Socrates of Constantinople ( 380 – after 439), also known as Socrates Scholasticus ( grc-gre, Σωκράτης ὁ Σχολαστικός), was a 5th-century
Greek Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
church historian, a contemporary of
Sozomen
Salamanes Hermias Sozomenos ( grc-gre, Σαλαμάνης Ἑρμείας Σωζομενός; la, Sozomenus; c. 400 – c. 450 AD), also known as Sozomen, was a Roman lawyer and historian of the Christian Church.
Family and home
He was born aro ...
and
Theodoret
Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus ( grc-gre, Θεοδώρητος Κύρρου; AD 393 – 458/466) was an influential theologian of the School of Antioch, biblical commentator, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus (423–457). He played a pi ...
.
He is the author of a ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' ("Church History", Ἐκκλησιαστική Ἱστορία) which covers the
history of late ancient Christianity
Christianity in late antiquity traces Christianity during the Christian Roman Empire – the period from the rise of Christianity under Emperor Constantine (c. 313), until the fall of the Western Roman Empire (c. 476). The end-date of this perio ...
during the years 305 to 439.
Life
He was born in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
. Even in ancient times nothing seems to have been known of his life except what can be gathered from notices in his ''Historia Ecclesiastica'', which departed from its ostensible model,
Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Chris ...
, in emphasizing the place of the emperor in church affairs and in giving secular as well as church history.
Socrates' teachers, noted in his prefaces, were the grammarians
Helladius and
Ammonius, who came to Constantinople from Alexandria, where they had been pagan priests. A revolt, accompanied by an attack on the pagan temples, had forced them to flee. This attack, in which the
Serapeum of Alexandria
The Serapeum of Alexandria in the Ptolemaic Kingdom was an ancient Greek temple built by Ptolemy III Euergetes (reigned 246–222 BC) and dedicated to Serapis, who was made the protector of Alexandria. There are also signs of Harpocrates ...
was vandalized and destroyed, is dated about 391.
It is not proved that Socrates of Constantinople later profited by the teaching of the
sophist Troilus. No certainty exists as to Socrates' precise vocation, though it may be inferred from his work that he was a layman.
In later years he traveled and visited, among other places,
Paphlagonia
Paphlagonia (; el, Παφλαγονία, Paphlagonía, modern translit. ''Paflagonía''; tr, Paflagonya) was an ancient region on the Black Sea coast of north-central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus (region), Pontus t ...
and
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...
.
The ''Historia Ecclesiastica''
The history covers the years 305 to 439, and experts believe it was finished in 439 or soon thereafter, and certainly during the lifetime of Emperor
Theodosius II
Theodosius II ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after the death of his ...
, i.e., before 450. The purpose of the history is to continue the work of
Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Chris ...
(1.1). It relates in simple
Greek language what the Church experienced from the days of
Constantine to the writer's time. Ecclesiastical dissensions occupy the foreground, for when the Church is at peace, there is nothing for the church historian to relate (7.48.7). In the preface to Book 5, Socrates defends dealing with
Arianism
Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...
and with political events in addition to writing about the church.
Socrates' account is in many respects well-balanced. He is careful not to use hyperbolic titles when referring to prominent personalities in the church and the government and even criticizes
Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Chris ...
for his excessive praises to Emperor
Constantine the Great
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...
in his ''
Vita Constantini''.
The ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' is one of the few sources of information about
Hypatia
Hypatia, Koine pronunciation (born 350–370; died 415 AD) was a neoplatonist philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician, who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, then part of the Eastern Roman Empire. She was a prominent thinker in Alexandria where ...
, the female mathematician and philosopher of Alexandria, who was brutally murdered by a mob, allegedly by order of Patriarch
Cyril of Alexandria
Cyril of Alexandria ( grc, Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας; cop, Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ Ⲕⲩⲣⲓⲗⲗⲟⲩ ⲁ̅ also ⲡⲓ̀ⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲕⲓⲣⲓⲗⲗⲟⲥ; 376 – 444) was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 44 ...
