4

NARDACIUS

NARSES

dore cf Heraclca, Maris of Chalcedon, Marcus ofArethusa, from the emperor Constantius to hisbrother Constans (Ath. De Syn. § 25; Soc. ii.18 ; Soz. iii. 10). About the same time he aridFlacillus bishop of Antioch conducted EusebiusEmesenus [Eusebius (35)] to Emesa (Soc. ii. 9).In 842 (al. 341) he was one of the Eusebiansaddressed by pope Julius (Ath. Ap. c. Ar. § 20).In 343 he formed one of the Eusebian party atPhilippopolis (Mansi, iii. 140 ; Hilar. Frag. ii. § 7,

§ 8, § 14 here called of Jeropolis, iii. § 29 here ofAnapolis, in Pat. Lat. x. 637, 638, 642), and wasdeposed by the council of Sardica(Ath. Hist. Ar.

§ §*17, 28, Ap. c. Ar. § 36, Ep. ad Episc. § 7).Athanasius, writing cir. 350, calls him one ofthe then prominent Eusebians ( Ap. c . Ar. § 48)-.In 351 he was one of the authors of the Sirmiancreed (Hilar. Frag. vi. § 7 in Fat. Lat. x. 692 ;Tillem. vi. 351; Hefei. Counc. ii. 193). In 356(Tillem. vi. 394) he was one of the synod ofAntioch which ordained George bishop of Alex-andria (Soz. iv. 8 and note of Vales.; Mansi, iii.23). Athanasius, writing in 357 or 358, hearsthat Narcissus is charging him with cowardicefor his flight ( Ap. de Fug. § 1 init.), and declares(§ 28) that Narcbsus has been accused of manyoifences, has been degraded three times by varioussynods, and is the wickedest of all the Eusebianparty. In 358 Narcissus complains to Constan-tius of Basil of Ancyra. (Philostorg. iv. 10 ;Tillem. vi. 442.) [C. H.]

NARCISSUS, catholicos of Armenia. [Nor-SESES.]

NARDACIUS (Sulp. Sev. ii. 50), a bishop,and persecutor of the Priscillianists.

[M. B. C.]

NARICUS, acolyte of Cyprian, sent by himfrom his retirement with a second relief forsufferers by Decian persecution. (Cvp. Ep. vii.)

[E. W. B.]

NARSES (1), martyr. [Lazarus (3).]

NARSES (2) (Barda, Barsa), bishop ofEdessa, occurs as Narses among the easternDishops who addressed a letter to the Italiansand Gauls, a.d. 372 (Basil. Opp. iii. 263, Par.1839 ; Ceillier, Aut. Sacr. iv. 446), but is betterkuown as Barsa, friend and correspondent ofSt. Basil of Caesarea, who has left two letterswritten to Barsa in a.d. 377 (Basil. Opp. iii. 590,599, Epp. nos. 264 or 326, 267 or 327). [J. G.]

NARSES (3), an adherent of Gratian, forwhom St. Martin interceded with the successfulMaximus at the same time that he pleaded forthe condemned Priscillianists, A.D. 385 [Maxi-mus (2)]. (Sulp. Sev. Dial. iii. H in Migne’sFat. Lat. xx. 218 [Martinus (1)].) [G. T. S.]

NARSES (4), priest, syncellus of Euty-ches, was called as witness against Eutyches inthe 6th session of the council at Constantinople,Nov. 20, A.d. 448, but there is no account of histestimony : the minutes were read at the coun-cils of Ephesus and Chalcedon (Binius, Cone. Gen.ii. 86; Ceillier, Aut. Pacr. x. 672). [J. G.]

NARSES (5), twenty-fifth catholicus ofthe Chaldaeans (Le Quien, Oriens Christ, ii.1116), succeeded Silas but was opposed byElisaeus. The schism continued twelve or fifteen

years till Narses’s death, A.d. 535, when Elisaeusalso was deposed. (Greg. Barliebr. Chron. ii. 82in Assem. B. O. ii. 409, iii. 166, 614-5.) [J. G.]

NARSES (6), bishop of Ascalon, commendedin a poem of Sophronius patriarch of Jerusalem(earm. xvii. in Fat. Gr. lxxxvii. 3801; Ceill. xi.709). [E. H.]

NARSES (7),the eunuch, sent, in a.d. 551, totake the command against the Goths in Italy,where he had previously served under Belisarius.For a short account of his successes in Italy, seeJustinianus L, Vol. III. 542, and for a detailedaccount of his career, see Narses, Dictionary ofGreek and Roman Biography. He took part inthe ceremony at St. Peter’s, when pope Pelagiuscleared himself of the charge of being implicatedin the death of his predecessor (Anastas. MtaFelagii). Pelagius subsequently asked him to as-sist his legates in their proceedingsagainsteertainschismatic bishops, and more than once requestedhim to arrest and send the bishops of Milan andAquileia [Paulinus ( ) ] in custody to theemperor,and to use forceagainst the other bishopsof Northern Italy and Istria, who refusedtoacceptthe fifth general Council. Apparently the onlyconsequence of these exhortations was the excom-munication of Narses himself, by the schismatics.(Pelagii Epp. 1-4, in Migne, Fair. Lat. lxix.393 T 397.) In a.d. 567 he was superseded byLonginus in consequence of the complaints ofthe oppressiveness of his administration, and heis accused of having, in revenge, invited theLombards into Italy. According to the well-known story, the empress Sophia said she wouldcharge him with parcelling out the wool forspinning to the women of the palace, to whichNarses replied that he would spin her such athread as would last her her lifetime (PaulusDiac. ii. 5). At any rate, he retired to Naples,from which he was induced in a.d. 568, by theentreaties of pope John III. to return with himto Rome, where he died soon afterwards (Anastas.Vita Joannis III.). [F. IX]

NARSES (8), patrician, sometimes con-founded with the preceding, is addressed inseveral letters by Gregory the Great. The first(i. 6) is written immediately after his election,which he regrets; in the second (iv. 32), fromwhich it appears that Narses was then in badhealth, and the third (vi. 14) he refers to thecase of the priest Joannes (471); and in the lasthe also decides that Athanasius, a priest, hadfallen into Manichaeism, and makes some re-marks on the Pelagian heresy. Though a fourthletter (vii. 30) is addressed “Narsae religioso,”he appears to be the same as the person to whomthe other three are written, as a number of per-sons to whom Gregory sends salutations in thefirst letter are again mentioned. In this letterGregory endeavours to console him under the mis-fortunes and calumnies from which he is suffer-ing, and commends to him the deacon Anatolius,whom he is sending to Constantinople. He mayperhaps be the same as the Narses, the famousgeneral of the emperor Maurice (Theoph. Sim. v.),on whose fall, in a.d. 602, he rebelled againstPhocas, occupied Edessa, and incited the Persiansto declare war. Two years afterwards, he sur-rendered to one of the generals of Phocas, oncondition that his life should be spared, but