Eusebius
EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA
I: Life.
- Becomes Prominent in the Arian Controversy (§ 1).
II. Works.
- Works on Biblical Text Criticism (§ 1).
- The "Chronicle" (§ 2).
- The "Church History" (§ 3).
- Minor Historical Works (§ 4).
- Apologetic and Dogmatic Works (§ 5).
- Exegetical and Miscellaneous Works (§ 6).
III. Estimate of Eusebius
- His Doctrine (§ 1).
- His Excellencies and Limitations (§ 2).
Eusebius of Casearea (often called
Eusebius Pamphili,
"Eusebius [the friend of] Pamphilus"), bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, the father of church history, was born about 275 or
280, place unknown; d. at Caesarea (?), at the latest 340, most probably May 30, 339.
I. Life
Little is known of his youth. He became acquainted with the presbyter Dorotheus in Antioch and probably received exegetical instruction from him. In 296 he was in Palestine and
saw Constantine who visited the country with Diocletian. He was in Caesarea when Agapius was bishop and made the acquaintance of Pamphilus,
who became his intimate friend. With him he
pursued studies which seem to have related chiefly
to the preparation of a correct text of the Bible,
with the aid of Origen's Hexapla, and
commentaries collected by Pamphilus. In 307 Pamphilus
was thrown into prison, but Eusebius continued their contact and studies. The fruit of their common labors was a defense of Origen in which Pamphilus and Eusebius collaborated, which was
finished by Eusebius after the death of Pamphilus
and sent to the martyrs in the mines of Phaeno in
Egypt. After the death of
Pamphilus, Eusebius seems to have gone to Tyre
and later to Egypt, where apparently he first
suffered persecution. The charge that he purchased
his liberty by sacrificing to the gods is unfounded.
1. Becomes Prominent in the Arian Controversy
Eusebius is next heard of as bishop of Caesarea.
He succeeded Agapius, whose time of office is not
known, but Eusebius must have become bishop
soon after 313. Nothing is known about the first
years of his official activity, but with the
beginning of the Arian controversies he becomes
prominent. Arius appealed to him as his protector, and
from a letter of Eusebius to Alexander it is
evident that he aided the exiled presbyter.
When the Council of Nicaea met in 325, Eusebius was prominent in its transactions. He was not
naturally a leader or a deep thinker, but as a very learned man and well trained in history, at the same time a
famous author who enjoyed the special favor of the emperor, he came to the front among the 300 members of
the council. The confession which he
proposed became the basis of the Nicene Creed. Eusebius was variously implicated in the further development of the
Arian controversies, as, for instance, in the dispute
with Eustathius of Antioch. Eustathius
combated the continually growing influence of
Origen and his practice of an allegorical exegesis of scripture, seeing in his theology the roots of Arianism. Eusebius, on the
other hand, was an admirer of Origen, and
employed the same principles in his exegesis.
Eustathius reproached Eusebius for deviating from the
Nicene faith, and was charged in turn with
Sabellianism. Eustathius was accused, condemned and
deposed at a synod in Antioch. The people of
Antioch, always prone to disturbances, rebelled against
this action, while the anti-Eustathians proposed
Eusebius as the new bishop, but he declined.
After Eustathius had been removed, the
Eusebians proceeded against Athanasius, a much more
dangerous opponent. In 334 he was summoned
before a synod in Caesarea; he did not attend,
however, distrusting his opponents. In the following
year he was again summoned before a synod in
Tyre at which Eusebius presided. Athanasius,
divining the result, went to Constantinople to bring
his cause before the emperor. Constantine called
the bishops to his court, among them Eusebius.
Athanasius was condemned and exiled at the end
of 335. At the same synod, another opponent was successfully attacked. Marcellus of Ancyra had long opposed the Eusebians, and had only lately protested against the reinstitution of
Arius. He was accused of Sabellianism and
deposed in the beginning of 336. Constantine died
the next year and Eusebius did not long survive
him.
II. Works
Of the extensive literary activity
of Eusebius, a relatively large portion has been
preserved. Although posterity suspected him of
Arianism, Eusebius had made himself
indispensable by his method of authorship; his
comprehensive and careful excerpts from original sources
saved his successors the painstaking labor of
research. Hence much has been preserved which
otherwise would have been destroyed. The
literary productions of Eusebius reflect on the whole
the course of his life. At first he occupied himself
with works on Biblical criticism, under the
influence of Pamphilus and probably of Dorotheus of
the School of Antioch. Afterward the
persecutions under Diocletian and Galerius directed his
attention to the martyrs of his own time and the
past. And this led him to the history of the whole
Church and finally to the history of the world,
which to him was only a preparation for
ecclesiastical history. Then followed the time of the Arian
controversies, and dogmatic questions came into
the foreground. Christianity at last found
recognition by the State; and this brought new
problems-- apologies of a different sort had to be
prepared. Lastly, Eusebius, the court theologian,
wrote eulogies in praise of the first "Christian"
emperor. To all this activity must be added
numerous writings of a miscellaneous nature,
addresses, letters, and the like, and exegetical works
which include both commentaries and treatises on
Biblical archeology and extend over the whole of
his life.
