June: Day 22:
Holy Hieromartyr Eusebius of Samosata
(On Obedience To Civil Authority)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
Holy Hieromartyr Eusebius of Samosata
(On Obedience To Civil Authority)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
I. Saint Eusebius, whose memory is celebrated today, lived in the 4th century and was bishop in the city of Samosata (on the Euphrates River) in the Antiochian metropolis. He waged a long and tireless struggle against heretics and suffered much under Constantius, who patronized the Arians. Under Emperor Julian, Eusebius, hiding his bishopric, went around various regions to confirm Christians in the faith and support them. At this time, he also restored several churches and ordained many priests and deacons.
Upon the ascension of Jovian, Eusebius and other holy figures were restored to their thrones. The pious emperor respected them, while the heretics feared them. However, the Church did not enjoy peace for long, as Jovian soon passed away; after him, Valens ascended to the throne and once again instigated persecution against the Orthodox faith, exiling shepherds into banishment. Eusebius was imprisoned in Thrace, and in his stead an Arian was appointed. Eusebius learned of his exile while in Samosata; preparing to leave the city, he asked the messenger to keep this matter confidential, so that the people would not harm the messenger bringing news of their separation from the bishop. Under the cover of night, he left the episcopal residence, but upon crossing the Euphrates, he was halted by the townsfolk who had learned of his departure, and they wept, beseeching him to return. Eusebius persuaded them not to resist royal authority and to return to their homes, and, having blessed everyone, continued his journey to Thrace, from where he returned during the time of Gratian, who summoned the exiled bishops back to their flocks. However, he soon died from a wound inflicted upon him by an Arian woman who had thrown a vessel from the roof, which struck the bishop on the head... As he was dying, he bequeathed that the woman should not be punished.
II. The Holy Hieromartyr Eusebius, who with Christian wisdom unswervingly fulfilled the duty of obedience to civil authority, teaches us, beloved brothers and sisters, to always show obedience to civil authority.
a) The word of God teaches us to render complete submission to the authorities: “Let every soul be subject to the powers that be, for there is no power except from God; and the powers that be are ordained by God” (Rom. 13:1). From these words of the Apostle Paul it is evident that the action of power in human societies is not the arbitrary exercise of the strong over the weak, but a law of social and state life sanctified by God Himself. The providential God, who directs His care both to the lot of the sparrow and to the grass of the field (Matt. 10:29; Luke 12:28 ), has a special and greater care for people, preserving and arranging their union in family and civil life. In the order of family life and by the innate feeling of the human heart and by the right given by God, "from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named" (Eph. 3:15), the father is the head of the family, to whom all members are obliged to obey. Then, when families united into societies and states, the same duty of obedience to parental authority naturally passes to the supreme authority of kings, to whom the Most High King of kings Himself gives "might and strength" (Prov. 6:2), as a result of which kings in the word of God are called "the servants of God" (Rom. 13), "the servants of His kingdom" (Prov. 6:2) and consequently in the performance of their high service they are the instruments of the all-acting Providence of God in governing the world. Therefore, obedience to the supreme authority and all the leaders appointed by it is not only the civil duty of every member of society who wants to see it peaceful, well-ordered, strong, but also a duty of reverence and obedience to God. He who honors God cannot but honor the authority established by Him (1 Peter 2:14), “he who resists authority,” according to the word of the Apostle, “resists the commandment of God; and those who resist receive sin to themselves” (Rom. 13:2).
b) The history of the Christian Church shows that the first Christians, following the instruction of Christ the Savior to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's, were always the most faithful and obedient subjects under the rule of pagan emperors, despite the fact that they deprived them of all legal rights of citizenship, persecuted and tortured them.
"Who," writes Tertullian (in the 2nd century A.D.) to the pagans, "are the fiercest persecutors of Christians, if not those unbelieving emperors, against whom Christians are accused of offending majesty? And yet, we are commanded in the Holy Scriptures to pray for them. However, is there any need to speak much about our pious sentiments toward the emperor? Can we not have them for one whom our God has elevated to the throne, and whom we should therefore regard, even predominantly before you, pagans, as our own emperor?" (Apology, chapter 33). "The emperor is great, for his sole Master is the God of heaven and earth, for he received the royal crown from the same God who gave him life" (Apology, chapter 30).
III. And so, brethren, if the word of God and the example of the holy men, confessors of our holy Orthodox faith, show us that every subject must unquestioningly and sincerely obey the Tsar and the authorities appointed by him, even when these orders do not agree with our desires and interests, then are not those who resist the just and beneficial orders of the authorities only out of self-will, out of habit of self-will, or, what is even more pernicious, out of the perverse suggestion of the enemies of public order, subject to greater condemnation before the judgment of God? We, the sons of Russia, living under the shadow of the blessed, royal power of the most pious sovereign, the most humane father of the fatherland, must especially and continually give praise and thanks to the Lord God for the high gifts of mercy and generosity poured out from the height of the royal throne upon our fatherland. "The king's heart is in the hand of God" (Prov. 21:1). Accepting blessings from the king's right hand as a gift from God Himself, we must also render the duty of obedience to the king, as before God Himself, not only in appearance and to avoid punishment for disobedience, but sincerely, with filial fear and according to conscience. Amen.
Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
