Editing Eusebius (section)

==Early life==
Most scholars date the birth of Eusebius to some point between AD 260 and 265.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LGDjJK-JeSwC|title=Constantine and Eusebius|last=Barnes|first=Timothy David|date=1981|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-16531-1|pages=277|language=en|quote="Between 260-265 birth of Eusebius"}}</ref> He was most likely born in or around [[Caesarea Maritima]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>Louth, "Birth of church history", 266; Quasten, 3.309.</ref> Nothing is known about his parents.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Eusebius of Caesarea|url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05617b.htm|website=www.newadvent.org|access-date=2020-05-29}}</ref> He was baptized and instructed in the city, and lived in [[Syria Palaestina]] in 296, when [[Diocletian]]'s army passed through the region (in the ''Life of Constantine'', Eusebius recalls seeing [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]] traveling with the army).<ref name="ReferenceA">Wallace-Hadrill, 12, citing Socrates, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' 1.8; Theodoret, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' 1.11.</ref><ref>Wallace-Hadrill, 12, citing ''Vita Constantini'' 1.19.</ref>

Eusebius was made [[presbyter]] by [[Agapius of Caesarea]].<ref name="ReferenceA" /> Some, like theologian and ecclesiastical historian [[John Henry Newman]], understand Eusebius's statement that he had heard [[Dorotheus of Tyre]] "expound the Scriptures wisely in the Church" to indicate that Eusebius was Dorotheus's pupil while the priest was resident in Antioch; others, like the scholar D. S. Wallace-Hadrill, deem the phrase too ambiguous to support the contention.<ref>Eusebius, ''Ecclesiastical History'' 7.32.4, qtd. and tr. D. S. Wallace-Hadrill, 12; Wallace-Hadrill cites J. H. Newman, ''The Arians of the Fourth Century'' (1890), 262, in 12 n. 4.</ref>

Through the activities of the theologian [[Origen]] (185/6–254) and the school of his follower [[Pamphilus of Caesarea|Pamphilus]] (later 3rd century – 309), Caesarea became a center of Christian learning. Origen was largely responsible for the collection of usage information, or which churches were using which gospels, regarding the texts which became the [[New Testament]]. The information used to create the late-fourth-century [[Easter Letter]], which declared accepted Christian writings, was probably based on the [[Church History (Eusebius)|''Ecclesiastical History'']] [HE] of Eusebius of Caesarea, wherein he uses the information passed on to him by Origen to create both his list at HE 3:25 and Origen's list at HE 6:25. Eusebius got his information about what texts were accepted by the third-century churches throughout the known world, a great deal of which Origen knew of firsthand from his extensive travels, from the library and writings of Origen.<ref>C. G. Bateman, [http://ssrn.com/abstract=1653073 Origen’s Role in the Formation of the New Testament Canon], 2010.</ref>

On his deathbed, Origen had made a bequest of his private library to the Christian community in the city.<ref>Quasten, 3.309.</ref> Together with the books of his patron [[Ambrose of Alexandria|Ambrosius]], Origen's library (including the original manuscripts of his works<ref>Eusebius, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' 6.32.3–4; Kofsky, 12.</ref>{{NoteTag|Pamphilus might not have obtained all of Origen's writings, however: the library's text of Origen's commentary on Isaiah broke off at 30:6, while the original commentary was said to have taken up thirty volumes.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 333 n. 114, citing Eusebius, ''HE'' 6.32.1; ''In Is''. pp. 195.20–21 Ziegler.</ref>}}) formed the core of the collection that Pamphilus established.<ref>Eusebius, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' 6.32.3–4; Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 93; idem., "Eusebius of Caesarea", 2 col. 2.</ref> Pamphilus also managed a school that was similar to (or perhaps a re-establishment of<ref>Levine, 124–25.</ref>) that of Origen.<ref>Kofsky, 12, citing Eusebius, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' 7.32.25. On Origen's school, see: Gregory, ''Oratio Panegyrica''; Kofsky, 12–13.</ref> He was compared to [[Demetrius of Phalerum]]—as well as to another (evidently, learnèd) scholar by the name of "Pisistratus"{{NoteTag|Apparently named after—but not to be confused with—the [[Pisistratus|Athenian tyrant]].}}—for Pamphilus had gathered Bibles "from all parts of the world".<ref>Levine, 125.</ref> Like his model Origen, Pamphilus maintained close contact with his students. Eusebius, in his history of the persecutions, alludes to the fact that many of the Caesarean martyrs lived together, presumably under Pamphilus.<ref>Levine, 122.</ref>

