Eusebius Ecclesiastical History The Ten Books Of Christian Church History Complete And Unabridged Hardcover

All ten books of Eusebius' famous church history are presented here complete in a superb and authoritative translation. Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History is one of the first comprehensive, chronologically arranged histories ever written about the Christian church, and it is consulted by scholars and historians to this day. Eusebius authored his history as the Roman Empire's influence upon the European continent waned amid insurgencies and surrender of Roman lands to other peoples. This also a time in which Christianity's influence upon Europe's peoples burgeoned and grew. As one of a very few learned and scholarly Christians of his era Eusebius enjoyed a rare privilege: access to the document archives of the early Christian church. Much of these archives have since been lost; Eusebius' use of these long lost texts is the only window which readers of today have to such records. Thus, a sense of mystery is present as events for which scant evidence still exists are told.

An unabridged, unaltered edition of The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus to include all Ten Books with corresponding chapters, an extensive chronological table of the most prominent persons and events, with a chart listing the dioceses mentioned in order of succession, and annotations on the life and writings of Eusebius selected from the edition of Valesius (translated by S. E. Parker), including extensive footnotes, any original Greek and Hebrew throughout the text, and comprehensive index at book's end.

Eusebius's account is the only surviving historical record of the Church during its crucial first 300 years. Bishop Eusebius, a learned scholar who lived most of his life in Caesarea in Palestine, broke new ground in writing the History and provided a model for all later ecclesiastical historians. In tracing the history of the Church from the time of Christ to the Great Persecution at the beginning of the fourth century, and ending with the conversion of the Emperor Constantine, his aim was to show the purity and continuity of the doctrinal tradition of Christianity and its struggle against persecutors and heretics.

All ten books of Eusebius' famous church history are presented here complete in a superb and authoritative translation. Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History is one of the first comprehensive, chronologically arranged histories ever written about the Christian church, and it is consulted by scholars and historians to this day. Eusebius authored his history as the Roman Empire's influence upon the European continent waned amid insurgencies and surrender of Roman lands to other peoples. This also a time in which Christianity's influence upon Europe's peoples burgeoned and grew. As one of a very few learned and scholarly Christians of his era Eusebius enjoyed a rare privilege: access to the document archives of the early Christian church. Much of these archives have since been lost; Eusebius' use of these long lost texts is the only window which readers of today have to such records. Thus, a sense of mystery is present as events for which scant evidence still exists are told. Despite his being suspected as an Arian heretic by figures within the church of his time, Eusebius was highly scrupulous when collecting and making use of his sources. The information was collated and arranged in such a way that the author was beyond reproach. However later historians have noted that certain biases and omissions may have been included, given Eusebius' own opinions and tentative position within the church schema. Beginning with the familiar story of Jesus Christ and the Gospels, this complex and ambitious text attempts to organize and outline the history of the Christian teachers, the means by which bishops succeeded one another, the outbreak and suppression of various heresies, the history of the Jewish people, and the numerous martyrs who emerged and left their mark during the first three centuries of Christianity. At the time Eusebius authored his history in the 4th Century AD, Christianity had, in the space of a few centuries, risen to become one of the most influential religions ever seen. The Roman oppression of Christians, and the eventual conversion of the Roman Empire to the Christian creed as initiated by Emperor Constantine, and the organization of the church itself, are fascinating reading.

The Ecclesiastical History by Eusebius, the bishop of Caesarea, was a 4th-century pioneer work giving a chronological account of the development of Early Christianity from the 1st century to the 4th century. It was written in Koine Greek, and survives also in Latin, Syriac and Armenian manuscripts. Eusebius had access to the Theological Library of Caesarea and made use of many ecclesiastical monuments and documents, acts of the martyrs, letters, extracts from earlier Christian writings, lists of bishops, and similar sources, often quoting the originals at great length so that his work contains materials not elsewhere preserved. The result was the first full-length historical narrative written from a Christian point of view.

Written by Eusebius, the bishop of Caesarea, "The History of the Church" is the pioneering 4th century work which details the chronological history of early Christianity from the time of Christ to Constantine. This monumental work of Christian history stands apart from other contemporary histories as the first full-length record of early Christianity from a Christian point of view. A fierce advocate for the Christian religion, Eusebius lived in Caesarea Maritima, a coastal city in modern day Israel, prior to and during the rule of Constantine. At the time of Eusebius' life his hometown had became a center of Christian learning, through the work of Christian theologian Origen, and his follower Pamphilus, Eusebius' own teacher. This made Eusebius an ideal candidate to make a record of Christianity's crucial first three hundred years. While sometimes criticized as biased and inaccurate "The History of the Church" nevertheless provides an indispensable perspective upon the foundations of the Christian church and religion. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper and follows the translation of Arthur Cushman McGiffert.

Much of our knowledge of the first three centuries of Christianity comes from Eusebius, the first great historian of the Christian faith. This full-color edition is a standard reference work on the early church.

Foreword by David M. Scholer is dated May 2008.

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.