Eusebius: The History of the Church from Christ to Constantine (Penguin Classics)

Rating:
Summary: Not the best, but alright for an Arianizer.
Review: Aside from the fact he was excommunicated for Arian sympathies shortly before Nicea and had some explaining away to do later on, his work is alright and because of him many philosophers and thinkers who otherwise would have been lost to time, as well as some letters, and of them we now know something.

Eusebius was a very bookish man, had a gigantic vocabulary; some of his words are the author's guess since they are to be found no where in even the largest of Greek lexicons, hid away in his study very often, and for the most part didn't spend much time with his flock. Right away he assumes everything he writes will be correct and brings along with him a number of legends such as the legend of Christ and Abgar the kind of Edessa. He even copies down the letter written by Christ to Abgar which is a strong testimony to how gullible he really is. His beginning introduction in which he expounds on the eternal Word of God, as I recall (it has been two years since I read it) smacks of slight Arianism. He is even known to have composed a creed at Nicea which would have united the Arians and Orthodox-Catholics because of its ambiguity and beating around the bush but was thrown out by the Orthodox (pun intended) for just that very reason; it avoided the real issues.

At one point in the work, as the Williams notes, Eusebius transposes the years and months of episcople reigns so 5 years and 11 months came out to be 11 years and 5 months.

On the other hand, he tells many excellent stories and passes onto us many important martyrologies which I found highly edifying. His writting is very comprehensive, aside from having many historical errors, most of which are in minor facts, so comprehensive in fact, that neither Socrates and Sozomen tried to rewrite what he did, such is the acknowledged superiority of his text.

I would recommend it for others to read in a second and without a doubt as long as that person knows something of Church history Eusebius, and how he tends to just repeat information without much thought (he was great at repeating information but in all honesty, he wasn't much of a thinker). Still, though, it is extremely valubable and in the areas where it can be verified by other writings of the the times he is in or mentions (which is the vast majority of it) it is an exact reflection of the Orthodox Church of all times and ages. Just beware, Arius and Eusebius had a pre-Nicea (325) writting correspondence in which Arius treats him like a confidante and friend and Eusebius is sympathetic to him. I don't think Eusebius really actually knew what the differences were which Arius innovated and was condemned for.

Rating:
Summary: Dissertation On Eusebius
Review: Dissertation On Eusebius The Church History

I found this particular book very interesting, and I encourage anyone who is in the Christian faith, or in the study of theology to pick up a copy of this book. I give the translators of this text two thumbs up, due to the fact that writings from the fourth century may sometimes grow wearisome, and result in loss of interest to the subject. The translators have taken this book which had to be reproduced from Greek, Hebrew, and Latin texts, and successfully compiled an ancient masterpiece. Eusebius has used his own account in this book, as well as other esteemed historians, with important quotes from scripture. Together they lay down facts that are without a doubt helpful for the understanding of politics, heretics, martyrdom's, persecutions, the succession of Bishops, and Emperors from Christ to Constantine. In conclusion I found this book to have a lot of twists, that swing your emotions from one level to another, which ultimately proves most satisfying, and fulfilling. So I advise you to purchase this book, it without a doubt will deem itself very profitable.

Rating:
Summary: Brief Synopsis
Review: Eusebius lived in the late third and early fourth centuries in Caesarea Palestine. His History of the Church chronicles the time from Christ to the victory of Constantine over Licinius. He wrote in Greek, but this translation Latinizes the names. Eusebius covers the period of Jewish persecution in the early first millennium a.d.; goes through the succession of the bishops of Rome, Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem, etc.; gives the account of heretical movements; and gives numerous examples of Christian martyrs in times of persecution. In the back of this edition is an extensive "Who's Who in Eusebius" spanning some 88 pages. It is a very useful tool in the reading of The History of the Church. It may also prove a valuable quick reference in further studies on early Christianity. Eusebius's style allows him to extensively quote several authors and historians in the early first millennium. His ten books of The History of the Church are riddled with passages from Josephus, Origen, Philo, Hegesippus, and the like. Also, behind the Who's Who in Eusebius, are a few appendices. I would highly recommend reading the appendices B, C, and D before undertaking the body of the book. A brief knowledge of the Roman empire at the time and Christianity will greatly benefit the reader.

Rating:
Summary: One of the great Christian classics.
Review: Eusebius of Caesarea, a bishop in Palestine, wrote this history of the world in the fourth century. As a contemporary of the Emperor St. Constantine, Eusebius lived through the severe persecution that preceded Constantine's legalization of the Church; his view, so influential in the following 16 centuries, was that Constantine was a new Moses, come to lead the Church out of the Captivity of Roman official persecution and into the promised land of state endorsement. He was surely right that St. Constantine's support was epochal, perhaps the most important decision in shaping the world in which we live today. This is a great book (and anyone who knows his Church history will know the names all the way through). Read it, you'll love it!

Rating:
Summary: Flawed Diamond - Achor Tome for Christian Scholars
Review: Like many other reviewers here, I ended up reading Eusebius' History of the Church after getting tired of seeing it cited in all the other books I was reading about the Early Church.

