Eusebius

d.341/2. Bishop of Nicomedia; latterly patriarch of Constantinople. As a young man he studied with Arius under Lucian of Antioch. After ordination he was bishop of Berytus and later of Nicomedia. When Arius was deposed in 320, Eusebius decided to support and defend his friend. Though he signed the creed at the Council of Nicea* (325), where he was a prominent figure, he later led a widespread reaction against its teaching. His personal contacts with the imperial household, situated at Nicomedia, allowed him to engineer the deposition and exile of the principal opponents of Arianism*-Athanasius,* Eustathius, and Marcellus-and to propagate Arian views. He had the honor of baptizing Constantine just before the latter's death in 337 and then exercised great influence over Constantius. His leadership of the anti-Nicene party was so well recognized that his followers were called Eusebians. In 339 he became patriarch of Constantinople.