1 / 8

Christian History Writing

Christian History Writing. A new chronology 2. Eusebius. Christian Historiography. By 3 rd century see development of enormous differences in thinking between pagan and Christian historians

aquene
Télécharger la présentation

Christian History Writing

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Christian History Writing A new chronology 2. Eusebius

  2. Christian Historiography • By 3rd century see development of enormous differences in thinking between pagan and Christian historians • Pagan historians identified the world of the past, present and future with the Roman state – see much talk of glory of Rome • Christian view of history evolved in discussions among church fathers through the interpretations of Christian texts in context of current events • In beginning, Christian life and traditions were shaped in opposition to Rome • Authors often accuse Christians of having led to Rome’s decline – that was not the case

  3. Christian Writers - a new chronology • Christian Historiographical ‘Revolution’: • Late 3rd century Sextus Julius Africanus –with his Chronography initiated a series of early Christian histories in which individuals and events from N. East, Greek and Roman Myths, and histories were organized into a Judeo-Christian framework. • By adding years to biblical characters and using chronologies from other cultures, Africanus concluded that 5,500 years had passed between Adam and Jesus ‘ birth

  4. Eusebius of Caesarea c. 263 - 339 • Bishop of Caesarea • Was close advisor to the Emperor Constantine • Wrote a patristic chronology, • Lived during early 4th century when Constantine made Christianity a tolerated religion • Christianity and the Roman empire became linked • Eusebius’ history illustrated that Christianity had become the dominant factor in historiography

  5. The context • Late 3rd early 4th century, period of political unrest; barbarian invasions; internal strife; economic decline; most of the revenue pumped into the army in order to defend the Empire from outside and inside. • Enormous social changes; many barbarian tribes settled within the empire; large components of army consisted of barbarians (non-Romans) • Values important to Romans of Republic and early Imperial period less important to the majority

  6. Eusebius’ Works • Works: Wrote 46 works including: The Chronicles; Ecclesiastical History; Life of Constantine • The Chronicle (chronica)– based on Africanus; christianity dominant in this work; • core of work was chronological canons; material borrowed from Hellenistic writers; • Roman and Near Eastern World merge into one chronological framework • When writing about earliest periods, he lists side by side individuals and events from Assyria , Egypt and major figures and events from the Old Testament • Bible is used as historical document

  7. Eusebius’ works • Work: Ecclesiastical History (a history of the Church) • Covers the Rise of Christianity from its beginnings, includes account of lives of Jesus Christ and the apostles; about faith, the most important leaders, enemies, writers, martyrs, bishops, persecutions, victory of church

  8. Eusebius • Life of Constantine • Constantine is depicted as a man who received sign from God and acted on a vision; reigned with divine protection • More in nature a hagiography than biography • Hagiography = biography in praise of someone; seriously biased

More Related