Saint Anatolius of Laodicea

This holy prelate was one of the greatest men of his time; it was towards the decline of the 3rd century. He w as born in Alexandria, the capital city of all Egypt, to Christian and honorable parents. His childhood having been spent with much innocence and restraint, he subsequently made himself so commendable by his virtues and his science that he was looked upon with admiration by all those in his country. No one surpassed him, neither in rhetoric, nor in philosophy, nor in the knowledge of the most hidden secrets of nature. Even when he appeared in the assemblies of the men most skilled in these sciences, they always gave him the first rank and respected him as their master. He was also very well-versed in arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and the other parts of mathematics. Finally, what he knew, he knew how to express with much force and grace, being gifted with a natural eloquence that he had further perfected by art and by frequent exercises. Such rare qualities engaged the Alexandrians to give him the principal chair of the school, where the doctrine of Aristotle was taught; he occupied it with honor and to the applaus e of all those who had the good fortune to hear him.

But if Anatolius's erudition was so considerable, his virtue and piety surpassed it by far. Neither the beauty of his mind, nor the great number of sciences with which he had enriched it, were capable of confining him or giving him pride. He always walked in the humility and simplicity of Christianity, often saying these words of Saint Paul: "What have you th at you did not receive; and if you received it, what reason have you to boast?" His charity and prudence appeared admirably during the siege of Alexandria, conducted by Theodotus, general of the armies of the Emperor Gallienus, against Aemili anus, w ho had also taken the purple in that city and had himself proclaimed emperor. According to the report of Eusebius of Caesarea, as t he people were afflicted at that time by a cruel famine, our Saint did many memorable things for the relief of those who were in need. He was all the better able to do so as he had been raised to one of the highest magistracies. But, seeing finally that there was no more bread in the city for the number of mouths that were there, he thought of a very judicious invention, which was the cause of the salvation of his homeland. He obtained from the leader of the besiegers, through a powerful friend he had with him, that those of Alexandria who wished to surrender to him and take refuge in his camp would be well received there. The women, children, the elderly, and the sick went there; so that there remained in the city only strong and robust men, capable of defending it well, with enough provisions to feed them until the lifting of the siege.

This action, and many others of equal merit, having earned him an extraordinary reputation in the East, Theot ecnus, Ar chbishop of Caesarea, set his sights on him to be his successor. Indeed, he brought him to Caesarea and ordained him bishop, so that he might assist him during his lifetime in bearing the weight of his office, and that he might bear it entirely after his death; but God had ordained otherwise: for these two holy figures were called to the Council of Antioch against Paul of Samosata, who denied the divinity of Jesus Christ. As they were passin g throug h Laodicea, in Syria, near Antioch, Anatolius was detained there to fill the see, which had just become vacant by the death of Eusebius, one of his best friends, and the one who had served him so well in the emperor's camp when Alexandria was under siege. The entreaties of the clergy and the people to keep him were so great that it was impossible for him to resist; and it was also by a singular providence of God that he ascended this episcopal throne (269), since he labored there with marvelous success to confound idolatry, to preserve his people from nascent heresies, and to strengthen them in the faith and in the maxims of Christian piety.

His zeal lacked only a persecution to show that he preferred his religion to his life, and that he was a good pastor, ready to give his blood for his flock. But if persecution was lacking to him, one can say that he was a harsh persecutor of himself through the spirit of penance that possessed him, and which led him to extraordinary austerities uncommon among scholars.

He died before Diocletian and Maximian, those two great enemies of Jesus Christ, had declared war on His altars and had begun to make martyrs. Eusebius of Caesarea notes several books that he composed, and even quotes beautiful passages from them; but only his Treatise on the Pasch remains to us: it is enough to allow us to judge the merit of the others. Saint Jerome spea ks of it wit h great praise.

His name is written with honor, both in the Menologion of the Greeks and in the Roman Martyrology, in those of Usuard and Ado, and in Baronius. It is from these materials that we have composed this short biography.