The Father of Church History: Eusebius

Titus Flavius Clemens (Greek: Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; c. 150 – c. 215), known as Clement of

Paul is the author of the book of Titus. The book of Titus was written around the years 63-65 A.D. The letter was addressed to Titus who was a gentile and a companion of Paul. Paul called Titus his “True son”. Titus along with First and Second Timothy are called Pastoral Epistles. The reason for being categorized that way is because the letters emphasizes the reason for having leaders within the church. (Votaw, Clyde W. pg.130-38) The book 's theme is instructions to Titus on how to run the churches in Crete and to encourage Titus in faith. The first readers of this letter would be Titus, some of the leaders within the Crete churches, Zenas and Apollos who Paul gave the letter to give of Titus. Paul and Titus most likely visited Crete

During the persecutions, churches and scripture were destroyed. Many were killed and tortured. Despite this, many remained brave and unafraid according to accounts. The idea of redemption and a magnificent afterlife led many Christians to almost fervently pursue martyrdom. These martyrs were glorified, and miracles were reported to have occurred in their presence. They refused to reject Christ and, in turn, were subjected to torture and humiliation. Eusebius describes the proceedings during the Great Persecution: “…the rules in question brought a certain man into a public place and commanded him to sacrifice. When he refused,

then Muslims were doubted, questioned, and hated for all motives whether good or not., Due

In Europe, crusaders sometimes turned their fury against Jews, massacring entire communities.” This is interesting

Many of the ancient and historical conflicts are believed to be connected to religion in a various ways and proven that religion can be used as an excuse for violence. For instance, The Crusade Wars ended in the brutality of both Christians and Muslims during the mass dispute (Burton 1984). The Jews have perpetrated massacres through nations for the solitary reason to attain their belief. During the reformation of Christians thousands of people were killed because of their religion. In Yugoslavia, the war in 1991 pitted Orthodox Christians, Muslims, and Catholics against each other in a brutal combat (Avalos 2005). Also, thousands of monks were being persecuted in Burma

By comparing the following primary sources, “The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas” and “The Rape of Lucretia,” historians can learn about the archetypes of Roman society. The former text, written in 202 or 203 CE, is a prison diary of a young martyr in Carthage. The protagonist, Perpetua, is arrested and sentenced to death because she refused to renounce her Christian faith. Despite having a newborn and hearing consistent outcry from her father to renounce her faith, Perpetua refused to absolve from Christianity. Prior to her execution, she and her comrades experience visions of entering Heaven and specifics of how their deaths would be bestowed upon them. These visions provided comfort to the prisoners because they legitimized the belief in God, as well as sanctioned the power of God to perform miracles. As God willed it, Perpetua, the “most valiant and blessed martyrs”, was ultimately executed in the arena. The latter text, written in 17 AD by Roman historian, Livy, is a story of propaganda about the rape of a honorable woman named Lucretia. Lucretia, Tarquinius Conlatinus’s wife, was the quintessential example of a Roman martyr. She was applauded for her modest, hospitable, and dutiful nature. Tragically, she was forcibly raped by the emperor’s son, Sextus Tarquinius. Consequently, Brutus, Tarquinius, and Lucretia’s father, did not object while witnessing Lucretia commit suicide in order to preserve her and her family’s

Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caesilius Cilo best known as Pliny the younger was a lawyer, author and magistrate ( a civil officer or lay judge who administers the law, especially one who conducts a court that deals with minor offenses and holds preliminary hearings for more serious ones.) for Ancient Rome. Pliny has written hundreds of letters and many of them can be found or what we would call "surviving," a lot of these letters provide insight to how things were in the time they were written. Some of Pliny the Younger 's letters were addressed to the reigning emperors at that time one of particular interest is the one written to Trajan(reigned 98-117). This letter was a big deal because of its contents as well as the fact that there is now record of a relationship between the imperial and the provinces. The letter was written about 112 and it is one of the earliest documents alive that refer to the early Christians.

We have always wondered why did the Romans persecute the Christians. There are all kinds of different theories; however, the textbook doesn’t include these theories. Therefore, the textbook needs to be rewritten. First of all the text book is missing information about why the christians were persecuted. Explained in document “C”, by somebody written in a time, is, “The very words of the [christian ritual], ‘Take and eat, this is my body broken for you,’ could be misread in a literal, cannibalistic way.” This shows that the textbook needs to be rewritten because this information is very important, valuable, and can’t be forgotten about. This shows that the textbook needs to be rewritten because this information is very important, valuable,

Christians here in America take for granted the liberty to worship the lord without being persecuted. During the early days of the church was a time that many Christians were persecuted because of their faith. Eusebius writes the history of the church since the beaginng until the great Constantine stops the persecution of the Christians. Constantine was a hero to Eusebius, and that resulted to writing a whole chapter of him. Why, does he feel this way to Constantine? Eusebius also lived under the ruling of Maximin, but is his writing to Maximin very different than Constantine. The reason is, Constantine’s fate. Eusebius’ armaraimtion towards Constantine because he wanted what was best for the people than what Maximin wanted.

It seems strange that so little is known biographically about one of the most important figures in Christian history, but this only serves to add to the mystery and grandeur surrounding the Apostle Paul of Tarsus. Much, however, is known of the time after his conversion to Christ and what he did to contribute to Christianity in this period, and it is this that leaves a greater legacy than the simple facts of his life. The contributions that he made towards the cause of Christ and the spreading and formation of Christianity are what he is perennially remembered for.

The early church was hated by the society and government of the Roman Empire for various reasons, such as the refusal of Christians to sacrifice to the gods. The Empire went through many phases of demanding that the Christians sacrifice which meant denying their faith or be killed. The earliest attacks claimed the lives of many of the apostles.This text is the story, from around 160 AD, of the martyrdom of Polycarp, the Bishop of the church in Smyrna, a city in Asia Minor (modern Izmir in Turkey) devoted to Roman worship. The account is in the form of a letter from eye-witnesses to other churches in the area. It is the earliest chronicle of a martyrdom outside the New Testament.Polycarp was an old man, at least 86, and probably the last surviving person to have known an apostle, having been a disciple of St. John. This was one reason he was greatly revered as a teacher and church leader. One interesting feature of the letter is that the writer is very conscious of how Polycarp’s death followed the pattern of Christ’s. As you read it, look for parallels between this story and the Easter story in the gospels. We are writing to you, brothers, with an account of the martyrs, especially the blessed Polycarp, whose death brought to the persecution to a close. Almost all the events that led up to it reveal it to be another martyrdom in the divine pattern that we see in the Gospel. For he waited for his betrayal, just like the Lord did, so that we might follow him, in looking out

Saint Jerome was born Eusebius Hieronymous Sophronius in the year 331 in Stridomius. His father was a Christian who instructed his son and sent him to Rome. Eusebius teachers were the famous pagan grammarians Donatus and Victorinus, a Christian rhetorician. Jerome became fluent in Latin and Greek, in Rome. He liked oratory so much that he may have considered law as a career. He acquired many worldly ideas and lost much of the piety that had instilled in him at home. He became a master of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Chaldaic.

During their time period, many theologians were criticized or harassed. For example, there were fifteen attempts to assassinate Dom Helder Camera, who was a significant figure in liberation theology. Many were threatened. Some were arrested, tortured, or killed. While there were others who just disappeared. However they still practiced their beliefs and spread their ideas. (V.B.2)

minimum. In fact, it is rare to find a case in today’s world of the media reporting on the