Ecclesiastical writer

Eusebius of Caesarea

c. 260–340 · 4th c. · 4 works

Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 260–340) was bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, a biblical scholar, apologist, and historian, widely known as the “Father of Church History” and the single most important Christian historian of antiquity. He wrote at the turning point between a persecuted Church and an imperially favored one.

He was the devoted pupil of the presbyter Pamphilus at Caesarea, whose great library gave him access to a vast collection of Christian texts; after Pamphilus died as a martyr he took the surname “Pamphili” in his honor. He became bishop of Caesarea about 314, enjoyed the favor of the emperor Constantine, and took part in the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (325), where he held a moderating, semi-Arian-leaning position.

His principal works include the Ecclesiastical History — the primary narrative source for the first three centuries of the Church — the Life of Constantine, the Chronicle, the Onomasticon of biblical place-names, and the apologetic Preparation and Demonstration of the Gospel.

His orthodoxy on the Arian question was repeatedly questioned: he had supported Arius and accepted the Nicene formula only in a qualified sense. For this reason he is generally not venerated as a saint, though he remains invaluable as a historian and preserver of early Christian sources.

Sources: Encyclopædia Britannica — Eusebius of Caesarea · Catholic Encyclopedia (New Advent) — Eusebius of Caesarea