Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History

Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History is one of the classics of early Christianity and of equal stature with the works of Flavius Josephus. Eusebius chronicles the events of the first three centuries of the Christian church in such a way as to record a vast number of vital facts about early Christianity that can be learned from no other ancient source.

When Eusebius wrote his Ecclesiastical History, his vital concern was to record facts before they disappeared, and before eye-witnesses were killed and libraries were burned and destroyed in persecutions by Rome. He faithfully transcribed the most important existing documents of his day so that future generations would have a collection of factual data to interpret. Thus Eusebius (c. A.D. 260-340) richly deserves the title “father of Church history.”

• More readable. This is the only full edition of Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History that has been retypeset in modern, easy-to-read type. Archaic words have been modernized and the punctuation has been updated according to contemporary standards.

• Easier to use. The Loeb numbering system (now the standard way to cite Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History) has been added to make it easier to locate passages referred to in other reference works. Also, all citations and cross-references have been updated from Roman numerals to the modern form of citation.

• More complete. The complete text of all ten books of Eusebius is included. Also included is "Historical View of the Council of Nicea" as well as translations of related documents.