1. Works on Biblical Text Criticism
Pamphilus and Eusebius occupied themselves
with the text criticism of the Old Testament
(Septuagint) and especially of the New Testament. An
edition of the Septuagint seems to have been
already prepared by Origen, which, according to
Jerome, was revised and circulated by
Eusebius and Pamphilus. For an
easier survey of the material of the four
Evangelists, Eusebius divided his
edition of the New Testament into
paragraphs and provided it with a
synoptical table so that it might be easier to find the
pericopes which belong together (see
BIBLE TEXT, II., § 4).
2. The "Chronicle"
The two greatest historical works of Eusebius
are his "Chronicle" and his "Church History."
The former (Gk. Pantodape historia, "Universal
History ") is divided into two parts. The first
part (Gk. Chronographia, "Annals") purports to
give an epitome of universal history from the
sources, arranged according to nations. The
second part (Gk. Chronikoi kanones,
"Chronological Canons") attempts to furnish a synchronism
of the historical material in parallel
columns. The work as a whole has
been lost in the original, but it may
be reconstructed from later chronographists
of the Byzantine school who
made excerpts from the work with untiring
diligence, especially Georgius Syncellus. The tables
of the second part have been completely preserved
in a Latin translation by Jerome, and both parts
are still extant in an Armenian translation, but
these translations do not possess great value on
account of numerous interpolations. The
"Chronicle" as preserved extends to the year 325. It
was written before the " Church History."
3. The "Church History"
In his "Church History," Eusebius attempted
according to his own declaration (I., i. 1) to present
the history of the Church from the apostles to his
own time, with special regard to the following
points:
(1) the successions of bishops in the
principal sees;
(2) the history of Christian teachers;
(3) the history of heresies;
(4) the history of the
Jews;
(5) the relations to the heathen;
(6) the
martyrdoms (L, i. 1-3).
He grouped his material
according to the reigns of the emperors, presenting
it as he found it in his sources. The contents are
as follows: After a detailed introduction, which
treats of Jesus Christ (book i.), comes
the history of the apostolic time to
the capture of Jerusalem (book ii.);
then the following time to Trajan
(book iii.); books iv. and v. treat of
the second century; book vi. of the time from
Severus to Decius; book vii. extends to the
outbreak of the persecution under Diocletian; book
viii. treats of this persecution; book ix. brings the
history to the victory over Maxentius in the West
and over Maximinus in the East; book x. relates
the reestablishment of the churches and the
rebellion and conquest of Licinius. In its present form
the work was brought to a conclusion before the
death of Crispus (July, 326), and, since book x. is
dedicated to Paulinus of Tyre who died before
325, at the end of 323 or in 324. This work
required the most comprehensive preparatory studies,
and it must have occupied him for years. His
collection of martyrdoms of the older period (see
below, § 4) may have been one of these preparatory
studies. The authenticity of Eusebius's "Church
History" is beyond dispute. Every new
discovery shows anew the conscientious, careful and
intelligent use of the libraries of Caesarea and
Jerusalem.
4. Minor Historical Works
Before he compiled his church history, Eusebius
edited a collection of martyrdoms of the earlier
period and a biography of Pamphilus. The
martyrology has not survived as a whole, but it has
been preserved almost completely in parts. It
contained
(1) an epistle of the
congregation of Smyrna concerning the
martyrdom of Polycarp;
(2) the martyrdom of Pionius;
(3) the martyrdoms of Carpus, Papylus, and
Agathonike;
(4) the martyrdoms in the congregations
of Vienne and Lyons;
(5) the martyrdom of
Apollonius.
Of the life of Pamphilus only a
fragment survives. A work on the martyrs of
Palestine in the time of Diocletian was composed after
311; numerous fragments are scattered in
legendaries which still have to be collected. The life
of Constantine was compiled after the death of the
emperor and the election of his sons at Augusti
(337). It is more a rhetorical eulogy on the
emperor than a history, but is of great value
on account of numerous documents incorporated
in it.
5. Apologetic and Dogmatic Works
To the class of apologetic and dogmatic works
belong:
(1) the "Apology for Origen," the first
five books of which, according to the definite
statement of Photius, were written by Pamphilus in
prison, with the assistance of Eusebius. Eusebius
added the sixth book after the death of Pamphilus.
