The Church History of Rufinus of Aquileia, Books 10 and 11

Through his Latin translations, Rufinus of Aquileia (c. 345–410) brought to the West and preserved for subsequent generations the richness of Eastern thought represented by writers such as Origen, Gregory of Nazianzus, Basil of Caesarea, and Evagrius. Rufinus also transmitted a view of the Church and world in which they lived through his edited translation of Eusebius of Caesarea’s Historia ecclesiastica, to which he added his own extension, Books 10 and 11. With this first, welcome English translation of the latter books (from the Latin edition of Theodor Mommsen in the Griechische Christliche Schriftsteller series), Philip R. Amidon widens the scope of Rufinus’s audience.

Rufinus published the translation of Eusebius and his own addenda in 402–403 at the behest of Chromatius of Aquileia, who sought to rally the people of the region in the face of a threatened invasion from Alaric and the Goths. In his extension of Historia ecclesiastica, Rufinus dramatically leads his readers from the assembly of Church leaders at Nicea in 325 to the death of Emperor Theodosius in 395. It is a time, Rufinus notes, in which the Church “was ravaged, not as previously by outsiders, but by its own people” (Book 10.22, p. 33). Rufinus puts a very human face on the struggling community of faith. From these pages emerge emperors, empresses and bishops, as well as those condemned for heresy such as Arius and those honored for promoting orthodox beliefs such as Athanasius, Basil, and Gregory of Nazianzus. Reading the accounts of Rufinus also reminds us of his service as a preserver of some of the most popular legends in Christian tradition—for example, Helena’s finding of the true cross (Book 10. 7–8, pp. 16–18).

Accompanying this fine translation is a scholarly yet concise introduction to the work. Amidon includes a summary of Rufinus’s life and an overview of the controversy surrounding the authenticity of his claims to authorship of Books 10 and 11, which present consensus resolves in favor of Rufinus, who made some use of Gelasius of Ceasarea’s history. Amidon’s copious, intelligible end notes allow Rufinus’s text to flow freely while supplying informative, scholarly background and modern critique of Rufinus’s faulty chronology and less-than-factual approach to history. In addition, Amidon provides a substantial bibliography.

This volume would be a valuable addition to any library or scholarly collection, and it would serve students, professors and researchers of church history as a useful resource. It contributes to the study of the historical perspective of Rufinus and of those writers for whom Rufinus was a source. Finally, by reminding readers that Rufinus wrote his history to encourage the faith of believers in the turmoil of his own day, Amidon also recalls the power of history to give life to the present.