Eusebius of EmEsa Robert E. Winn Eusebius of EmEsa Church & Theology in the Mid-Fourth Century The Catholic University of America Press Washington, D. C. Copyright © 2011 The Catholic University of America Press All rights reserved The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standards for Information Science—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. ∞ Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Winn, Robert E. Eusebius of Emesa : church and theology in the mid-fourth century / Robert E. Winn. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 978-0-8132-1876-2 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Eusebius, Bishop of Emesa, ca. 300-ca. 359—Sermons. 2. Church history—4th century I. Title. BR65.E76W56 2011 230'.19092—dc22 2011014812 For Samantha Winn, with gratitude CoNTENTS Acknowledgments ix Abbreviations xi Introduction 1 1 The World of Eusebius of Emesa 19 2 Rhetorical and Exegetical Strategies 52 3 The Natural World and Human Nature 86 4 The Nature of God 123 5 The Humanity and Divinity of Christ 187 6 Martyrs and Virgins: Asceticism and the Church 225 Conclusion 253 Appendix 257 Bibliography 263 Index 275 ACkNoWLEDGMENTS I first encountered the sermons of Eusebius of Emesa in a seminar on the Antiochene theologians of the patristic era when I was a graduate student at the Catholic University of America. Two things struck me at the time: here is a singularly interesting voice from the mid-fourth century and his is a voice that is often unheard in discussion of fourth-century Christianity. Reading through the Ar- menian sermons of Eusebius with Robin Darling Young, then on the faculty of the School of Theology and Religious Studies at the Catholic University of America, solidified my decision to one day undertake a significant research project on his life and thought. This book, now over ten years removed from my original encounter with Eusebius, is the result of this persistent interest in this bishop. Several other individuals have also been helpful over the years of writing and rewriting on Eusebius of Emesa. Joseph Lienhard and Markus Vinzent both provided guidance and made valuable sugges- tions at different stages in the development of this project. Philip Amidon, Peter Cowe, and an anonymous evaluator, all external readers for the Catholic University of America Press, also were gen- erous with their constructive criticisms. This book is without ques- tion better because of their input; all errors and infelicities are, of course, my own. Parts of chapter 2 and chapter 6 first appeared as the following article: “The Church of Virgins and Martyrs: Ecclesiastical Identity in the Sermons of Eusebius of Emesa.” Copyright © 2003 The North American Patristic Society and The Johns Hopkins University Press. This article first appeared in the Journal of Early Christian Studies 11, ix