George (died 359) was the bishop of

Laodicea in Syria Laodicea ( grc, Λαοδίκεια) was a port city and an important colonia of the Roman Empire in ancient Syria, located near the modern city of Latakia. It was also called Laodicea in Syria or Laodicea ad mare. For a short period of time un ...

from 335 until his deposition in 347. He took part in the Trinitarian controversies of the fourth century. At first an ardent admirer of the teaching of

Arius Arius (; grc-koi, Ἄρειος, ; 250 or 256 – 336) was a Cyrenaic presbyter, ascetic, and priest best known for the doctrine of Arianism. His teachings about the nature of the Godhead in Christianity, which emphasized God the Father's ...

and associated with

Eusebius of Nicomedia Eusebius of Nicomedia (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος; died 341) was an Arian priest who baptized Constantine the Great on his deathbed in 337. A fifth-century legend evolved that Pope Saint Sylvester I was the one to baptize Constantine, but thi ...

, he subsequently became a semi-Arian, but seems ultimately to have united with the Anomoeans, whose uncompromising opponent he had once been, and to have died professing their tenets. George was a native of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

Roman Egypt , conventional_long_name = Roman Egypt , common_name = Egypt , subdivision = Province , nation = the Roman Empire , era = Late antiquity , capital = Alexandria , title_leader = Praefectus Augustalis , image_map = Roman E ...

. In early life he devoted himself with considerable distinction to the study of

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

.Philost. ''H. E.'' viii. 17. He was ordained a presbyter by Bishop

Alexander I of Alexandria Alexander I of Alexandria was the 19th Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria. During his patriarchate, he dealt with a number of issues facing the Church in that day. These included the dating of Easter, the actions of Meletius of Lycopolis, and the ...

. Having gone to

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

, he endeavoured to mediate between Arius and the orthodox catholic church. To the Arians he shewed how, by a sophistical evasion based on (''τὰ δὲ πάντα ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ''), they might accept the orthodox test (''Θεὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ''). The attempt at reconciliation completely failed, and resulted in his deposition and excommunication by Alexander, on the ground of false doctrine and of the open and habitual irregularities of his life.Athan. ''de Synod''. p. 886.Athan. ''Apol''. ii. p. 728.Athan. ''de Fug''. p. 718.

Athanasius Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...

styles him "the most wicked of all the Arians", reprobated even by his own party. After his excommunication at Alexandria, George sought admission among the clergy of Antioch, but was steadily rejected by Eustathius. On this he retired to Arethusa, where he acted as presbyter, and, on the expulsion of Eustathius, was welcomed back to Antioch by the dominant Arian faction. He was appointed bishop of Laodicea on the death of the Arian Theodotus. As bishop he took a leading part in the successive synods summoned by the Arian faction against Athanasius. He was at the councils of Tyre and Jerusalem in 335, and the council at Antioch that celebrated the dedication of the Domus Aurea in 341. Fear kept him from the

council of Sardica The Council of Serdica, or Synod of Serdica (also Sardica located in modern day Sofia, Bulgaria), was a synod convened in 343 at Serdica in the civil diocese of Dacia, by Emperors Constans I, augustus in the West, and Constantius II, augustus in the ...

in 347, where the bishops unanimously deposed him and many others as having been previously condemned by Alexander, and as holding Arian opinions. Of this deposition George took no heed. In 358, when

Eudoxius Eudoxius (Ευδόξιος; died 370) was the eighth bishop of Constantinople from January 27, 360 to 370, previously bishop of Germanicia and of Antioch. Eudoxius was one of the most influential Arians. Biography Eudoxius was from Arabissos o ...

, the newly appointed bishop of Antioch, openly sided with Aëtius and the Anomoeans, George earnestly appealed to Macedonius of Constantinople and other bishops, who were visiting

Basil of Ancyra Basil of Ancyra (Βασίλειος), was a Christian priest in Ancyra, Galatia during the 4th century. Very meager information about his life is preserved in a metaphrastic work: “Life and Deeds of the Martyred Priest Basil.” He fought agai ...

to consecrate a newly erected church in Ancyra, to lose no time in summoning a council to condemn the Anomoean heresy and eject Aëtius. His letter is preserved by

Sozomen Salamanes Hermias Sozomenos ( grc-gre, Σαλαμάνης Ἑρμείας Σωζομενός; la, Sozomenus; c. 400 – c. 450 AD), also known as Sozomen, was a Roman lawyer and historian of the Christian Church. Family and home He was born aro ...

. At

Seleucia Pieria Seleucia in Pieria ( Greek Σελεύκεια ἐν Πιερίᾳ), also known in English as Seleucia by the Sea, and later named Suedia, was a Hellenistic town, the seaport of Antioch ad Orontes ( Syria Prima), the Seleucid capital, modern Ant ...

in 359, when the semi-Arian party was split into two, George headed the more numerous faction opposed to that of Acacius and Eudoxius, whom, with their adherents, they deposed. On the expulsion of Anianus from the see of Antioch, George was mainly responsible for the election of Meletius, believing him to hold the same opinions as himself. He was speedily undeceived, for on his first entry into Antioch Meletius startled his hearers by an unequivocal declaration of the

Nicene Creed The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is ...

. Indignant at being thus entrapped, George and his fellows lost no time in securing the deposition and expulsion of a bishop of such uncompromising orthodoxy. He died in 359. Gregory Nyssen mentions a letter by George relating to Arius, and

Socrates Scholasticus Socrates of Constantinople ( 380 – after 439), also known as Socrates Scholasticus ( grc-gre, Σωκράτης ὁ Σχολαστικός), was a 5th-century Greek Christian church historian, a contemporary of Sozomen and Theodoret. He is th ...

quotes a panegyric composed by him on the Arian Eusebius of Emesa, who was his intimate friend and resided with him at Laodicea after his expulsion from Emesa and by whose intervention at Antioch he was restored to his see. George was also the author of some treatises against heresy, especially that of the Manicheans.Niceph. ''H. E.'' vi. 32. Epiphanius preserves a statement of faith he wrote jointly with Basil of Ancyra in 359.Epi. ''Haer''. 73. 12–22.Cross & Livingstone.

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