Eusebius of Laodicea was an Alexandria

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

n, a deacon

Deacon

Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...

 who had some fame as a confessor, and became bishop of Laodicea in Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

.

Life

His story is told by Eusebius of Cæsarea. As a deacon at Alexandria he had accompanied his bishop, Dionysius (with a priest, two other deacons and two Romans who were then in Egypt) before the tribunal of Æmilian, Prefect of Egypt, at the time of Emperor Valerianus (253-260). Dionysius tells the story of their trials in a letter to a certain Bishop Germanus. They were all sentenced to banishment, but Eusebius managed to remain in the city in hiding, "zealously served the confessors in prison and buried the bodies of the dead and the blessed martyrs, not without danger to his own life". In 260 there broke out a rebellion at Alexandria and at the same time a plague ravaged the city. Eusebius again risked his life continually by nursing the sick and the wounded.

The Romans besieged a part of the town (Bruchium, Pyroucheion, Prouchion). Anatolius, Eusebius' friend, was among the besieged, Eusebius himself outside. Eusebius went to the Roman general and asked him to allow any who would to leave Bruchium. His petition was granted and Anatolius, with whom he managed to communicate, explained the matter to the leaders of the rebellion and implored them to capitulate. They refused but eventually allowed the women, children, and old men to profit by the Romans' mercy. A great crowd then came to surrender at the Roman camp. "Eusebius there nursed all who were exhausted by the long siege with every care and attention as a father and physician."

In 264 Dionysius (who seems to have come back from banishment) sent Eusebius as his delegate to Syria to represent him at the discussions that were taking place concerning the affair of Paul of Samosata

Paul of Samosata

Paul of Samosata was Bishop of Antioch from 260 to 268. He was a believer in monarchianism, and his teachings anticipate adoptionism.-Life:...

. Anatolius accompanied his friend. The Syrians were so impressed by these two Egyptians that they kept them both and made Eusebius Bishop of Laodicea as successor to Socrates. Not long afterwards he died and was succeeded by Anatolius.

The date of his death is uncertain. Adolf Harnack thinks it was before the major Synod of Antioch in 268. Another theory is that the siege

Siege

A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...

 of Alexandria was in 269, that the friends went to Syria at the end of that year, and that Eusebius's death was not until 279. Gams

Gams

Gams is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of Werdenberg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.-History:Gams is first mentioned in 835 as Campesias. In 1210 it was mentioned as Chames, in 1236 as Gamps. Until the Middle Ages it was a Romansh village and was known in Romansh as...

puts his death in 270. Eusebius's name does not occur in the acts of the synod in 268.