The History of the Church from Christ to Constantine

Eusebius's groundbreaking History of the Church, remains the single most important source for the history of the first three centuries of Christianity and stands among the classics of Western literature. His iconic story of the church's origins, endurance of persecution, and ultimate triumph-with its cast of martyrs, heretics, bishops, and emperors-has profoundly shaped the understanding of Christianity's past and provided a model for all later ecclesiastical histories. This new translation, which includes detailed essays and notes, comes from one of the leading scholars of Eusebius's work and offers rich context for the linguistic, cultural, social, and political background of this seminal text. Accessible for new readers and thought-provoking for specialists, this is the essential text for anyone interested in the history of Christianity.… (more)

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LibraryThing member Hamburgerclan

For my latest history fix, I decided to go way back to the first 300 years after Christ. (Of course, having received this book for Christmas influenced this decision somewhat.) It was interesting and amusing to read about the first centuries of the Christian Church, reading of controversies and

heresies that have been revived almost 20 centuries later. Once, Eusebius gets to the years of his life, however, and speaks of the persecutions that some faced, I was reminded that American Christians, at least, live in a very different world.
--J.

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LibraryThing member TrinityRedlands

Review: Eusebius. The History of the Church.
If you are thinking to investigate the early years of the Christian Church, help has arrived! St. Jerome’s Library has a copy of The History of the Church by Eusebius of Caesarea. Eusebius lived during the third and fourth centuries of the Common Era

and was eye witness to some of the martyrdoms that occurred in that time. His treatise follows the order of the Roman emperors from Augustus (BC 44) to the death of Licinius (AD 324). Not only does he include the names of Bishops in Rome, Alexandria, Jerusalem and Antioch; he also mentions more than a hundred martyrs starting with Stephen. But there is more! As a foil for his argument of God’s hand in the early years, he recounts in satisfying detail many of the heresies that surfaced along the way, including those of the Gnostics, Phrygians, and Manichaeans. A nifty appendix lays out all the names with associated dates.
Reviewed by R. Baty, CSBS. 2 Jan 14

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LibraryThing member wyclif

Absolutely essential reading for those interested in the development of early Christianity up to the 4th century, since it's the first full historical narrative written from the Christian point of view. The glossary in this new edition titled "Who's Who in Eusebius" is practical and helpful for

keeping track of the numerous historical figures mentioned in these pages—I wish I'd had recourse to it the first time I read through this book as a student.

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LibraryThing member ianclary

Good translation, helpful intro, good section summaries and helpful images and illustrations.

LibraryThing member fwp1

This is the seminal history of the early Christian church. It is clearly written from the perspective of an apologist for the "orthodox" church doctrine of the day.

It can be a very dry and confusing work to those not familiar with the field.

LibraryThing member JamesBoswell

The Encyclopedia Britannica describes Eusebius as 'bishop, exegete, polemicist, and historian whose account of the first centuries of Christianity, in his Ecclesiastical History, is a landmark in Christian historiography.'

LibraryThing member davidpwithun

The original Christian history book by the original Christian history. Still worth reading today for a peak at early Christian life. Eusebius also records so much of history that would otherwise be lost to the sands of time. This is an excellent translation and the list of "Who's Who in Eusebius"

at the end of the book is an awesome resource. I recommend this to anyone who wants to know more about the early Christian Church.

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LibraryThing member marfita

So funny, I'm still laughing. This was a present from my beloved husband for Christmas ... and he is now reading it. He told me a couple of days ago he'd gotten me some things that we would share (which made me think of a stack of blank cd-roms for some reason), but this struck me as really funny.

LibraryThing member JVioland

Eusebius transcribed works of the early Church before the Romans could destroy all records of them. Very interesting reading.

LibraryThing member gottfried_leibniz

Eusebius is a scholar, I learnt a lot of new things from this book. I am encouraged by the Early Church fathers especially Origen. It seems that the Early Christians had to face internal threats (heresies), external threats (ridicule, persecution), this is simply too much to Handle but God blessed

them. The persecutions in the Roman empire is appalling. There's depth details about persecution especially during Diocletian Era, I could not digest a lot. I wish the Christians today would read this and teach their children. All the Church fathers had written polemics, defended the Christian claims during their Era. The Questions today faced by the Church are nothing great compared to their Era. Overall, a Great book, Eusebius taught me how the Early Bishops were, they were scholars, preachers, philosophers.

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LibraryThing member gottfried_leibniz

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LibraryThing member highlander6022

Very tough to read, the author has a bad writing style (i.e., from within 200 years of the birth of Christ) but full of information. Frankly, after several library renewals of the book, I did not finish it.

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