Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 2.9.1-5
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/340
Context
Socrates of Constantinople, the “Scholastic,” was an otherwise unknown
historian of the early 5th century. He wrote his account of the Church from 305 to 439 to
continue Eusebius of Caesarea, adopting a particular perspective on the relationship between
Imperial and ecclesiastical authority. In this passage concerning the events of the Council
of Antioch in 341 C.E., Socrates offers a brief portrait of the learned Eusebius of Emesa,
who had studied at Caesarea, and who later declined to lead the see of Alexandria following
the demise of Athanasius.
Text
(1) Ἐπὶ τούτοις τότε
τῆς διαβολῆς γενομένης προχειρίζονται τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας ἐπίσκοπον πρῶτον μὲν Εὐσέβιον τὸν
ἐπικληθέντα Ἐμεσηνόν. Τίς δ’ οὗτος ἦν, διδάσκει Γεώργιος ὁ Λαοδικείας ἐπίσκοπος, ὃς τότε
παρῆν ἐν τῇ συνόδῳ. (2) Φησὶ γὰρ ἐν τῷ εἰς αὐτὸν πεπονημένῳ ἐγκωμίῳ, ὡς εἴη Εὐσέβιος ἐκ τῶν
εὐπατριδῶν τῆς ἐν Μεσοποταμίᾳ Ἐδέσσης καταγόμενος, ἐκ νέας τε ἡλικίας τὰ ἱερὰ μαθὼν
γράμματα, (3) εἶτα τὰ Ἑλλήνων παιδευθεὶς παρὰ τῷ τηνικαῦτα τῇ Ἐδέσσῃ ἐπιδημήσαντι παιδευτῇ,
τέλος ὑπὸ Πατροφίλου καὶ Εὐσεβίου τὰ ἱερὰ ἡρμηνεύσθη βιβλία, ὧν ὁ μὲν τῆς ἐν
Καισαρείᾳ, Πατρόφιλος δὲ τῆς ἐν Σκυθοπόλει προεστήκει ἐκκλησίας.
(4) Μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ ἐπιδημήσαντος αὐτοῦ τῇ Ἀντιοχείᾳ, ἐπεὶ συνέβη Εὐστάθιον ὑπὸ Κύρου
κατηγορηθέντα τοῦ Βεροιέως καθαιρεθῆναι ὡς σαβελλίζοντα, (5) εἶτ’ αὖθις τὸν Εὐσέβιον
συνεῖναι Εὐφρονίῳ τῷ διαδεξαμένῳ Εὐστάθιον, φεύγοντά τε τὴν ἱερωσύνην καταλαβεῖν τὴν
Ἀλεξάνδρειαν κἀκεῖ μαθεῖν τὰ φιλόσοφα.
1
Textual Note
Ed. Hussey and Bright 1893Corrigenda Note
Minor corr. with ref. to Hansen 1995 [cited by book-chapter-section]Translation
(1) On the ground
of these charges, they elected as first choice for Bishop of Alexandria Eusebius, called the
Emesene. George, bishop of Laodicea who was present at the synod, informs us who this person
was. (2) For he says in the encomium which he has composed to him that Eusebius was
descended from the nobility of Edessa in Mesopotamia, and that from a young age he had
studied the Holy Scriptures; (3) that he was afterwards instructed in Greek literature by a
teacher residing at the time in Edessa; and finally that the Sacred Books were expounded to
him by Patrophilus and Eusebius, of whom the latter presided over the Church at
Caesarea and the former over the Church at Scythopolis. (4)
Afterwards, when he lived in Antioch, it happened that Eustathius bishop of Alexandria was
deposed on the accusation of Cyrus of Beroea for holding the tenets of Sabellius. (5) Then
again Eusebius associated with Euphronius, successor of Eustathius, and avoiding office in
the Church returned to Alexandria, and there studied philosophy.
2
Translation Note
Adapted from Zenos 1890 with ref. to Périchon and Maraval 2005Works Cited
- 1 Socrates of Constantinople, Ecclesiastical History, According to the Text of Hussey, ed. Robert Hussey and William Bright, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1893), section: 2.9.1-5.
- 2 Socrates of Constantinople, Socrates: Church History from A.D. 305-439, in Socrates, Sozomenus: Church Histories., trans. Andrew C Zenos, repr. of American ed., A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Churhc. Second Series 2 (New York: Christian Literature Publishing, 1890), 1–178, p: 112.
Additional Bibliography
- Socrates of Constantinople, Kirchengeschichte, ed. Günther Christian Hansen, Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten Jahrhunderte n.F. 1 (Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1995), section: 2.9.1-5.
- Socrates of Constantinople, Socrate de Constantinople: Histoire ecclésiastique, trans. Pierre Périchon and Pierre Maraval, 4 vols., Sources chrétiennes 477, 493, 505, 506 (Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 2004), p: 2.38-2.41.
How to Cite This Entry
Joshua Woods et al., “Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 2.9.1-5,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/340.
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Bibliography:
Joshua Woods et al., “Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 2.9.1-5.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/340.About this Entry
Entry Title: Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 2.9.1-5
Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:
- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editors, “Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 2.9.1-5”
- Joshua Woods, Eliana Yonan, and Joseph L. Rife, entry contributors, “Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 2.9.1-5”
Additional Credit:
- TEI encoding by William L. Potter
- Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife