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 and associated with Eusebius of Nicomedia, he subsequently became a

semi-Arian Semi-Arianism was a position regarding the relationship between God the Father and the Son of God, adopted by some 4th-century Christians. Though the doctrine modified the teachings of Arianism, it still rejected the doctrine that Father, Son, ...

, but seems ultimately to have united with the

Anomoeans In 4th-century Christianity, the Anomoeans , and known also as Heterousians , Aetians , or Eunomians , were a sect that upheld an extreme form of Arianism, that Jesus Christ was not of the same nature (consubstantial) as God the Father nor was of ...

, 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 ...

in Roman Egypt. In early life he devoted himself with considerable distinction to the study of philosophy.Philost. ''H. E.'' viii. 17. He was ordained a presbyter by Bishop Alexander I of Alexandria. 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 The Domus Aurea (Latin, "Golden House") was a vast landscaped complex built by the Emperor Nero largely on the Oppian Hill in the heart of ancient Rome after the great fire in 64 AD had destroyed a large part of the city.Roth (1993) It replac ...

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 of ...

, 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 Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, mak ...

, 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 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. 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 Gregory of Nyssa, also known as Gregory Nyssen ( grc-gre, Γρηγόριος Νύσσης; c. 335 – c. 395), was Bishop of Nyssa in Cappadocia from 372 to 376 and from 378 until his death in 395. He is venerated as a saint in Catholicis ...

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 Eusebius of Emesa (c. 300c. 360) was a learned ecclesiastic of the Greek church, and a pupil of Eusebius of Caesarea. He was born in Edessa (in today's southeastern Turkey) and became the bishop of Emesa (in today's Syria). The Latin form of his ...

, 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 Manichaeism (; in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian prophet Mani ( ...

.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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