The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Eusebius of Laodicea
deacon at Alexandria AD 257; bishop of Laodicea; d. c. AD 268 · Deacon of Alexandria · Bishop of Laodicea · Alexandria → Laodicea, Syria
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Eusebius of Laodicea was
A deacon of Alexandria who stayed in the city through the siege and the plague, serving the confessors in prison and burying the martyrs when nobody else would. He was later made bishop of Laodicea in Syria. His is one of the clearest fourth-century pictures of what a deacon’s work actually was under persecution. Distinct from the six other men named Eusebius in the archive.
Named once in Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History; no other ancient source names him.
Also listed in bishops beyond the great sees.
Common questions
When did Eusebius live?
Eusebius of Laodicea is dated deacon at Alexandria AD 257; bishop of Laodicea; d. c. AD 268 in the archive, which places Eusebius in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Eusebius?
Eusebius of Laodicea is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Eusebius of Caesarea. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Eusebius from?
The archive associates Eusebius of Laodicea with Alexandria, Laodicea, Syria. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Eusebius’ contemporaries?
The archive links Eusebius of Laodicea to 3 other figures, including Dionysius the Great, Faustus the Deacon and Chaeremon the Deacon. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (1)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Ecclesiastical History VII.11.24–26
c. AD 325[Eusebius, then a deacon, was zealous in the service of the confessors in prison and in the burial of the bodies of the perfected martyrs, at no small risk; and he was afterwards bishop of Laodicea in Syria.]Eusebius of Caesarea · Ecclesiastical History VII.11.24–26 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Named alongside Eusebius in the sources
This figure is placed with Eusebius by the record — in a council roll, a martyr-act, a letter or a history — without Eusebius naming them in return.
Events in this lifetime
- AD 202 · Perpetua and Felicity martyred, AD 202
- AD 235 · Maximinus Thrax targets the clergy, AD 235
- AD 250 · The Decian persecution, AD 250
- AD 251 · The Novatianist schism, AD 251
- AD 257 · The Valerian persecution, AD 257
- AD 260 · Gallienus’ edict of toleration, AD 260
- AD 268 · Antioch deposes Paul of Samosata, AD 268
Place
Places served
The 3 places the sources put Eusebius, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.
- 1Alexandria
- 2Laodicea
- 3Syriaprovince only