Religion and Politics in the Writings of Eusebius:
Reassessing the First "Court Theologian"

MICHAEL J. HOLLERICH
assistant professor of religious studies in Santa Clara
University, Santa Clara, California.


Ever since Jacob Burckhardt dismissed him as "the first thoroughly
dishonest historian of antiquity," Eusebius has been an inviting target for
students of the Constantinian era. At one time or another they have
characterized him as

* a political propagandist [1],
* a good courtier [2],
* the shrewd and worldly adviser of the Emperor Constantine [3],
* the great publicist of the first Christian emperor,[4]
* the first in a long succession of ecclesiastical politicians, [5]
* the herald of Byzantinism, [6]
* a political theologian, [7]
* a political metaphysician [8], and
* a caesaropapist. [9]

Quote:

[1] Erik Peterson, Der Monotheismus als politisches Problem (Munich, 1951 ), p. 91; [2] Henri Grégoire, "L'authenticité et l'historicité de la Vita Constantini attribuée ê Eusèbe de Césarée," Bulletin de l'Académie Royale de Belgique, Classe des Lettres, 39 ( 1953 ): 462-479, quoted in T. D. Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius (Cambridge, Mass., 1981 ), p. 401; [3] Arnaldo Momigliano, "Pagan and Christian Historiography in the Fourth Century," in The Conflict between Paganism and Christianity in the Fourth Century, ed. A. Momigliano (Oxford, 1963 ), p. 85; [4] Robert Markus, "The Roman Empire in Early Christian Historiography," The Downside Review 81 ( 1963 ): 343; [5] Charles N. Cochrane, Christianity and Classical Culture (1940; reprint, Oxford, 1966 ), p. 183; [6] Hendrik Berkhof, Die Theologie des Eusebius von Caesarea (Amsterdam, 1939 ), pp. 21-22; [7] Hans Eger, "Kaiser und Kirche in der Geschichtstheologie Eusebs von Cäsarea," Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 38 ( 1939 ): 115; [8] Per Beskow, Rex Gloriae. The Kingship of Christ in the Early Church (Uppsala, 1962 ), p. 318; [9] J. M. Sansterre, "Eusèbe de Césarée et la naissance de la théorie 'césaropapiste,'" Byzantion 42 ( 1972 ): 593

It is obvious that these are not, in the main, neutral
descriptions. Much traditional scholarship, sometimes with barely sup-
pressed disdain, has regarded Eusebius as one who risked his orthodoxy and
perhaps his character because of his zeal for the Constantinian establishment.
Scholars have often observed, for example, that his literary works in defense
of the new order depict Constantine and his reign in eschatological terms that
rival and even supplant the Incarnation and Parousia in salvation history. 3

To be sure, this assessment relies on abundant documentation: in the Life of
Constantine and in the Tricennial Oration, delivered on the thirtieth
anniversary of Constantine's reign, as well as in other books, Eusebius gave
an enthusiastic Christian endorsement both...