Historia ecclesiastica

work by Socrates

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June 29, 2026

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The Historia ecclesiastica is a significant work by Socrates, a Byzantine church historian who lived around the 4th and 5th centuries CE. This chronicle is a crucial source for understanding Christian history between 305 and 439 CE.1

Socrates was a layman, which was unusual for church historians at the time. His history is divided into seven books, with each book corresponding to the reign of an Eastern Roman emperor, continuing the work of the earlier historian Eusebius of Caesarea. Socrates aimed for impartiality, incorporating official documents and sometimes adding anecdotes from eyewitnesses. His work, along with that of other historians like Sozomen, was translated and provided medieval churches with much of their knowledge of early Christianity.12

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Socrates
…church historian whose annotated chronicle, Historia ecclesiastica (“Ecclesiastical History”), is an indispensable documentary source for Christian history from 305 to 439. Through excerpts from the 6th-century Latin translation ascribed to Cassiodorus and Epiphanius, it provided the medieval Latin church with a major portion of its knowledge of early Christianity.
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…church historian whose annotated chronicle, Historia ecclesiastica (“Ecclesiastical History”), is an indispensable documentary source for Christian history from 305 to 439. Through excerpts from the 6th-century Latin translation ascribed to Cassiodorus and Epiphanius, it provided the medieval Latin church with a major portion of its knowledge of early Christianity.
Read More