EUSE'B1US, Manor or EMMA in Plunnicia, was born about the end of the 3rd century in the neighbourhood of Edessa, and belonged to a very illustrious family. lie wee from his early youth instructed in the principles of the Christian religion, and had the most distin guished teachers of the time. Ile afterwards devoted himself to the study of theology under the direction of the celebrated Eusebius of Cailearea and Patrophilus of Scythopolis. However as ho wished to avoid being appointed to any ecclesiastical office too early, lie went to Alexandria to spend some time in the study of philosophy. On his return from Alexandria lie staved for awhile at Antioch, and formed an intimate friendship with klaccillus, the bishop of that place. In 341 Athanasius was deprived by the Synod of Antioch of his bishopric of Alexandria, and Eusebius, to whom it was offered, refused it, thougl soon after he accepted the bishopric of Emesa. During the solemnity of his ordination the people of Emesa rose against him, charging him with pursuing mathematics and magic. Eusebius took to flight, and for a time he stayed with his friend Georgius, bishop of Laodicea, but afterwards he returned to Emesa, where he was tolerated, owing to the influence of his friend Georgius. He died at Antioch in 360. Eubesius was a great favourite of the Emperor Constantius, who is said to have been accompanied by him on several military expeditions.
Some of his contemporaries charged him with favouring the Sabellian heresies, but Sozomen thinks that this accusation was suggested to his enemies only by their envy of his great virtues. Hieronymus even calla him the ringleader of the Arian party—a strong expression— which, from the pen of Hieronymus, must betaken with great caution; for, as far as we know, all that can be said is, that Eusebiva had a leaning towards the views of the semi-Arians. Eusebius was a man of a very cultivated mind and great eloquence : he wrote a great number of works which were well received by his contemporaries, but all of them are lost with the exception of a few said still to exist in manuscript in some libraries. (Socrates, 'Hist Eccles.,' ii. 9; Sozomen, iii. 6; Hieronymus, `De Scriptor.,' 91; Nicephorua, ix. 5.) His life, written by his friend Georgina of Antioch, is lost. There exists, under the name of Eusebitia, a collection of fifty homilies, which were pub lisbed in a Latin translation by J. Gagneius, Paris, 1547 (reprinted at Paris, 1561, 8vo, and at Antwerp, 1555); but all critics agree that these homilies are the productions of a much later age than that of Eusebius of Emesa. (Cave, 'Galeria Literaria, vol. L p. 156, dm.; Fabricius, Biblioth. Grcec., vii. p. 412, &c.)