We possess only a translation of the first book,
made by Rufinus;
(2) a treatise against Hierocles
(a Roman governor and Neoplatonic philosopher),
in which Eusebius combated the former's
glorification of Apollonius of Tyana in a work entitled
"A Truth-loving Discourse " (Gk. Philalethes
logos);
(3) and (4) the two prominent and closely
connected works commonly known by the Latin
titles Praeparatio evangelica
and Demonstratio evangelica,
the first attempts to prove the
excellence of Christianity over every pagan religion
and philosophy. The Praeparatio
consists of fifteen books which have
been completely preserved.
Eusebius considered it an introduction
to Christianity for heathen. The
Demonstratio comprised originally
twenty books of which ten have been
completely preserved and a fragment of the fifteenth.
Here Eusebius treats of the person of Jesus
Christ. The work was probably finished before
311;
(5) another work which originated in the
time of the persecution, entitled "Prophetic
Extracts" (Eklogai prophetikai). It discusses in four
books the Messianic texts of Holy Scripture;
(6) the treatise "On Divine Manifestation"
(Peri theophaneias), dating from a much later
time. It treats of the incarnation of the Divine
Logos, and its contents are in many cases identical
with the Demonstratio evangelica.
Only fragments are preserved;
(7) the polemical treatise "Against
Marcellus," dating from about 337;
(8) a supplement to the last-named work, entitled "On the
Theology of the Church," in which he defended the
Nicene doctrine of the Logos against the party of
Athanasius.
A number of writings, belonging in
this category, have been entirely lost.
6. Exegetical and Miscellaneous Works.
Of the exegetical works of Eusebius nothing has
been preserved in its original form. The so-called
commentaries are based upon late manuscripts
copied from fragments of catenae. A more
comprehensive work of an exegetical
nature, preserved only in fragments, is
entitled "On the Differences of the
Gospels" and was written for the
purpose of harmonizing the contradictions
in the reports of the different
Evangelists. It was also for exegetical purposes that
Eusebius wrote his treatises on Biblical archeology,
viz.:
(1) a work on the Greek equivalents of
Hebrew Gentilic nouns;
(2) a description of old Judea
with an account of the lots of the ten tribes;
(3) a
plan of Jerusalem and the temple of Solomon.
These three treatises have been lost. A work
entitled " On the Names of Places in the Holy
Scriptures," an alphabetical list of place names, is still
in existence. Further mention is to be made of
addresses and sermons some of which have been
preserved, e.g., a sermon on the consecration of
the church in Tyre, and an address on the thirtieth
anniversary of the reign of Constantine (336). Of
the letters of Eusebius only a few fragments are
extant.
III. Estimate of Eusebius
1. His Doctrine.
From a dogmatic
point of view, Eusebius stands entirely upon the
shoulders of Origen. Like Origen, he started from
the fundamental thought of the absolute
sovereignty (monarchia) of God. God is the cause of
all beings. But he is not merely a cause; in him
everything good is included, from him all life
originates, and he is the source of all virtue. He is
the highest God to whom Christ is subject as the
second God. God sent Christ into the world that
it may partake of the blessings
included in the essence of God. Christ
is the only really good creature, he
possesses the image of God and is a ray
of the eternal light; but the figure of the ray is so
limited by Eusebius that he expressly emphasizes
the self-existence of Jesus. Eusebius was intent
upon emphasizing the difference of the persona of
the Trinity and maintaining the subordination of
Jesus to God (he never calls him theos) because in
all contrary attempts he suspected polytheism or
Sabellianism. Jesus is a creature of God whose
generation, it is true, took place before time. Jesus
is in his activity the organ of God, the creator of
life, the principle of every revelation of God, who
in his absoluteness is enthroned above all the
world. This divine Logos assumed a human body
without being altered thereby in any way in his
being. The relation of the Holy Spirit within the
Trinity Eusebius explained similarly to that of the
Son to the Father. No point of this doctrine is
original with Eusebius, all is traceable to his teacher
Origen. The lack of originality in his thinking
shows itself in the fact that he never presented his
thoughts in a system. He lacked a leading idea.
2. His Excellencies and Limitations
The limitations of Eusebius are closely connected
with his gifts. His time justly considered him its
most learned man. A list of the sources he used
for his church history would show what an amount
of work had to be done to elaborate and sift the
mass of material. But the learning of Eusebius
can not be measured with that of Origen. Origen
was a productive spirit, Eusebius a compiler.
Eusebius, however, distinguished himself
by his carefulness. A man like
Eusebius was not without weight in the
time when barbarian nations began to
invade the Church in large masses.
In the time which followed nobody
excelled him in learning. Church historians were
able to copy him, but they could not supply his
place.
Initial text from Schaff-Herzog Encyc of Religion, subjected to edits for style.