Eusebius

Eusebius (263-340) was a Greek writer, theologian, bishop, and historian of early Christianity. His book Ecclesiastical History is an important account of the first centuries of Christianity (and the persecution that early Christians suffered).

Life
Eusebius was born around 263 in Caesarea Maritima, a city in the Roman province of Judea, in what is now Caesarea, Israel.  

He was taught by a Christian teacher called Pamphilus, and took the name Eusebius Pamphili (“the son or servant of Pamphilus”) to honor him. 

At this time, Christians were widely persecuted. Pamphilus was martyred by Roman officials in 310. After his teacher's death, Eusebius fled to Tyre and then to Egypt, where he was briefly imprisoned.  

In 313 Eusebius became Bishop of Caesarea. 

 First Council of Nicaea (325) 
Main article: First Council of Nicaea

Eusebius participated in the First Council of Nicaea gathered by Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325. There, Church leaders and theologians met to discuss various Christian beliefs and practices, and decide which would be officially included in Catholicism.

One topic they discussed was Arius, a priest who said that God and Jesus were not the same. This was a controversial belief, and Eusebius had written several letters on the subject, at times defending Arius. 

During the council of Caesarea in 325, Catholic leaders had ruled that Arius's beliefs agreed with Catholicism. However, leaders at the First Council of Nicaea disagreed. Arius was excommunicated. The leaders created the Nicene Creed, a statement of Catholic beliefs that Eusebius supported. It states specifically that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are the same.

 Councils of Antioch (330) and Tyre (335) 
Eusebius took part in the Councils of Antioch (330) and of Tyre (335). In the first, a bishop named Eustathius was removed from his position; in the second, Athanasius (the Bishop of Alexandria) was excommunicated.

Related pages

First Council of Nicaea

References

Category:260s births
Category:340s deaths
Category:Theologians
Category:Ancient Greek historians