Saint Gregory of Elvira

Gregory Baeticus (died c. 392) was the bishop of Elvira, in the province of Baetica, Spain. Gregory is first met with as Bishop of Elvira (Illiberis) in 375; he is mentioned in the Luciferian "Libellus precum ad Imperatores" as the defender of the Nicean creed, after Bishop Hosius of Cordova had given his assent in Sirmium to the second Sirmian formulation of doctrine, in the year 357. He proved himself at any rate an ardent opponent of Arianism, stood for the Nicean creed at the Council of Rimini, and refused to enter into ecclesiastical intercourse with the Arian bishops Ursacius of Singidunum and Valens of Mursa. He took, in fact, the extreme view, in common with Bishop Lucifer of Calaris (Cagliari), that it was unlawful to make advances to bishops or priests who at any time had been associated with Arianism, or to hold any religious communion with them. This Luciferian party found adherents in Spain, and on the death of Lucifer (370 or 371) Gregory of Elvira became the head and front of the movement. Such at least is the mention found of him in the Libellus precum above referred to, as well as in St. Jerome's chronicle. However, the progress made in Spain was by no means considerable. He is venerated in Spain as a saint, his feast being celebrated on 24 April. Gregory found time also for literary labours. St. Jerome says of him that he wrote, until a very ripe old age, a diversity of treatises composed in simple and ordinary language (mediocri sermone), and produced an excellent book (elegantem librum), De Fide, which is said to be still extant The book De Trinitate seu de Fide (Rome, 1575), which was ascribed to Gregory Bæticus by Achilles Statius, its first editor, did not come from his pen, but was written in Spain at the end of the fourth century. On the other hand, early historians of literature, e.g.