Students are invited to continue on from a historical study of the Hebrew people to an investigation of the history of the Church. This was so evidently necessary to Christians of the fourth century that one of their own, Eusebius, the bishop of Caesarea, wrote the first book to recount the struggles and victories of the first followers of Christ. Students can now dedicate an entire year to learning the material those Christians began investigating almost 1,700 years ago.
In this course, Henry Chadwick’s The Early Church is used as the main text. Students are directed to Eusebius’ History of the Church when ancient testimony is appropriate.
About The History of the Church:
“‘Could I do better than start from the beginning of the dispensation of our Saviour and Lord, Jesus the Christ of God?’
Eusebius’ account is the only surviving historical record of the Church during its crucial first 300 years. Bishop Eusebius (c. A.D. 260-339), 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 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. He also supported his account by extensive quotations form original sources.
This edition of G. A. Williamson’s clear, fluid translation is accompanied by an introduction by Andrew Louth discussing the life and works of Eusebius, together with notes, bibliography, map of the world of Eusebius and brief biographies of the figures who appear in the work.” (from the publisher)
