For Catholics, this was a controversial move, as some considered Origen’s writings heretical.įollowing the imprisonment and martyrdom of Pamphilus during the persecution of Christians by Emperor Diocletian, Eusebius visited Tyre and Egypt, and at some point he, too, was imprisoned. This interest led to the two men writing Apology for Origen, the first of five books written in defense of the earlier cleric’s teachings. Pamphilus was the owner of a large library and the founder of a theological school, in which Eusebius taught.ĭuring this period Eusebius devoted a great deal of his time to studying the works of the second-century Catholic church father Origen, which Pamphilus had collected as a feature of his library.

He was educated at Antioch and Caesarea, where he formed a close relationship with the learned presbyter Pamphilus, whose name he added to his own. Because much, if not most, of this material is now no longer extant, the service rendered by Eusebius to later generations lies in his extensive quotations from such works.Ī good example is his statement in Demonstratio Evangelica, or The Proof of the Gospel (3.5.112), that some of the apostles preached the gospel in “the land of the Isles of Britain.” Where did Eusebius get this information? Possibly from now-lost books (such as the second-century Concerning the Origin of the British Church by Elvanus) whose names are occasionally found in various ancient works.Įusebius was born about 263 C.E., probably in Palestine. This allowed him access to the imperial archives and the opportunity to study a wide range of documents, many of considerable antiquity. In his day, however, he was highly regarded both as a Catholic bishop and as a historian by many in high places, including the bishop of Rome and the emperor Constantine. His Ecclesiastical History, written during the early fourth century, covers one of the most important periods in Christian history: from the birth of Christ to the time of Constantine the Great.Ĭritics of Eusebius accuse him of lacking critical judgment and literary style.

It has been said that all other church historians begin where Eusebius of Caesarea leaves off.

The History of the Church by Eusebius