The Church of Virgins and Martyrs: Ecclesiastical Identity in the Sermons of Eusebius of Emesa

Published studies of the extant sermons of Eusebius of Emesa have focused on two of his concerns which, up to this point, have been treated independently of each other: his understanding of the divinity of the Son in the midst of the theological debates of the fourth century and his understanding of the importance of the life of asceticism. In the article that follows, I argue that there was a point of intersection between his theology and his zeal for asceticism, and that this point of intersection was his understanding of human salvation—and thus his understanding of the identity of the church. As creator, "God, the Son of God" transformed created natures while on earth; as savior, "God, the Son of God" transforms human nature into an angelic nature on earth. In his sermons, Eusebius communicated a vision of the church as a body of virgins and martyrs, the former those who represent the church's ascetic ideal of the angelic life and the latter those who sacrifice everything for the church's ascetic ideal.