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Eusebius: The Church History

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For those few brave souls today interested enough in theology and textual criticism to appreciate what a new and modern translation of "Church History" would add to their ability to understand the history of the Church, this is the only book out there. Dr. Maier follows up his classic translation of Josephus with a modern translation of Eusebius. His most important contribution to Eusebian studies is his decision to cut out the repetitiveness in the original work and translate Eusebius' train of thought instead of merely translating all of the asides and rhetorical flowerings of the nearly impossable-to-read and vast Church history. Each chapter of Eusebius is summarized and critiqued by Dr. Maier in an attempt to help the reader recognize both the value and the critical diffuculties in the original work. This kept me in the text and allowed me to skip certain sections that I wasn't interested in. (I challenge anybody to read the entire volume word for word, I made it through almost 8 chapters before starting to skip whole sections) The content of Eusebius is gripping at time, especially his vivid descriptions of the martyrdom of the early Church and his eyewitness biographical details of Origen and other early church fathers who he knew and studied under. Without Eusebius we would know almost nothing of the march of Christianity across the Roman empire and even less about the crucial critical history of the New Testament in the first 3 centuries. Dr. Maier has opened up access to this invaluable source both to lowly theologians like myself, and to the leading scholars of the day. I pray that Dr. Maier will continue to translate other ancient authors who up until this day are only available in translations so old that there are no publishing dates on the title pages!

After discovering an older translation of this book at our library i decided i needed one for my own. I chose this newer translation but the parts that i was interested in on transitions from the first century church were not included. It has a lot of good information, but this edition is not complete or the older translator added stories of his own.

This book is a great addition to any library. Paul Maier translates Eusebius' works into very understandable English with unobtrusive, yet insightful, comments. The book is well organized. You can read by section or by book pretty easily. The book itself is quite marvelous. Eusebius gives us a history of what happened in the church after the writing of the New Testament up to the conferences of his day.

It is from Eusebius that we gain a lot of understanding of Christian thought from that time. Eusebius did have a few factual errors in his works, but that's OK given that they did not have a library system like we have or the internet...

Dr Maier, the R. H. Seibert Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University, has completed this new and helpful translation of Eusebius. The translation is highly readable and in modern language.

Eusebius is a very helpful book for study of the early church, because many of the writings before he completed this in AD 324 are lost because of the early Christian persecutions. So, Eusebius' quotations of these works are the only extant copies of their works. Papias is one such person, who is believed to have been a contemporary of John the Apostle.

Eusebius is called the father of church history because he was the first historian to attempt to chronicle the Christian church from the beginning with Christ until his time, the early 4th century. His writing is the preeminent history of the church from Jesus' time on earth until AD 324, just before the Council of Nicea, but after Constantine had ended Christian persecution from Rome by passing the decree making Christianity a legal and later a preferred religion in the Roman Empire.

Eusebius' writing is not without slant, but considering he was the first to write on this subject, he is still widely regarded as a superb resource of church history. Again, Papias gives an example of this slant, as Eusebius calls his intelligence into question because of his millennial views. But, in studying the early church, Eusebius is the key resource.

This copy of Eusebius is very well bound in the hardback edition. The binding is stout and the pages are thick and durable. Maier's commentary is easily discernible from Eusebius' writings by either being placed in footnotes or on pages with a beige tint. Maier includes many images and notes that help explain aspects of Eusebius' history.

Anyone from lay-people to theologians interested in church history study would be well served by this reliable, modern and sturdy copy of the most referenced church historian in Christian history.

Until just recently, I was unable to find a modern translation of Eusebius, but Maier's translation fits very well in my sphere of undersanding early church writings.

While early on in "The History of the Church" Eusebius extensively quotes from Josephus, Ireaeus and other early historians, later on, he uses more and more personal observation and experience. His extensive reliance on other writers should indeed not be considered a negative thing, but a positive for the reader, thus demonstrating that writers like Josephus are clearly to be trusted with accuracy.

For a christian, "The Church History" offers inside information on the beliefs of the early church, beliefs that in many cases differ from the contemporary, 21st century american church. A few examples are:

"Papias supplies other stories that reached him by word of mouth, along with some strange parables and unknown teachings of the Savior, as well as other more legendary accounts. Among them, he says that after the ressurection of the dead there will be a thousand-year period when the kingdom of Christ will be established on this earth in material form. I suppose that he got these notions by misunderstanding the apostolic accounts, not realizing that they had used mystic and symbolic language. For he was a man of very limited intelligence, as is clear from his books. Due to him, however, many church writers after him held the same opinion, relying on his early date: Irenaeus, for example, and any others who adopted the same views." - Church History 3.39 - Eusebius talking about the writings of Papias, saying that Christ reigning on earth in a material or flesh form is a mistaken belief and an unknown teaching of the Savior

"Such was the reward for the guilt and impiety of the Jews against the Christ of God. It is worth appending to it the infallible prediction of our Savior regarding these very things in this prophecy:

Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For at that time, there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. [Matthew 24:19-21]" - Church History 3.6 - Eusebius clearly saying that in Matthew 24 Jesus was indeed talking about the destruction of Jerusalem, not about the end of the world

"Those who wish may trace precisely from Josephus's history the disasters that overwhelmed the entire nation, especially how the residents of Judea were driven to the limits of suffering; how many thousands of men, women, and children died by the sword, famine, and countless other forms of death; how many famous Jewish cities endured horrors under siege; and in particular the terrors of those who fled for refuge to Jerusalem as an "impregnable fortress". They can study all the details of the entire war and how in the end the Abomination of Desolation, declared by the prophets, was set up in the very temple of God, celebrated of old, when it was utterly destroyed by fire." - Church History 3.5 - Eusebius saying that the entire Matthew 24 was fulfilled when Jerusalem was destroyed, and ended with the Abomination of Desolation setting itself up in the temple before it was burned to the ground

"The Church History" is a great resource, and a must buy for every studious christian.

