EUSEBIUS (BRUNO) OF ANGERS: Bishop of
Angers; d. Sept. 1, 1081. He is first met with as
bishop of Angers at the synod of Reims in 1049,
and for a long time had been an adherent of
Berengar's doctrine of the Lord's Supper (see
[Berengar of Tours]
?). As such he was regarded by Berengar
himself and by his opponents Dietwin of Liege,
Durand of Troarne, and Humbert. But when he
recognized the strength of the opposition, he
favored a compromise; at any rate he advised
Berengar is 1054 to swear to the formula presented
to him. Nevertheless Berengar considered him
his friend many years later and requested him to
silence a certain Galfrid Martini or to arrange a
disputation. In his reply Eusebius not only
regretted the whole controversy, but also stated that
he would abide by the words of Holy Scripture,
according to which the bread and wine after the
consecration become the body and blood of the Lord;
if one asks how this can take place the answer
must be that it is not according to the order of
nature but in accordance with the divine
omnipotence; at any rate one must be careful not to give
offense to the plain Christian. The epistle is a
downright renunciation of Berengar in case he
should still maintain his view. In favor of the
supposition that Eusebius changed his opinion
from deference to the count of Anjou, the decided
opponent of Berengar and his doctrine, it can be
adduced that he did not defend Berengar against
the hostilities of the court, and that for a long
time he sided with this violent prince. It is also
possible that the fact impressed itself upon
Eusebius that the religious consciousness of the time
more and more opposed Berengar. Our knowledge,
however, is too fragmentary to pass a very accurate
sentence.
Initial text from Schaff-Herzog Encyc of Religion