Primary source · Koine Greek

The Ecclesiastical History

Eusebius of Caesarea · c. AD 313–325

Patrologia Graeca, vol. 20 (Migne) — manuscript witness to The Ecclesiastical History
Patrologia Graeca, vol. 20 (Migne) — 1857Eastern Orthodox St. Fathers · Public domain · Commons
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Patrologia Graeca, vol. 20 (Migne) — manuscript witness to The Ecclesiastical History

Patrologia Graeca, vol. 20 (Migne) — 1857Eastern Orthodox St. Fathers · Public domain · Commons

What this text is

The first history of the church — Eusebius’ ten books tracing the succession of bishops, the writers, the heretics, and the martyrs from the apostles to Constantine’s victory. Nearly everything earlier in this archive is known partly through it.

Profile of King Abgar V of Edessa →

Interlinear passages

Word-for-word glosses of the original; the complete public-domain translation is linked below.

Book I.1.1 — The opening
ΤὰςTheτῶνof theἱερῶνholyἀποστόλωνapostlesδιαδοχάς,successions,σὺνwithτοῖςtheχρόνοιςtimes……γραφῇin writingπαραδοῦναιto hand downπροῃρημένοςhaving purposed

Public-domain translations

A. C. McGiffert (NPNF, 1890)

It is my purpose to write an account of the successions of the holy apostles, as well as of the times which have elapsed from the days of our Saviour to our own; and to relate how many and how important events are said to have occurred in the history of the Church.

Kirsopp Lake (Loeb, 1926)

The successions of the holy apostles, together with the times covered from our Saviour to ourselves… it is my purpose to commit to writing.

Manuscript witnesses

Syriac version (St Petersburg codex, dated AD 462)

AD 462

A Syriac Church History copied within 140 years of the author — among the oldest dated literary codices of Christianity.

EARLIEST DATED WITNESS

Greek uncial-derived tradition (Laurentianus & Parisinus families)

10th–11th c.

The seven primary Greek witnesses behind Schwartz's edition.

PRINCIPAL GREEK

Patrologia Graeca, vol. 20 (Migne)

1857

Standard pre-critical text of the corpus.

PRINTED PROXY

Provenance

Caesarea, editions c. AD 313–325 — the founding history of the church

Editions & scholarship

Critical editions and standard translations behind the text above.

Figures named in this text (341)

Complete public-domain text ↗