Eusebius of
Caesarea or Eusebius Pamphili
, c. 263–339?,
Greek apologist and church historian, b. Palestine. He was bishop of
Caesarea, Palestine (314?–339). In the controversy over Arianism,
Eusebius favored the semi-Arian views of Eusebius of Nicomedia, and he
once gave refuge to Arius. A simple baptismal creed submitted by
Eusebius at the First Council of Nicaea (325) formed the basis of what
became known as the Nicean Creed; it was amended with the Greek word homoousios
[consubstantial, of the same substance] to define the Son's
relationship with the Father. Eusebius considered this addition to the
creed as reflecting the ideas of Sabellius, which he opposed. Although
he signed the formulary, he later did not support it. His works
include a universal history entitled the Chronicle, the Ecclesiastical
History, and the apologetic works Praeparatio Evangelica
and Demonstratio Evangelica.
Neander,
Johann August Wilhelm
, 1789–1850,
German theologian and church historian. Of Jewish parentage, he became
a Lutheran (1806), changing his name from David Mendel. In 1813 he
became professor of church history at the Univ. of Berlin. A disciple
of Friedrich Schleiermacher, he was one of the leaders in the attempt
to mediate between the rationalists and the extreme orthodox Lutheran
theologians. He wrote many books, of which the best known is Allgemeine
Geschichte der christlichen Religion und Kirche (11 vol.,
1825–52; tr. General History of the Christian Religion and
Church, 9 vol., 1847–55).