. Socrates presents Hypatia's murder as entirely politically motivated and makes no mention of any role that Hypatia's paganism might have played in her death, arguing instead that the she was killed for supporting local prefect
Orestes in his political struggle against Cyril. Socrates unequivocally condemns the actions of the mob, declaring, "Surely nothing can be farther from the spirit of Christianity than the allowance of massacres, fights, and transactions of that sort."
Socrates is often assumed to have been a follower of
Novatianism
Novatianism or Novationism was an early Christian sect devoted to the theologian Novatian ( 200–258) that held a strict view that refused readmission to communion of '' lapsi'' (those baptized Christians who had denied their faith or performed ...
, but this is based on the fact that he gives a lot of details about the Novatianists, and speaks of them in generous terms, as he does of Arians and other groups. He speaks of himself as belonging to the Church.
Rev. A. C. Zenos, "Life of Socrates,"
A Selected Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. ii, eds. Henry Wace and Philip Schaff, (New York: Christian, 1887-1900), p. x-xi
Socrates asserts that he owed the impulse to write his work to a certain Theodorus, who is alluded to in the proemium
__NOTOC__
A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a ''foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface often closes ...
to the second book as "a holy man of God" and seems therefore to have been a monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...
or one of the higher clergy
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
. The contemporary historians Sozomen
Salamanes Hermias Sozomenos ( grc-gre, Σαλαμάνης Ἑρμείας Σωζομενός; la, Sozomenus; c. 400 – c. 450 AD), also known as Sozomen, was a Roman lawyer and historian of the Christian Church.
Family and home
He was born aro ...
and Theodoret
Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus ( grc-gre, Θεοδώρητος Κύρρου; AD 393 – 458/466) was an influential theologian of the School of Antioch, biblical commentator, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus (423–457). He played a pi ...
were combined with Socrates in a sixth-century compilation, which has obscured their differences until recently, when their individual portrayals of the series of Christian emperors were distinguished one from another and contrasted by Hartmut Leppin, ''Von Constantin dem Großen zu Theodosius II'' (Göttingen 1996).
Editions and translations
The ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' was first edited in Greek by Robert Estienne
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
, on the basis of ''Codex Regius'' 1443 (Paris, 1544); a translation into Latin by Johannes Christophorson (1612) is important for its variant readings. The fundamental early modern edition, however, was produced by Henricus Valesius (Henri Valois) (Paris, 1668), who used the ''Codex Regius'', a Codex Vaticanus, and a Codex Florentinus, and also employed the indirect tradition of Theodorus Lector (''Codex Leonis Alladi'').
The text was edited in '' Patrologia Graeca'' vol. 67 (online a
documentacatholicaomnia.eu
. The new critical edition of the text is edited by G. C. Hansen, and published in the series ''Die Griechischen Christlichen Schriftsteller'' (Berlin:Akademie Verlag) 1995. An English translation by A. C. Zenos was published in '' Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers'', Second Series, Vol. 2. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wallace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1890.) (online editions
newadvent.org
https://archive.today/20130129093928/http://www.munseys.com/book/7649/ECCLESIASTICAL_HISTORY,_THE munseys.com] . More recently (2004-2007), Socrates' ''History'' has been published in four bilingual (Greek/Latin and French) volumes by Pierre Maraval in the '' Sources Chrétiennes'' collection.
Notes
References
*Theresa Urbainczyk, ''Socrates of Constantinople'', University of Michigan Press
The University of Michigan Press is part of Michigan Publishing at the University of Michigan Library. It publishes 170 new titles each year in the humanities and social sciences. Titles from the press have earned numerous awards, including ...
, Ann Arbor 1997
External links
*
Greek Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Graeca with analytical indexes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Socrates Of Constantinople
Writers from Constantinople
380 births
5th-century deaths
5th-century Christians
Historians of the Catholic Church
5th-century Byzantine historians
Church Fathers
Historians of Christianity
Roman-era Greek historians
Hypatia