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Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History

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Eusebius' 'Ecclesiastical History', also known as Eusebius' 'Early Church Recordings', is a true tour de force on the development of the early Christian Church from the second century to the fourth century AD. His account is so striking for a multiplicity of reasons, starting with the fact that the works is a chronicle of people, ideas, and events which filled the deep groove of esoteric challenge left by Jesus the Christ. I find no more convincing evidence of the raw power of Jesus than I do here, for his infleunce in these very early accounts proved to be incredibly fortituous and contagious. In Eusebius' chronicles we are exposed almost first hand to what people were thinking and saying about Christ, and how they were acting, including becoming martyrs, in the wake of his presence. What this means is that Eusebius has preserved for us a non-fictional look into the time directly after Jesus' departure, and in reading all these separate but not conflicting accounts of the early Christian pilgrims we get not only a fundamental understanding of the more immediate influence of Jesus upon the people of the Near East, but of the foundations upon which the Christian Church grew upon- not upon physical churches per se, but upon people whose faith was so unwavering that they were willing to face axes and lions to maintain the religion's message. We thus see how the Christian Church was formed not upon stones and government regulations, but upon persecuted peoples who were so moved by Jesus' message that they sprouted up between the cracks of the cruel fasces of thier era until the wave of religious growth overwhelmed the statecraft authorities.

This works takes us as far forward as the aegis of Constantine and the Nicene Council, and no further. The fact that C. F. Cruse has kept true to the original, unabridged language as far as is possible in a translation is refreshing. All too many religious scholars can not keep from injecting their slant or propaganda into the works they purport to be conveying 'unabridged'. But C. F. Cruse sticks to the facts and to historicity, and has included some additonal information concerning the early martyrs- 'the Martyrs of Palestine', as some refer to them.

It is with chagrin that one must concede that the drama in the New Testament has become so second-nature to our understanding of Christianity that for many the Bible might seem like an old TV re-run. What Eusebius phenomenal 'Ecclesiastical History' does here is make fresh again the grandeur of Christ and his message by showing us new angles in a very historic sense, by following the movemnets and sacrifices of common individuals, and by relating accounts less 'theatrical' and more 'real'. This is, after all, a non-fiction. The seriousness of the works and Eusebius' in-depth reporting is truly stunning in its crucial insight into those incipient days of Christianity.

Eusebius uses the writings of other historians of his time, i.e. Josephus, to provide useful facts regarding church history up to the time of 300 AD. Although we might not agree with his application of Scripture to the events of the times, the compilation of facts which relate to the history of the church provide us with glimpses of the manner in which the church was formed and the events which accompanied the early church. Especially useful was his delineation of the various heresies of the day which even now still come back to haunt us, the mention of the compilation of the canon of the Scriptures, and facts surrounding the lives of the early church fathers and apostles.

I do not find that Eusebius of Ceasarea's Ecclesiastical History is a useful general history of the Early Church. Any credible Early Church history from Schaff onward is far more accurate, balanced, and inclusive. If what you are looking for is a history of the Early Christian Church, please look elsewhere. That being said, what does one get in this nearly five hundred page package? The reader gets a mass of useful data on events and personages in the history of the Early Church as well as quote after quote from the Early Church Fathers available nowhere else. In addition to the works of Eusebius in this volume, there is appended to them a short and and interesting "... Historical View of the Council of Nicea," written by a British divine somewhere in the late Nineteenth Century, and lastly, a valuable group of documents pertaining to the Nicene Council including the Cannons of the Council.

Readers should ponder Eusebius's purposes and intentions in writing these ten volumes of "history" and his "Book of Martyrs" which deals with the Diocletian persecutions in Palestine. This is not in any sense modern objective history. Eusebius first attempts to illustrate that Christianity was a fulfillment of the Old Testament in every way possible. It is how Eusebius understood the justification of Christianity both spiritually and temporally. In the Roman world, old and venerable made a religion legal. New and innovative made a religion a superstition. After its eviction from the synagogues, Christianity was treated by the Romans as a superstition which made it illegal and it's adherents subject to persecution and death. Therefore, his first concerns were apologetic as well as historical. Second, he provides the reader with renditions of martyrdom after martyrdom during the persecutions from Domitian through those of Diocletian. This material is mixed in with other historical and theological data and writings of the Fathers that are timely. Here he purposely exaggerates the influence and pervasiveness of Christianity during the first three centuries of its existence. This leads him to declare the coming religious domination of the Roman Empire by Christianity under Constantine the Great. Here his purposes appear polemic in addition to historical.

Also, the book can be used as a resource to research a multitude of specific topics. For example, the Revelation of John is dealt with on at least on six different occasions. Looking at these as a unit, the reader may conclude that Eusebius and the Church accepted the Revelation as canonical by 300 CE. However, his arrangement and presentation of the material tends to lead to the conclusion that Eusebius does not ascribe authorship to the apostle John. Emphasis on certain persons or points should also be noted. Eusebius writes what amounts to a glowing biography of Origen within the pages of the book. As he does this for no other Early Church Father, one is lead to the conclusion that Eusebius considered Origen to be the greatest of the Fathers before his time.

