The History of the Church

The Church History of Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, was a 4th-century pioneer work giving a chronological account of the development of Early Christianity from the 1st century to the 4th century. Eusebius had access to the Theological Library of Caesarea and made use of many ecclesiastical monuments and documents, acts of the martyrs, letters, extracts from earlier Christian writings, lists of bishops, and similar sources, often quoting the originals at great length so that his work contains materials not elsewhere preserved. The History of the Church: From Christ to Constantine is the first full-length historical narrative written from a Christian point of view. Eusebius established the convention that would determine to a great extent the way history was written for the next thousand years. The time scheme of the narrative, correlated the history with the reigns of the Roman Emperors, and the scope was broad. Included were the bishops and other teachers of the Church, Christian