Biography
Anatolius of Laodicea
About Anatolius of Laodicea
Eusebius describes Anatolius as an Alexandrian renowned for learning in arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, logic, physics, and rhetoric. Because of that expertise, he was invited to lead the Aristotelian school in Alexandria. During civic conflict, Eusebius says, Anatolius helped arrange for Christians and other residents to leave the city safely. These details come from Eusebius's church history, written within living memory of Anatolius, but the work does not supply a birth date.Eusebius then says that Anatolius traveled to Laodicea, where the people asked him to serve as bishop after the death of Theotecnus. A modern scholarly reference credits him with a work on calculating Easter and notes his Byzantine feast on July 3. The Roman Martyrology likewise remembers him on July 3 as a bishop whose writings impressed both religious people and philosophers. The evidence does not establish his precise lifespan or a secure place of death.
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