Beyond this, there are valuable nuggets of information and insight throughout. The "Book of Palestinian Martyrs" refers to less than two hundred martyrs over the many years of the Diocletian persecutions. This may call into question the pervasiveness of Christianity at the time, or in the alternative, it might indicate a lack of systematic persecution by the Romans or both for that matter. Heresies and heretics are regularly abused by Eusebius, but their heresies are not explained. There is also much of interest in the Nicene materials. The 19th century history wrongly accuses the Melitians of abandoning Christianity in the face of persecution when just the opposite was true. In the documents section, Eusebius's letter back to his bishopric after Nicea is a remarkable document that attempts to minimize his prior Arian leanings in a most obviously dissembling fashion . These leanings are amply illustrated by Eusebius's earlier letter to Bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia which is also included.

That Eusebius of Caesarea's "Ecclesiastical History" is invaluable to the serious student and scholar of the Early Church is beyond question. It is our major source regarding the first three centuries of the Church and the Church fathers. Read it whole if you feel you can gain something from it. If not, and you are a more casual reader in the area, you may wish to own it as resource and reference that is easily checked against other more contemporary writings. In and of itself, it can tell you a great deal, however, this in large measure may depend on what you bring to the task. And yes, reading this book is a task. This is by no means an easy read.

Considered by most to be the father of Church History, this text's primary focus is on the period from the 2nd century to the 4th culminating with Emperor Constantine and the famous council of Nicea. This is certainly a classic text and a must for anyone interested in the history of Christianity. The reader should find a host of interesting topics and can see much of the progression of Christianity and how the theology developed. A special emphasis on martyrdom is given but is appropriately balanced with the periods of times in which Christianity was accepted. On the darker side, one can certainly see the seeds of anti-semitism and the division of the church even in Christianity's adolescense. Considering the many changes that transposed in these earliest years when many of the second generation Christians still lived as evident from this reading, it is no wonder that Christianity is so far removed from its core beliefs today. Finally, I found it most interesting to examine the biographical notes of some of the faith's most influential members, its heroes and its villians.

Scholars over time have called into question certain information contained in Eusebius. However, in many instances, while there may not be proof confirming what he claims, neither is there proof denying what he claims. Given the scarcity of actual materials from the time period, scholars work with copies and confirmations from other sources. Manuscripts perserved in monasteries, the occasional archeological find, etc, have provided general confirmation of some information; however, to dismiss Eusebius (or any other ancient historian) because of a lack of "scientific" or "archeological" information is a rather short-sighted and biased methological principle in itself. In fact, by these lights most all ancient historians would have to be dismissed out of hand. Having said as much, Eusebius provides an historical account of the development of the early Church, informed by the Faith itself. While it is unlikely he had access to a large volume of source materials and the like in the manner of contemporary historians working from archives, the oral traditions and information avialable to him at the time provide a good outline of what can be gathered in regard to early Church history. Contrary to what another reviewer wrote, Eusebius does not deny the authenticity of John's Revelation (he does deny a Revelation ascribed to Peter); rather, in the case of Cerinthus -- a Jewish gnostic and heretic -- he points out how Cerinthus' heresy lead him to make spurious claims in regard to our state after the Second Coming of Christ. This itself is interesting since Eusebius mentions St. Ireneaus and writings against gnostic heresies, many of which find present-day counterparts in today's New Age movements. Eusebius provides interesting information on early Church practices, the scriptures employed, and the existence of an ecclesiology even in these early days. If one is interested in the development of tradition and the early Church, Eusebius is well worth reading.

This is agreat book to understand the early Church. To fully understand how the Church developed it is necessary to read early primary sources written in that era. This book is a classic. The book has 475 pages and covers many aspects of the early Church. It discusses early Christians and also the people that had to interact with. I have found it an excellent reference book when I have studied this period to give me a different perspective on history.

This history of the early church is a highly informative document, recording the first III centuries of history regarding the early church. Unfortunately, I only found Book 10, Chapter 4 to be slightly boring, as Eusebius launches into a panegyric on God. The rest was very, very, very interesting. I highly recommend this for history buffs and people stydying to become pastors, missionaries or Bible teachers.

This book should be considered a must read for all Christians. There is too much ignorance among Christians and part of this ignorance is a lack of understanding of the early history of our religion. While Eusebius should not be considered the "end all be all" of that early history, he does provide some of the only accounts regarding documents that have been lost to history. He also shows that many heretical beliefs that have crept in to Christian belief already appeared in the first centuries of the Church.

Apart from the translation of the Ecclesiastical History this book comes also with letters and Canons of Nicaea (no not alternative Biblical canons if theres any conspiracy theorist reading this).
This book also commends itself with a fantastic "Introduction" "Annotations" as well as "A Historical View of the Council of Nicea".

I had known of this book for some time although I never did expend the effort to purchase it until recently and I am very pleased with the contents. As a believer in Jesus the Christ, my Lord and Saviour, I was very much interested in
purchasing this book for it's "background details" about the early formation, growth, development and contribution the early church made to the known world and later to the western world. For example, in the book of Acts, when Herod
has summoned Peter, who was imprisoned, to be examined and probably executed, he was made aware that Peter was nowhere to be found. The guards, a quaternion, 4 fours of soldiers (16) were all probably summarily executed. Herod
then departed for Caesarea to be present at a festival where he was clothed in fine apparel lined with silver thread and shimmered from the rays of the sun. After making a speech in which he was hailed and received worship as God,
he was struck with worms and died. Eusebius' history describes his affliction, pain, suffering and then miserable death. The explicit details fills in much of the, what I like to call the "behind the scenes" or to quote the late Paul
Harvey...The rest of the story.