This particular translation benefits (if they're still printing them) from the Introduction and footnotes of G.A. Williamson who observes that in spite of the cumbersome Greek employed by the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, that Eusebius was well-aware of his own limitations, yet gathered, assembled and compiled a work which has endured beyond much of its source material. As a student of Pamphilus (who was killed in the last great persecution), Eusebius also possessed a great passion for his work. This was no namby-pamby intellectual here. Eusebius himself was imprisoned for his Lord a couple of times. At the same time, he was a big-time player in the new Catholic Church, sitting in and piping up at the Nicean Council.

Whether you get it to read it through (as I did), or get it as a reference (which I also did), this is one work (much like Josephus' Antiquities) you need to have. He is the master Christian historian.

Rating:
Summary: Helpful introduction and Handy Glossary
Review: The G.A. Williamson translation of Eusebius' History of the Church has a few helpful features.

First, the lengthy introduction provides the 20th (21st?) century reader a framework for looking at these 4th century writings--it identifies his biases, omissions, strengths as well as his cultural context. I found that re-reading the introduction, once I finished *History of the Church,* helped greatly in clarifying the work.

Second, the "who's who in Eusebius" section aids in keeping track of the various names/saints/heretics that pop up in the pages. I got the most out of the book when looked up each new name in the "who's who" section and *slowly* read Williamsons comments. Such an approach made for slow going, but it helped me to sift through and synthesize the material. A couple of examples: I now know who Dionysius of Alexandria is and who's responsible for calculating the date of Easter.

One more note on the translation: it's supposedly much more modern and readable than others (or so says the introduction). Eusebius, supposedly, wrote in obtuse and windy Greek. As I have only read this translation, I can't compare it; but I did find this translation readable.

Interesting things along the way:
-Eusebius' has interesting comments on the development of the canon--i.e. the selection of the gospels and the epistles for that distribution known as the New Testament
-Reading Eusebius will give you an appreciation for the sufferings of the 2nd and 3rd century martyrs for simply refusing to give token acts of worship to Roman gods.
-This book does *not* contain much evidence of the "Eusebian Accomodation," the pro-government stance I'd heard about in church history class.

Overall, this book is *the* seminal church history book and worth reading, but will require some discipline to finish

Rating:
Summary: Excellent introduction
Review: This book was first assigned to me as a student of late Roman history and it was one that had a great impact on me. More than a mere ecclesiastical history, it is a defense of Christianity written by a Bishop of the 4th century. Having lived through the persecution of Diocletian and been a confidant of the first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine, Eusebius recounts the tumultuous history of the Church in all its tragedy and triumph.

Quoting from the early Church fathers, Josephus, and sacred scripture, Eusebius proceeds through the reigns of the various Roman emperors from the time of Christ down to his own time--a period of over 300 years. Among the most fascinating information included is the curious correspondence between Jesus himself and Abgar the Toparch of Edessa a city in western Asia Minor in which Jesus promises to send one of His disciples to cure Abgar after His ascension. Though of uncertain authenticity, the tale has been used in recent years to link the Holy Shroud of Turin to the Mandylion of Edessa.

Also of interest are the numerous persecution, miracle, heresy, and martyrdom narratives that are packed into this book. The recounting of the marytrdoms of St. Polycarp and St. Justin Martyr are particularly compelling.

In short, this book is a treasure house of information on the early Church and no serious student of Church history can neglect it. Note, however, that this book does not contain the famous story of Constantine's miraculous conversion--seeing a cross in the sky with the words, "Conquer by this." If I remember correctly, this incident is recounted separately in the "Vita Constantini" also written by Eusebius.

As for the Penguin translation, I am not qualified to comment. If you are in need of the original Greek, I recommend the edition from the Loeb Classical Library (vol. 265) also available here on Amazon.

Rating:
Summary: Clarity, Ease, and Concise
Review: This is definitely a first rate translation of Eusebius' work. The work itself is, as most may already know, the first and only surviving one of its kind. In other words, Eusebius' work, as translated here, is the only surviving manuscript of the Church (for the first 300 years).

This text works on several levels. What I mean by this is the fact that a lay person who has never studied Church history could pick this text up and understand it. This is, in large part, due to Williamson's translation and Louth's introduction. However, a seasoned Church historian would also benefit from this translation and work due to its clarity, and the fact that the sections are kept short and concise leaving the reader and researcher with nice 'bite' size chunks to digest.

This is a 'must read' text for anyone interested in the first 300 years of the Christian Church. Eusebius gives details of events, names, places, doctrine, issues, etc. that helped to shape the Christian Church. Events such as the persecutions of Christians under Nero to Marcus Aurelius are detailed. Genealogies of Bishops since Peter to Eusebius' day are detailed and listed, as well as certain heresies and councils. And many other extremely pertinent details (such as doctrinal disputes, etc) are included in this work.

If you are wanting a detailed account of the first three hundred years (the early Patristic Period) of the Christian Church, then you will not want to be without this text (esp. due to William's great translation and revision work). I highly recommend this book!