Many people who are not very familiar with the first four centuries of the church have at least heard of Eusebius. Eusebius literally wrote the book when it comes to the history of the early church.
We don’t know a lot about Eusebius but we know some things. Eusebius was born between 260-65 AD, probably in Caesarea Maritima. Eusebius was greatly influenced by Origen and his follower Pamphilus.
He became bishop of Caesarea around 314 AD. This was good timing as it allowed him to be involved in the Council of Nicaea. Eusebius, was a prolific writer, writing many books beside his most well know: Ecclesiastical History. Following Origen, Eusebius was also very interested in the books of the New Testament that were considered authoritative by the churches.
Eusebius had a very close relationship with Emperor Constantine and even wrote a biography on him. While Eusebius had good relationship with the state, he had some conflict with other church leaders, including Athanasius of Alexandria. However, due to his relationship with the Emperor, Eusebius was able to stay on top.
Eusebius died in 339 AD.
Because of Eusebius, we have accounts for many of the events and the figures that we are interested in. We cannot overstate the value of Eusebius. This does not mean that he is without his bias, but Christian history would be much poorer without him.
