Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 1.18.5-1.18.6
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/382
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, Socrates records
Constantine’s correspondence with Eusebius, wherein the emperor exhorts the bishop to
maintain the site of the Oak of Mambre as a place of Christian worship.
Text
(5) Αὖθις δὲ ἑτέρας ἐκκλησίας ἐποίει, καὶ μίαν μὲν ἐν τῇ καλουμένῃ δρυὶ
τῇ Μαμβρῇ, ὑφ’ ᾗ τοὺς ἀγγέλους ἐξενίσθαι πρὸς τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ οἱ ἱεροὶ λόγοι μηνύουσιν,
κατεσκεύασεν. (6) Μαθὼν γὰρ ὁ βασιλεὺς βωμὸν ὑπὸ τῇ δρυὶ ἱδρύσθαι καὶ θυσίας Ἑλληνικὰς
τελεῖσθαι ἐπ’ αὐτῷ, μέμφεται μὲν δι’ ἐπιστολῆς Εὐσεβίῳ τῷ τῆς Καισαρείας ἐπισκόπῳ,
κελεύει δὲ τὸν μὲν βωμὸν ἀνατραπῆναι, πρὸς δὲ τῇ δρυὶ κατασκευασθῆναι οἶκον
εὐκτήριον.1
Textual Note
Ed. Hussey and Bright 1893 with ref. to Hansen 1995Translation
(5) Again (Constantine) built other churches, one of which was
erected near the Oak of Mambre, under which the Sacred Oracles declare that Abraham
entertained angels. (6) For when the emperor had learned that an altar had been
established under that oak and pagan sacrifices were enacted on it, he censured Eusebius
bishop of Caesarea in a letter, and he ordered that the altar should be demolished and a
house of prayer erected beside the oak.2
Translation Note
Rev. Zenos 1890 with ref. to Périchon and Maraval 2004Works 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), bk: 1, ch: 18.5-18.6.
- 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: 22.
Additional Bibliography
- Socrates of Constantinople, Kirchengeschichte, ed. Günther Christian Hansen, Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten Jahrhunderte n.F. 1 (Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1995), bk: 1, ch: 18.5-18.6.
- 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), vol: 1, p: 184-185.
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 1.18.5-1.18.6,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/382.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 1.18.5-1.18.6.” 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/382.About this Entry
Entry Title: Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 1.18.5-1.18.6
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 editor, “Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 1.18.5-1.18.6”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Socrates of Constantinople, Church History 1.18.5-1.18.6”
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