Eusebius’ Ecclesiastic history

Eusebius’ Life

• Born in the 260s and died 339

• We don’t know much about eusebius’ background or family, he was likely born in the area of roman Palestine

• Bishop of Casearia from 313

• Personally friends with Constantine, Also with important religious figures like Pamphlitus who he was a student of and
Arius

• Attended Council of Nicaea in 324

Eusebius Ecclesiastic History
• Aimed to write a history of the church thus far and its development
• Book 1 starts with Jesus’ life and death

• Book 2 covers the years following his death, the Jewish revolts

• Book 3-4 involves the development of Christianity and growth,

• Book 5-8 cover the persecutions of Christians under roman emperors like verus and Marcus Aurelius

• Book 9-10 account for the revival of Christian fortunes and Constantine’s conversion
What is interesting about Eusebius
• 1. The Chronology

• 2. What it tells us about early Christianity and the region

• 3. The many criticisms of Eusebius

1 Eusebius’ Chronology and Methodology
• Eusebius Quotes numerous sources in his writings, and does so in an
evaluative way, not always coming to a conclusive answer
• Based heavily on Josephus’ history, and on Origen’s Personal library
which he had access to.
• Barber argues that he introduces a Polyphonic writing style that
would define later church historian’s writings on this
• The updating of his History by Socrates Scholasticus and Cyrrhus of
Tyre established the tradition of continuators in the Catholic Tradition
Providence
• Eusebius references divine providence throughout,
• “ the pre-existent Word Himself in His measureless love for mankind showed Himself, now by a vision of
angels to His subjects, now in person as God’s saving power to one or two of God’s beloved servants of old.…
When these [servants] in turn had sown the seeds of true religion in numbers of men, a whole nation,
sprung from the ancient Hebrews and devoted to true religion, arose in the world.”

• He writes of figures like moses, other Hebrew prophets and jewish figures, who he says were planting the
seeds of the true faith so that Christianity to activate it

• “It was inspired by a new purpose, the purpose of showing that the events thus chronicled formed a pattern
with the birth of Christ in its centre.” – Collingwood

• Eusebius’ history is teleological, with divine forces driving human events towards to end goal of Christs
return and the kingdom of god on earth
Timelines
Eusebius is interesting in that he does aim to write a unified timeline, with an
end point in mind, but without a clear start point,

He doesn’t use AD or BC yet but refers to dates In the roman way, a mixture
of Olympiads, and referencing which emperor was ruling when a certain
event happened,

He also wrote the Chronicon, an attempt to come up with a unified narrative

of historical dates. It survives in Armenian and Syriac manuscripts
Chronicon
• Permit me, right at the outset, to caution everyone against [believing
that] there can be complete accuracy with respect to chronology.
Indeed, we would benefit by contemplating what that wise Teacher
told his acquaintances: "It is not for you to know times or seasons
which the Father has fixed by his own authority" [Acts 1:7]. It seems
to me that [Jesus], as God and Lord, delivered this succinct verdict not
solely regarding the end of the world but about all times, in order to
discourage those who would dare attempt such a futile undertaking
[g4].
He writes a comparative study of the Historical timelines of different
kings, assessing how old the world is looking at different peoples such
as Jews, Chaldeans, Assyrians.
2 What Ecclesiastic history tells us about the
early church
It was a religion already dealing with issues that would plague it in the future

Issues surrounding the trinity and Christ’s nature are present, he makes a case for subordination in the first chapter
Since in Christ there is a twofold nature, and the one-in so far as he is thought of as God-resembles the head of the body,
while the other may be compared with the feet,-in so far as he, for the sake of our salvation, put on human nature with the
same passions as our own,- the following work will be complete only if we begin with the chief and lordliest events of all his
history.

Heretics condemned in most severe terms

Writing about the Heresy of simon

“For what ever could be conceived of, viler than the vilest thing, all that has been outdone by this most abominable sect,
which is composed of those who make a sport of those miserable females that are literally overwhelmed with all kinds of
vices.”
Eusebius shows changing relationship between Christianity and
state power

“the all-good and gracious Providence, which watches over all things, led Peter, that strongest and greatest of
the apostles, and the one who on account of his virtue was the speaker for all the others, to Rome s against
this great corrupter of life.”

Armenia adopts Christianity 303 AD

Ethiopia does so in 330 AD

The geopolitical situation in 313 ----------

The letter from Jesus to Abargus is a contentious part of Eusebius’ Histories
Abgar IV was king of Edessa during Jesus’ life, Eusebius supposedly has seen a copy In the Edessan church archive

Disputed heavily, many allege it was fake

Jewish sources about Helene of
Adiabene support that It could be
true.
Eusebius argues that after this
correspondence, Edessa remained
Christian afterwards.
The catholic encyclopaedia says:

“the quotations are made not from the Gospels proper, but from the famous concordance of Tatian, compiled in the second
century, and known as the "Diatessaron", thus fixing the date of the legend as approximately the middle of the third century.”
Manichaeism

• CHAPTER 14. The Preaching of the Apostle Peter in Rome

“The evil power, who hates all that is good and plots against the salvation of men, constituted Simon at that
time the father and author of such wickedness, as if to make him a mighty antagonist of the great, inspired
apostles of our Saviour. For that divine and celestial grace which co-operates with its ministers, by their
appearance and presence, quickly extinguished the kindled flame of evil, and humbled and cast down through
them "every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God.”
3. Everybody Hates Eusebius, why?
• Jacob Burchardt calls him "the first thoroughly dishonest historian of antiquity".

• Gibbon refers to Eusebius as the "gravest" of the ecclesiastical historians

• Socrates Scholasticus in his own church history says Eusebius was "more intent on the rhetorical finish of his composition
and the praises of the emperor, than on an accurate statement of facts“
• He was canonised but then quietly replaced with another Eusebius in the 17th century
My explanation
• He came out on the wrong side of theological disputes,
• His writings allude to influences on early Christianity that the catholic
church didn’t like

• His sainthood remains in the Assyrian Church of the East, and his
writings survive more in Syriac and Armenian Script.
• His writings were more useful for the Eastern churches than the
Catholic