The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Gelasius of Caesarea
d. AD 395 · Bishop of Caesarea · Church historian · Caesarea Maritima
The Nicene Age
Who Gelasius of Caesarea was
Nephew of Cyril of Jerusalem and Nicene bishop of Caesarea who continued Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History into the fourth century — a work now lost but heavily drawn upon by the Greek historians who followed. Jerome lists him among living writers; Photius still read him in the ninth century and describes him in the Bibliotheca.
Also listed in bishops beyond the great sees and roman emperors.
Common questions
When did Gelasius die?
Gelasius of Caesarea is dated d. AD 395 in the archive, which places Gelasius in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
What did Gelasius write?
Gelasius of Caesarea has 1 catalogued writing in the archive: Ecclesiastical History (the continuation of Eusebius). All are lost, known only from later citation.
Which early sources mention Gelasius?
Gelasius of Caesarea is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Jerome and Photius. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Gelasius from?
The archive associates Gelasius of Caesarea with Caesarea Maritima.
Writings (1)
Ecclesiastical History (the continuation of Eusebius)
Written at his uncle Cyril's urging — dissolved into its borrowers[Photius read it (Bibliotheca 88–89); moderns recover it from Rufinus and Gelasius of Cyzicus, who mined it without naming it]Lost — known only from later citation.
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Jerome, On Illustrious Men 130 (AD 393; original Latin, working translation)
c. AD 393[Contemporary notice — the barbed one.] Gelasius, bishop of Caesarea in Palestine after Euzoius, is said to write certain works of a careful and polished style — but to keep them hidden.Jerome · source text
Photius, Bibliotheca, codices 88–89 (9th century; original Greek, summarized)
c. AD 855[The ninth-century scholar-patriarch still read him: Photius describes the continuation of Eusebius's history by 'Gelasius, bishop of Caesarea in Palestine,' nephew of Cyril of Jerusalem — a work since lost except as quarried by the later historians.]Photius · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
- AD 343 · The Council of Serdica, AD 343
- AD 361 · Julian’s pagan restoration, AD 361
- AD 366 · Damasus and the catacomb epigrams, AD 366
- AD 367 · Athanasius lists the 27 NT books, AD 367
- AD 372 · The martyrdom of Sabbas the Goth, AD 372
- AD 378 · Queen Mavia’s revolt, AD 378
- AD 380 · The Edict of Thessalonica, AD 380
- AD 381 · The Council of Constantinople, AD 381
- AD 381 · The Council of Aquileia, AD 381
- AD 384 · The Altar of Victory petition, AD 384
- AD 390 · Thessalonica and the penance of Theodosius, AD 390
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Gelasius.