Eleutherius

Eleutherius is known only as a recipient of letters in the corpus of Nilus of Ancyra (d. c. 430), the ascetic writer active at Ancyra in Galatia in the early 5th century. The eight letters under this name are addressed inconsistently, to "Eleutherius the Monk," to a "monk, formerly of the numeri" (a former soldier), to "Eleutherius the Bishop," and to "Eleutherius, Count of the East" (comes Orientis), so the name as transmitted in the collection most likely covers more than one person and cannot be tied to a single career. To the monastic Eleutherius, Nilus writes spiritual direction in a stern key, warning a recent convert from worldly life against unguarded company and the relapse of the passions, urging vigilance of the senses and remembrance of Christ and the coming judgment, and reading household misfortunes as God's chastening of his arrogance; to the figures titled bishop and count he sends shorter exhortations on faith, perseverance, and the folly of admiring pagan philosophers who worshipped idols. Beyond his role as Nilus's correspondent and the object of this ascetic correction, Eleutherius is otherwise unattested.