Soon after Pamphilus settled in Caesarea ({{circa}} 280s), he began teaching Eusebius, who was then somewhere between twenty and twenty-five.<ref name="ReferenceB">Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 94.</ref> Because of his close relationship with his schoolmaster, Eusebius was sometimes called ''Eusebius Pamphili'': "Eusebius, son of Pamphilus".{{NoteTag|There are three interpretations of this term: (1) that Eusebius was the "spiritual son", or favored pupil, of Pamphilus;<ref>Quasten, 3.310.</ref> (2) that Eusebius was literally adopted by Pamphilus;<ref name="ReferenceB" /> and (3) that Eusebius was Pamphilus's biological son. The third explanation is the least popular among scholars. The scholion on the ''Preparation for the Gospels'' 1.3 in the ''Codex Paris''. 451 is usually adduced in support of the thesis. Most reject the scholion as too late or misinformed, but E. H. Gifford, an editor and translator of the ''Preparation'', believes it to have been written by [[Arethas of Caesarea|Arethas]], the tenth-century archbishop of Caesarea, who was in a position to know the truth of the matter.<ref>Wallace-Hadrill, 12 n. 1.</ref>|group=notes}} The name may also indicate that Eusebius was made Pamphilus' heir.<ref>Wallace-Hadrill, 11–12.</ref> Pamphilus gave Eusebius a strong admiration for the thought of Origen.<ref>Quasten, 3.309–10.</ref> Neither Pamphilus nor Eusebius knew Origen personally;<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 93, 95; Louth, "Birth of church history", 266.</ref> Pamphilus probably picked up Origenist ideas during his studies under [[Pierius]] (nicknamed "Origen Junior"<ref>Jerome, ''de Viris Illustribus'' 76, qtd. and tr. Louth, "Birth of church history", 266.</ref>) in Alexandria.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 93, 95.</ref>

Eusebius's ''Preparation for the Gospel'' bears witness to the literary tastes of Origen: Eusebius quotes no comedy, tragedy, or lyric poetry, but makes reference to all the works of [[Plato]] and to an extensive range of later philosophic works, largely from [[Middle Platonism|Middle Platonists]] from [[Philo]] to the late 2nd century.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 93–94.</ref> Whatever its secular contents, the primary aim of Origen and Pamphilus's school was to promote sacred learning. The library's biblical and theological contents were more impressive: Origen's ''[[Hexapla]]'' and ''Tetrapla''; a copy of the original Aramaic version of the [[Gospel of Matthew]];{{clarify|date=August 2023}} and many of Origen's own writings.<ref name="ReferenceB" /> Marginal comments in extant manuscripts note that Pamphilus and his friends and pupils, including Eusebius, corrected and revised much of the biblical text in their library.<ref name="ReferenceB" /> Their efforts made the hexaplaric Septuagint text increasingly popular in Syria and Palestine.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 95.</ref> Soon after joining Pamphilus's school, Eusebius started helping his master expand the library's collections and broaden access to its resources. At about this time Eusebius compiled a ''Collection of Ancient Martyrdoms'', presumably for use as a general reference tool.<ref name="ReferenceB" />
[[File:Eusebius Ethiopian Icon.png|thumb|Eusebius of Caesarea and Carpianus depicted as Saints in a gospel book from monastery at [[Amba Geshen|Amba Geshan]]]]

In the 290s, Eusebius began work on his most important work, the ''Ecclesiastical History'', a narrative history of the Church and Christian community from the [[Apostolic Age]] to Eusebius's own time. At about the same time, he worked on his ''Chronicle'', a universal calendar of events from the [[Genesis creation myth|Creation]] to, again, Eusebius's own time. He completed the first editions of the ''Ecclesiastical History'' and ''Chronicle'' before 300.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 277; Wallace-Hadrill, 12–13.</ref>