Eulogius of Córdoba

Saint Eulogius of Córdoba
The Martyrdom of Saint Eulogius of Cordova, at Cordova Cathedral, by an unknown artist of the 17th century.
Priest and Martyr
Born	prior to 819 Córdoba, Caliphate of Cordoba (modern day Spain)
Died	March 11, 857 Córdoba
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church
Canonized	Pre-Congregation
Major shrine	Cathedral of Oviedo
Feast	March 11

Saint Eulogius of Córdoba (Spanish: San Eulogio de Córdoba (died March 11, 857) was one of the Martyrs of Córdoba. He flourished during the reigns of the Cordovan emirs Abd-er-Rahman II and Muhammad I (mid-9th century).

In the ninth century, the Muslim conquerors of Spain made Cordoba their capital. They allowed Christians to live in relative peace and, subject to a monthly tax, permitted them to worship. Some, like Eulogius’s younger brother, even rose to high positions in the government. In the large cities like Toledo and Córdoba, the civil rule of the Christians did not differ from that of the Visigothic epoch. The government was exercised by the comes (count), president of the council of senators.

During this time, the faithful could, it is true, worship freely, and retained their churches and property on condition of paying a tribute for every parish, cathedral, and monastery; frequently such tribute was increased at the will of the conqueror, and often the living had to pay for the dead. Many of the faithful then fled to Northern Spain; others took refuge in the monasteries of Sierras, and thus the number of Christians shrank eventually to small proportions.

Under Abd-er Rahman II there came a change in the attitude of the Arab rulers, and a fierce persecution ensued, during which many Christians were accused of abusing the memory of Mohammed, of entering mosques, and of conspiracy against the Government.

It is not certain on what date or in what year of the 9th century he was born; it must have been before 819, because in 848 he was a highly esteemed priest among the Christians of Catalonia and Navarre, and priesthood was conferred only on men thirty years of age.

The family of the saint was of the senatorial class and held land in Córdoba from Roman times. The saint, like his five brothers, received an excellent education in accord with his good birth and under the guardianship of his mother Isabel. The youngest of the brothers, Joseph, held a high office in the palace of Abd-er-Rahman II; two other brothers, Alvarus and Isidore, were merchants and traded on a large scale as far as Central Europe. Of his sisters, Niola and Anulona, the first remained with her mother; the second was educated from infancy in a monastery where she later became a nun.