A New Eusebius: Documents Illustrating the History of the Church to AD 337

by James Stevenson (Editor), William H.C. Frend (Editor)

This sourcebook of primary texts illustrates the history of Christianity from the first century to the death of Constantine. It covers all major persons and topics in early Christian life and thought and includes Gnostic texts and anti-Christian polemic. Now available to a wider North American audience, it remains a standard after fifty years in print.

Genres: Church History, History, Theology, Christian, Religion

624 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 1957

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads databse.

Reviews

[Jacob O'connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

What have I learned by going back to the primary source Christian literature?

-I was initially disappointed by how much they got wrong. Practically all the great doctrines had to be hammered out.
-But the good news is, the idea that philosphy makes no progress is poppycock. We take for granted that we stand on the shouders of giants.
-That's not to say that there is no orthodox strain in the early church. The Bauer thesis is laughable to anyone who has bothered to read the fathers.
-Writing as an enterprise has improved. Each generation expresses itself more clearly than the last.
-On the other hand, if you can read this, you can read their works. I was intimidated by the likes of Irenaeus ,Tertullian ,Justin Martyr and Augustine, but if you're willing to put in the time, they'll reward you. Trully they're probably easier to understand than those who write commentaries on them.
-These make incredible devotionals. The Fathers loved Jesus, and they were willing to die for Him. It's hard not to be affected by their passion
-Christians have a nice pedigree.

[John Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the late antique and patristics period. I treasure the philosophical and ecclesiaological discoveries I make in reading about it. This book seems to be a pretty good and well put together set of primary sources. I mark that I have finished it because GR does not seem to have a setting for indicating that you simply put the book down and decided to stop reading. That is significant because, if you are not using this book for an academic course or for scholarly research, you cannot possibly read it cover to cover.

[Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful and readily usable primary source document book that provides illustrations and first hand record of church history – from church historians and papal decrees. A New Eusebius begins in the NT era and continues to AD 337, where Creeds, Councils, and Controversies begins at 337 and continues to 461. Stevenson’s works offer access to primary documents from every major period, controversy, and happening in the early church. Great resource. A-

[Bill Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely wonderful overview of the early writings and trials of the Church through the days of Constantine. The readings are short and the annotations keep those unfamiliar with the historical circumstances up to speed.

[Stephen Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A large collection of important primary source documents accessibly arranged by subject matter. Each document is accompanied by a set of short but insightful explanatory notes.

[Adam Wesselinoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great sourcebook of documents on the early church.

[Joshua Horn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another book that I haven't read all the way through, but still recommend. It is a collection of primary sources from early church history. It is edited, of course, but still quite useful. Reading through the dozen documents or so related to the Arian controversy and the Council of Nicaea, I picked up on things that you don't get from a historians summary - even a good one.

[Daniel Clemence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful book into the history early of Christianity. Best using it as a reference book