Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea (260 – 340 CE), the first Christian historian and “father of ecclesiastical history,” is responsible for most everything we know about the early centuries of Christianity. And yet more than two dozen complaints by his contemporaries have surfaced about his poor scholarship, dishonesty, and hypocrisy. Below is a list of what many scholars believe to be his accomplishments for the Church:
• Forged two letters between Jesus and King Abgar of Edessa • Forged a letter by Marcus Aurelius • Borrowed from a Roman novel to create Christian martyrologies • Inserted the Testimonium Flavianum - a paragraph that mentions Jesus as messiah - into Josephus’ book, “Antiquities of the Jews” • Wrote a manual for clerical preparation entitled “How it may be lawful and fitting to use falsehood as a medicine for the benefit of those wishing to be deceived”
As Emperor Constantine’s posthumous biographer, Eusebius concocted the tale of the “Labrum” – the battlefield vision Constantine supposedly experienced in 312 CE of a chi-rho symbol floating in the sky with the words: “By this sign, conquer!” Eusebius claimed the miracle immediately converted Constantine to Christianity, won him the battle, and led to dominance over pagan religions. (Strangely, this life-changing event didn’t find its way into the bishop’s earlier book, “Ecclesiastical History,” penned while Constantine was still alive.)
The problem with this story is Constantine actually did claim to have an earlier divine vision in 310 CE prophesying victory – by the god Apollo. Not only that, but the emperor continued to worship the invincible sun, Sol Invictus, until his death. And the chi-rho emblem did not represent Christ at that time, but Chrestus, which signified good, worthy, and useful – a common epitaph in those days.
Eusebius may even have escorted Constantine’s mother, the empress Helena, to the Holy Land – resulting in the discovery of Jesus’ tomb, pieces of the Holy Cross, nails, and relics. This is when the pilgrimage and phony relic trade got their start.
Eusebius: instigator of pious fraud, father of lies.
By the author of the new historical / archaeological suspense novel, MYTHOS CHRISTOS (now in paperback – available for pre-order on amazon)
Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea (260 – 340 CE), the first Christian historian and “father of ecclesiastical history,” is responsible for most everything we know about the early centuries of Christianity. And yet more than two dozen complaints by his contemporaries have surfaced about his poor scholarship, dishonesty, and hypocrisy. Below is a list of what many scholars believe to be his accomplishments for the Church:
• Forged two letters between Jesus and King Abgar of Edessa
• Forged a letter by Marcus Aurelius
• Borrowed from a Roman novel to create Christian martyrologies
• Inserted the Testimonium Flavianum - a paragraph that mentions Jesus as messiah - into Josephus’ book, “Antiquities of the Jews”
• Wrote a manual for clerical preparation entitled “How it may be lawful and fitting to use falsehood as a medicine for the benefit of those wishing to be deceived”
As Emperor Constantine’s posthumous biographer, Eusebius concocted the tale of the “Labrum” – the battlefield vision Constantine supposedly experienced in 312 CE of a chi-rho symbol floating in the sky with the words: “By this sign, conquer!” Eusebius claimed the miracle immediately converted Constantine to Christianity, won him the battle, and led to dominance over pagan religions. (Strangely, this life-changing event didn’t find its way into the bishop’s earlier book, “Ecclesiastical History,” penned while Constantine was still alive.)
The problem with this story is Constantine actually did claim to have an earlier divine vision in 310 CE prophesying victory – by the god Apollo. Not only that, but the emperor continued to worship the invincible sun, Sol Invictus, until his death. And the chi-rho emblem did not represent Christ at that time, but Chrestus, which signified good, worthy, and useful – a common epitaph in those days.
Eusebius may even have escorted Constantine’s mother, the empress Helena, to the Holy Land – resulting in the discovery of Jesus’ tomb, pieces of the Holy Cross, nails, and relics. This is when the pilgrimage and phony relic trade got their start.
Eusebius: instigator of pious fraud, father of lies.
By the author of the new historical / archaeological suspense novel, MYTHOS CHRISTOS (now in paperback – available for pre-order on amazon)