Socrates of Constantinople facts for kids

Socrates of Constantinople (Greek: Σωκράτης ὁ Σχολαστικός), also known as Socrates Scholasticus, was a Christian historian who lived in the 400s. He wrote a very important book called Historia Ecclesiastica, which means "Church History."

This book tells the story of early Christian history from the years 305 to 439. It helps us understand what happened in the Christian church during that time.

About Socrates' Life

Socrates was born in a city called Constantinople. We don't know much about his life, except for what he wrote in his own history book. He focused on how emperors were involved in church matters. He also wrote about everyday history, not just church history.

Socrates had teachers named Helladius and Ammonius. They were grammarians, which means they taught about language and writing. They came to Constantinople from a city called Alexandria. They had to leave Alexandria because there was a revolt where pagan temples were attacked and destroyed. This happened around the year 391.

We are not sure what job Socrates had. But from his writings, it seems he was a regular person, not a priest or a church leader. Later in his life, he traveled to places like Paphlagonia and Cyprus.

Socrates' "Church History" Book

Socrates' book, Historia Ecclesiastica, covers the years 305 to 439. Experts believe he finished writing it around 439, or soon after. He wrote it while Emperor Theodosius II was still alive.

The main reason Socrates wrote this book was to continue the work of another historian named Eusebius. Socrates wrote in simple Greek language. He wanted to tell the story of the Church from the time of Emperor Constantine up to his own time.

Socrates focused a lot on disagreements and arguments within the Church. He believed that when the Church was peaceful, there wasn't much for a church historian to write about! In his book, he explained why he also wrote about political events, not just church events.

His book is one of the few sources of information we have about Hypatia. She was a famous female mathematician and philosopher from Alexandria.

Socrates tried to be fair in his writing. He was careful not to use overly praising titles when talking about important church or government leaders.

Some people think Socrates might have been a follower of a group called Novatianists. This is because he wrote a lot of details about them and spoke kindly of them. He also spoke kindly of other groups, like the Arians. But Socrates always said he belonged to the main Church.

Socrates said that a man named Theodorus encouraged him to write his book. Theodorus was described as a "holy man of God." He might have been a monk or a high-ranking church official.

Other historians like Sozomen and Theodoret also wrote church histories around the same time. For a long time, people thought their books were very similar to Socrates'. But recently, experts have found that each historian had their own unique way of describing the Christian emperors.

Copies and Translations of the Book

The Historia Ecclesiastica was first printed in Greek in Paris in 1544. Later, it was translated into Latin in 1612.

A very important early edition was made by Henricus Valesius in 1668. He used several old copies of the book to make the best version.

You can find the text online in a collection called Patrologia Graeca.

An English translation was published in 1890 by A. C. Zenos. It is part of a larger collection called Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. You can find this translation online too.

More recently, between 2004 and 2007, the book was published in four volumes with both Greek and French translations. This was done by Pierre Maraval in the Sources Chrétiennes collection.

See also

In Spanish: Sócrates de Constantinopla para niños