4th century
Saint Eusebius the Hieromartyr, Bishop of Samosata
Bishop of Samosata who resisted Arianism, was exiled and, according to tradition, was killed around 379 by a roof tile thrown at him by an Arian woman.
Biography
Eusebius was bishop of Samosata during the turbulent years when the Arian heresy troubled the Church. When Emperor Constantius II, a supporter of the Arians, demanded that Eusebius hand over the official record of the election of the Orthodox bishop Meletius of Antioch so it could be destroyed, Eusebius refused even when threatened with the loss of his right hand.
During the persecution under Julian the Apostate he travelled in disguise as a military officer through Syria, Palestine and Phoenicia, secretly ordaining priests and deacons. He also helped, together with Gregory Nazianzen, secure the election of Basil the Great as archbishop of Caesarea in 370.
The Arian emperor Valens exiled him to Thrace in 374, but after Valens's death Eusebius returned to his see. In 380, as he was passing the house of a heretical woman, she struck him on the head with a roof tile, killing him instantly.