in the Imperial court, the Eastern court and the major positions in the Eastern Church were held by Arians or Arian sympathizers. With the exception of a short period of eclipse, he enjoyed the confidence both of Constantine and Constantius II. He also served as the tutor of the later Emperor Julian the Apostate; and it was he who baptized Constantine the Great on May 22, 337 owing to his familial relationship with the emperor. Also during his time in the Imperial court, Arianism became more popular with the Royal family. It can be logically surmised that Eusebius had a huge hand in the acceptance of Arianism in the Constantinian household. The Arian influence grew so strong during his tenure in the Imperial court that it wasn't until the end of the Constantinian dynasty and the appointment of Theodosius I that Arianism lost its influence in the Empire.

Eusebius

Eusebius of Caesarea (/juːˈsiːbiəs/; Greek: Εὐσέβιος, Eusébios; AD 260/265 – 339/340), also known as Eusebius Pamphili, was a Roman historian, exegete, and Christian polemicist of Greek descent. He became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima about 314. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon and is regarded as an extremely well learned Christian of his time. He wrote Demonstrations of the Gospel, Preparations for the Gospel, and On Discrepancies between the Gospels, studies of the Biblical text. As "Father of Church History" he produced the Ecclesiastical History, On the Life of Pamphilus, the Chronicle and On the Martyrs.

Sources

Little is known about the life of Eusebius. His successor at the see of Caesarea, Acacius, wrote a Life of Eusebius, a work that has since been lost. Eusebius' own surviving works probably only represent a small portion of his total output. Beyond notices in his extant writings, the major sources are the 5th-century ecclesiastical historians Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret, and the 4th-century Christian author Jerome. There are assorted notices of his activities in the writings of his contemporaries Athanasius, Arius, Eusebius of Nicomedia, and Alexander of Alexandria. Eusebius' pupil, Eusebius of Emesa, provides some incidental information.

Eusebius (praepositus sacri cubiculi)

Eusebius (died 361) was a high-ranking officer of the Roman Empire, holding the position of praepositus sacri cubiculi for all the rule of Emperor Constantius II (337-361).

Biography

Eusebius held the position of praepositus sacri cubiculi in 337, when Constantine I died; he concealed the will of the Emperor. Eusebius became a supporter of Arianism, influencing the empress and many other eunuchs. He entered then at the service of one of Constantine's sons and successors, Constantius II, with whom he shared the support for Arianism and on whom he exerted a great influence.

In 354 Eusebius was sent by Constantius II to talk to Pope Liberius and then attended at the meeting between the Emperor and the Pope. He sent money to the orator Libanius in exile and, in 355, helped those Arian bishops who plotted against Athanasius of Alexandria.

Eusebius followed Constantius into Gaul (353-354) and then to Milan (354). Here he plotted against Constantius' cousin, brother-in-law and Caesar, Constantius Gallus; Constantius ordered him to go to Pula, where Gallus was imprisoned, to question him about his rule in the East.

Ernst F. Detterer

Ernst Frederic Detterer (1888, Lake Mills, Wisconsin – 1947, Chicago) was an American calligrapher, teacher, and typographer. He studied at Moravian College and the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art where he took classes in lettering taught by Edward Johnston. From 1912–21 he taught wood-cut art, calligraphy and typography at Chicago Normal School. From 1921–31 he taught the history of printing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The design department of the Ludlow Typograph Company commissioned him to design a Venetian type-face (i.e. one based on the designs of Venetian type-founder Nicolas Jenson), and his Nicolas Jenson was the result. Detterer's former student, R. Hunter Middleton, later expanded Nicolas Jenson into a complete type family. First cast in 1923, Nicolas Jenson was reintroduced in 1941 as Eusebius. At the time of his death, Detterer was employed as the custodian of the John M. Wing Collection on the History of Printing at the Newberry Library in Chicago.

Nicomedia

Nicomedia (/ˌnɪkəˈmiːdiə/;Greek: Νικομήδεια, Nikomedeia; modern İzmit) was an ancient city in what is now Turkey.

History

Founded in 712/11 BC as a Megarian colony and was originally known as Astacus (/ˈæstəkəs/; Ancient Greek: Ἀστακός, "lobster"). After being destroyed by Lysimachus, it was rebuilt by Nicomedes I of Bithynia in 264 BC under the name of Nicomedia, and has ever since been one of the most important cities in northwestern Asia Minor. The great military commander Hannibal Barca came to Nicomedia in his final years and committed suicide in nearby Libyssa (Diliskelesi, Gebze). The historian Arrian was born there.

Nicomedia was the metropolis of Bithynia under the Roman Empire, and Diocletian made it the eastern capital city of the Roman Empire in 286 when he introduced the Tetrarchy system. Nicomedia remained as the eastern (and most senior) capital of the Roman Empire until co-emperor Licinius was defeated by Constantine the Great at the Battle of Chrysopolis (Üsküdar) in 324. Constantine mainly resided in Nicomedia as his interim capital city for the next six years, until in 330 he declared the nearby Byzantium (which was renamed Constantinople) the new capital. Constantine died in a royal villa in the vicinity of Nicomedia in 337. Owing to its position at the convergence of the Asiatic roads leading to the new capital, Nicomedia retained its importance even after the foundation of Constantinople.