Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #219692 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02-05
• Original language: Latin
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

About the Author
The so-called 'Father of Ecclesiastical History', Eusebius (263-339) was a Greek Christian. His prodigious literary output can be grouped into four categories: the historical, the apologetic, the Biblical and the dogmatic. G.A Williamson was a renowned scholar of the Classics.

Customer Reviews

Ecclesiastical History...
Eusebius of Caesarea is not the easiest classical author, but G. A. Williamson's translation has done an excellent job of placing the text in a format, both readable accessible to the modern reader.

Eusebius is an essential source for anyone studying classical Roman history, or early Christianiy, because he is one the few writers who is preserved to us, almost in his entirety. The actual history that he gives us is invaluable - some accounts of events attested no where else, as well alternative accounts of events that are well known from history.

It should be said, Eusebius is problematic - he is tendentious is his style of writing, and occasionally distorts what actually happened. If you read Eusebius, read it with a good commentary.

As far as this particular edition goes, its very good but not perfect. The style chosen in the text works well, with quotations used by Eusebius in smaller font (and there are a lot of these!), and his own text larger, which allows the reader to distinguish between his sources.

Additionally, A. Louth has included in his revisions a useful Who's Who for the reader, so if you are searching Eusebius for a particular passage on one personality, you should be able to find it relatively easily. Some brief appendices explain some awkward points of history too, e.g. the ancient calendar.

Unfortunately, there is no index which is quite disappointing. Eusebius contains information on so many places, events and people, that an index would have been very useful indeed. The Who's who eases this situation somewhat, but having to search through his accounts for specific mentions of events can be time consuming.

As with any Penguin classical text the translation is somewhat freer than would be ideal, but it is aimed at readability over accuracy, and where it does go beyond the text, it is never too extreme.

Overall, this is an excellent translation, and a thoughtful and useful edition that should be advantageous to anyone studying Eusebius without Greek or Latin.

Great Church History Book - Superb
You read the book of Acts and want to know where you go from there in regards to Christian history, then this book is the one - from the life of Christ up to Constantine - the first Christian emporer of the Roman Empire.

Some bits are complex and a little hard to understand, but Eusebius quotes so many of the apostle, forefather and church fathers and goes through the apostolic sucessions of the various sees.

Orginally written over a period of 20 years and compiled into 10 books by a man who owned no laptop, had no internet acess,printing press and quotes a few hundred sources is absolutely remarkable - all in the 3rd century.

Great time-line of the sees (Jerusalem, Rome, Antioch) and emporers at the back and an index of names (though not all names in the book)are in the index! 1983 edition.

Mentions various people whom are mention in the N/T - obscure names and converts of the apostle Paul and what they done and even some of the realitives of Jesus, cousins, uncles etc. How the N/T and O/T books were compiled and which ones were considered uncanical.

Mentions about persections, rise of heretics, defences, other books etc.

In essence Eusebius book is superb and should be compulsery for all Bible College students and Christian workers.