Ecclesiastical History

...which are called the Preparation for the Gospel original: Patrastutyun awetarani (Latin: Praeparatio Evangelica). In this work, Eusebius defends Christianity against pagan philosophy. and the Evangelical Proofs original: Tsuytsk awetaranakank (Latin: Demonstratio Evangelica). This work argues that Christianity is the fulfillment of Hebrew prophecy.—each work more venerable than the other, and essential for the knowledge of our true religion. In one of these, the author presents the entry of Christianity into the world and the progress of the preaching of the Gospel; and in the other, he shows how Judaism rendered itself liable In the sense of being found wanting or accountable for its rejection of the new faith. by rejecting the Christian religion, and how Christianity is nothing else but the fulfillment of the Jewish faith.

But more than these three writings of his, this present work, the Ecclesiastical History, is found to surpass them all. In it, this most learned man shows himself superior through an incomparable style, profound expertise, and an organized arrangement. There, the records of all writers appear clearly and in order, both Eastern and Western—from the archives of Edessa A city in Upper Mesopotamia, a vital center for early Syriac-speaking Christianity. to the libraries of Rome.

Therein, Josephus Titus Flavius Josephus (37–c. 100 AD), a Romano-Jewish historian whose works are vital for understanding 1st-century Judea., Philo Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BC–50 AD), a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher., and Africanus Sextus Julius Africanus (c. 160–240 AD), the father of Christian chronography. are frequently brought forward with their own words and descriptions; the works and deeds of each man are indicated one by one, along with the historical events of each era. There is the spectacle of the martyrdom of witnesses, their tortures and valiant words, the succession of the bishops of the churches and the pontiffs original: kahanayapetats (high priests). Here referring to the early Popes or Bishops of Rome. of Rome. In short, one may see there in that same volume everything that pertains to the order and events of the first three centuries of Christianity. And we might even say, along with one of our contemporaries, that without this volume, we would be blind to the church history of the early centuries.

Now, such a volume, which in nearly every language...