Ursicinus, also known as Ursinus was elected pope in a violently contested election in 366 as a rival to Pope Damasus I, ruled in Rome for several months in 366 – 367, was afterwards declared the antipope, and died after 381. Damasus I (ca 305 - 383) was pope from 366 to 383. ... Location within Italy The Roman Colosseum Rome (Italian and Latin: Roma) is the capital city of Italy and of its Latium region. ... An antipope is one whose claim to being Pope is the result of a disputed or contested election. ... Events First Council of Constantinople - second Ecumenical council of the Christian Church: The Nicene creed is affirmed and extended, Apollinarism is declared a heresy. ...

Pope Liberius had been banished in 355, as a result of a conflict with the Emperor Constantius over the treatment of Arianism. Antipope Felix II was imposed as his successor. After the Emperor's death, Liberius was eventually reinstalled and Felix expelled from Rome. The rival parties remained highly polarized in Rome, however. Liberius, pope from May 17, 352 to September 24, 366, was the earliest pope who did not become a saint. ... Events November 6 - Julian is promoted to Caesar. ... Constantius can refer to a number of Roman emperors: Constantius Chlorus - emperor 305-306 Constantius II - emperor 337-361 Constantius III - co-emperor in 421 This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Arianism was a Christological view held by followers of Arius in the early Christian Church, claiming that Jesus Christ and God the Father were not always contemporary, seeing the Son as a divine being, created by the Father (and consequently inferior to Him) at some point in time, before which... Felix II is generally considered an antipope rather than a pope. ...

Liberius died on 24 September 366. In the early Church, new Bishops of Rome were chosen in the manner customarily used in the other dioceses, that is, the clergy, with the people of the diocese, elected or chose the new bishop in the presence of the other bishops in the province. This was a simple method in a small community of Christians that was unified by persecution. But as the Christian congregation of Rome grew in size, the acclamation of a new bishop was fraught with division. Rival claimants and a certain class hostility between patrician and plebeian candidates unsettled some episcopal elections. At the same time, 4th-century emperors expected to confirm each new pope. September 24 is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years). ... Events January 2, Alamanni cross frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading Roman Empire October 1 - Pope Damasus I becomes Bishop of Rome. ...

The upper-class partisans of Felix supported the election of Damasus, but the opposing supporters of Liberius, the deacons and laity, supported Ursicinus; the two were elected simultaneously, in an atmosphere of rioting. Supporters already clashed at the beginning of October. Such was the violence and bloodshed that the two praefecti of the city were called in to restore order, and after a first setback, when they were driven to the suburbs and a massacre of 137 was perpetrated in the basilica of Sicininus (Ammianus Marcellinus), the prefects banished Ursicinus to Gaul. There was further violence when he returned, which continued after Ursicinus was exiled again. Damasus I (ca 305 - 383) was pope from 366 to 383. ... Gallia (in English Gaul) is the Latin name for the region of western Europe occupied by present-day France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine river. ...

Church historians, such as Jerome and Rufinus took the part of Damasus. At a synod in 378 Ursicinus was condemned and Damasus exonerated and declared the true pope. The former antipope continued to intrigue against Damasus for the next few years, and unsuccessfully attempted to revive his claim on Damasus's death. Ursicinus was among the Arian party in Milan, according to Ambrose (Epistle iv). , by Albrecht Dürer , by Peter Paul Rubens Jerome (about 340 - September 30, 420), (full name Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus) is best known as the translator of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin. ... Tyrannius Rufinus or Rufinus of Aquileia (between 340 and 345–410 CE) was a monk, historian, and theologian. ... A synod (also known as a council) is a council of a church, usually a Christian church, convened to decide an issue of doctrine or administration. ... Events Mid-February: Lentienses cross frozen Rhine, invading Roman Empire. ... Location within Italy Piazza della Scala Milan (Italian: Milano; Milanese dialect: Milán) is the main city in northern Italy, and is located in the plains of Lombardy, the most populated and developed of Italian regions. ... Saint Ambrose, Latin Sanctus Ambrosius, Italian SantAmbrogio (circa 340 - April 4, 397), bishop of Milan, was one of the most eminent fathers of the Christian church in the 4th century. ...

A decree of 502 under Pope Symmachus ruled that laymen should no longer vote for the popes and that only higher clergy should be considered eligible. Symmachus was pope from 498 to 514. ...

External link

• Henry Wace, Dictionary of Christian Biography: (http://www.ccel.org/w/wace/biodict/htm/iii.xxi.v.htm) Ursinus; a balanced historical account, with a detailed quote from the impartial pagan historian Ammianus Marcellinus