Maier's introduction is a very nice foundation from which to gain an appreciation for Eusebius' peerless Historia Ecclesiastica, as well as a sketch of what we know of Esebius and his many other works, and the nature of this translation. This is one of the essential books for the serious student of Western/ Middle Eastern history and the Christian church. Eusebius, Bishop of Cęsarea, born sometime around 260 AD, is easily the single most robust resource and authority for church history between the New Testament apostolic age and the early fourth century. The "must have" volumes for the study of Christian antiquity are the works of Philo, Josephus, and Eusebius, although one will probably want to add at least some of the writings of Origen and Tertullian. From Philo Judaeus (c. 20 BC - c.50 AD) we gain exegetical (interpretive) and theological insight into the scriptural monotheism in which the church was born; from Josephus Flavius (37 AD - c. 101) we garner historical context and corroboration; from Eusebius we cull many details of second and third century Christianity. While many are at least aware of Josephus' work, few have any knowledge whatever about the treasure troves bestowed by Philo and Eusebius. This is unfortunate. As Maier concludes his introduction, this volume "is the most important work of the most voluminous extant author, pagan or Christian, of the late third and early fourth centuries: the first history of the church ever written."

An important source for Eusebius was his relationship with Pamphilus, curator of the Cęsarean church's extensive library, a repository of various works, many of them placed there "by Origen himself"; many of them no longer existent. Given the social, religious, and political oppression of those first three centuries (Eusebius gives us much of this information), the documentation and correspondence available to Eusebius was obviously quite impressive. Eusebius and Pamphilus (one of Origen's numerous prominent students), having access to more of Origen's extensive writings than would have been available to others, were strong defenders of Origen, the spiritual, intellectual and ecclesiastical champion of the early church, as adversaries of his teaching and reputation began to appear. This opposition was not unusual, the church was, and had been, beset with internal disagreements. Eusebius is the chronicler of many of these problems as well as the physical violence waged against the church from without. The descriptions of the manner of torture to which a great number of martyrs were subject, is staggering. The emperor cults of the Romans and their military enforcers were bizarrely creative with their salacious gore (Eusebius tells of "machines" employed in abruptly ripping live victims into two or more pieces, for example). This is a real eye-opener, to put it mildly.

Eusebius' History is a compilation of his ten ecclesiastical histories, collected, as they have been for centuries, as ten chapters in one volume. They can certainly be read start-to-finish if you so choose. They are equally valuable as an encyclopedic resource as they encompass all the noted personalities of these centuries; the martyrs, the apologists, teachers and evangelists, the politicians, the mavens of torture and persecution, the teachers of heresies and their opponents, the reasoning of the heresies and the reasoning against them. The book is also an excellent starting point from which to choose other writings from these centuries -- many of them have been lost of course, but thankfully many others, like this work itself, have not.
This translation is modestly supplemented with photographs, is very 'readable' and highly recommended, particularly for the inquisitive Christian. Near the top of any "short list" of important history books, as well as any short list of books that somehow transcend the classics.

I would like to give this book 5+ stars. Not only is the content of this book outstanding, but the book itself is a work of art - beautiful pictures and thick slick pages. I would gladly pay $.. for this one. Do yourself a favor and add this one to your collection.

Eusebius of Caesarea (c.263-c.339) is remembered to day as the father of Church history, as his history is the oldest one that has survived to today. (Actually, Hegesippus (c.110-c.180) wrote an earlier chronicle of his time, but all that has survived is the eight passages quoted by Eusebius.) Now, Eusebius was not a great historian, and his work has been correctly criticized for a number of issues, most notably the rambling style that makes his work dull and lifeless for the modern reader.

But, that said, what makes Eusebius's book so exciting is that he was alive and writing back in the very earliest days of the Church. Indeed, combining this book with the works of Josephus (37-100), from whom Eusebius quotes extensively, gives you a great look into the early years post-Christ.

So, while I admit that this book is rather slow and somewhat heavy to read, I do think that it is one of the most important books that a Christian can own. I very highly recommend this book!

In his usual fine style, Paul Maier has again given his readers an excellent addition to his recreations of the ancient world. This unusual collection of archaeological, literary, and art materials puts into focus a part of history that is usually neglected -- the history of the Christian church between biblical times and the early Christian writers. We are grateful to Paul Maier for his thorough scholarship and his sensitivity to the many facets of historical investigation.
Norma W. Goldman, Wayne State University

I received my copy of Eusebius' church history only yesterday, so I have not read it. However, I did read a different (and older) edition from cover to cover several years ago, so I know the historical value of this work. Undoubtedly you do too, so I will comment only on the other aspects of this book.

I can sum up the Maier edition in one sentence: This is a high-quality product. The paper is the best and smoothest and most durable you can get. The color photographs are sharp and bright. The binding is strong and opens with no crackle. The hard cover has a cloth exterior. The cover jacket is durable and attractive. The print type is razor sharp, unlike the fuzzy type you would sometimes get with older books.

The translation is a fresh change from the tedious style of older translations. The English is clear, modern, crisp and polished. There are many footnootes, but these are brief and to the point. Each chapter has an introductory commentary, shown in a different background color.

This book is so high quality that if it were physically bigger, it would make a good coffee table book. But this book deserves to be read, not displayed as decoration.