Eusebius of Caesarea

The father of church history and Constantine's court theologian.

Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine and close advisor to Emperor Constantine, Eusebius wrote the "Ecclesiastical History" (Historia Ecclesiastica)—the first comprehensive history of the Christian Church from the apostles to his own time, and our primary source for reconstructing early Christian history.

Verified Facts

• His "Ecclesiastical History" (c. 313 CE) is absolutely indispensable. Without it, we would lose the majority of our knowledge about the first three centuries of Christianity, including countless quotations from now-lost earlier sources.
• He personally witnessed and survived the Great Persecution under Diocletian (303–311 CE), documenting the torture and execution of fellow Christians in horrifying detail before living to see Constantine legalize the faith.
• He delivered the panegyric speech at Constantine's tricennalia (30th anniversary celebration) and was present at the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE, where his own proposed creed was set aside; he reluctantly signed the final Nicene Creed and had objected to its key term, homoousios.
• Modern scholars treat him cautiously as a source—he was essentially writing official church propaganda, heavily editing history to present a neat narrative of inevitable Christian triumph and suppressing information about internal divisions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources & Further Reading

• Wikipedia: Eusebius
• Wikipedia: Church History (Eusebius)

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