Eusebius of Caesarea
Home > Church Fathers > Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea At a Glance Treatise Genre: (5/5) ***** Reliability of Dating: (5/5) ***** Length of Text: Greek Original Language: Ancient Translations: Modern Translations: English Estimated Range of Dating: 300-340 A.D. Chronological List of Early Christian Writings Discuss this text on the Early Writings forum. Text Eusebius Pamphilius: Church History, Life of Constantine, Oration in Praise of Constantine Eusebius' Chronicle More Works by Eusebius Resources Catholic Encyclopedia: Eusebius of Caesarea Offsite Links Wace's Dictionary: Eusebius of Caesarea The life and writings of Eusebius of Caesarea The Elder John, Papias, Irenus, Eusebius and the Syriac Translator Eusebius as an Historian Eusebiana The Coptic Encyclopedia: Eusebius of Caesarea Glenn Davis: Eusebius of Caesarea Editions and Translations of Eusebius of Caesarea The Library of Eusebius of Caesarea Creeds: Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea, Origenist Constantine's Vision (312 CE) Eusebius's Quest for the Historical Jesus: Historicity and Kerygma in the First Book of the Ecclesiastical History Gospel Sites and 'Holy Places': The Contrasting Attitudes of Eusebius and Cyril Eusebius the Liar?
Books Johannes Quasten, Patrology (4 Volume Set) Siegmar Dpp and Wilhelm Geerlings, Dictionary of Early Christian Literature Claudio Moreschini and Enrico Norelli, Early Christian Greek and Latin Literature Harold W. Attridge, Eusebius, Christianity, and Judaism T. D. Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius Glenn F. Chestnut, The First Christian Histories: Eusebius, Socrates, Sogomen, Theoloret and Evagrius Recommended Books for the Study of Early Christian Writings Information on Eusebius of Caesarea J. Quasten writes, "Except for Origen, Eusebius outdistances all Greek Church Fathers in research and scholarship. He was an indefatigable worker and continued writing until a very advanced age. His treatises represent storehouses of excerpts which he collected from pagan and Christian works, many of them no longer extant.
For this reason his literary productions have mostly survived, although his Arian tendency stood against them. They reveal a breadth of learning which is simply astonishing. He shows himself well versed in Scripture, pagan and Christian history, ancient literature, philosophy, geography, technical chronology exegesis, philology and paleography. However, he lacks any feeling for form or composition. Photius remarks: 'His style is neither agreeable nor brilliant, but he is a man of great learning' (Bibl. cod. 13). Although he is a resourceful apologist, he does not belong to the outstanding theologians of Christian antiquity. If he has won eternal fame, it is by his great historical works." (Patrology, vol.
3, p. 311) J. Ulrich writes, "Eusebius's historical works are wholly inspired by his basic apologetic purpose. The Chronicle (chron.) (before 303) intends (like p. e. [the Praeparatio evangelica]) to prove the greater age (and therefore the superiority) of the Jewish religion (and therefore of Christianity) over the pagan religions. This is accomplished in an introductory outline of the history of ancient peoples (Chaldeans, Assyrians, Hebrews, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans) and by drawing up synchronic tables of world history, which run form the birth of Abraham, dated 2105/2106 B.C.E., to 303 C.E. (to 325 in a second edition). The Greek original is lost, but an Armenian version survives, as does a Latin translation, addition, and continuation to 378 by Jerome.
As compared with Christian chroniclers who preceded him, Hippolytus and Julius Africanus, on whom Eusebius falls back at many points, his work is more accurate and critical in its overall conception and in its choice and evaluation of sources." (Dictionary of Early Christian Literature, p. 213) Claudio Moreschini writes, "In the atmosphere of zealous study, Eusebius's intimate association with Pamphilus, whom he regarded as his 'master' (Mart. Pal. 11), to the point of linking his own name with him after the manner of freedmen, advanced the career of this future bishop of Caesarea by means of works that show characteristic philological sensitivities, as well as apologetical concerns relevant to and in keeping with the Constantinian revolution.