The Living Tradition An Orthodox Archive of the Church Fathers and Early Church

Ecclesiastical writer

Socrates Scholasticus

Also known as Socrates of Constantinople

A lawyer at Constantinople whose Ecclesiastical History continues Eusebius from 305 to 439 and is a principal source for the fourth-century Church.

  • Historical consensusBroadly agreed among historians working from the surviving evidence. Consensus can shift when the evidence or the method changes.
  • Disputed historyHistorians genuinely disagree. The page gives the range the evidence supports rather than choosing the most striking version.

Primary evidence verified Content last reviewed 2026-08-29

What still needs checking (2)
  • Archive further books of the history.
  • Add tier D scholarship on Socrates s reliability and on his sympathies.

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Dates
around 380 - after 439 — Dates approximate; nothing is known of him beyond what the history reveals.
Region
Constantinople
Language of composition
Greek

Life

Socrates was a layman, trained in law, writing at Constantinople in the 440s. He set out to continue Eusebius and covered the period from the abdication of Diocletian to 439.

He quotes documents at length, corrects himself when he finds better evidence, and says so — which is unusual and makes him more useful than a more polished narrative would be.

Works

Generally accepted as authentic

Theological and spiritual contribution

Socrates is one of the three fifth-century continuators of Eusebius, with Sozomen and Theodoret, and the three together are the backbone of what is known about the fourth-century Church. Where they agree, the evidence is reasonably strong; where they differ, the difference is usually worth examining rather than resolving by preference.

Controversy and reception

Socrates shows sympathy for the Novatianists and is unusually willing to record the failings of bishops. He is not a Father and is not a canonised saint; this site classifies him as an ecclesiastical writer and uses him as a historical source.

  • Eusebius of Caesarea

    The first Church historian, without whom the pre-Nicene Church would be largely unknown to us — and an interested party in the fourth-century disputes he narrates. He is not a canonised Father.

    Father or writer

  • Theodoret of Cyrus

    Bishop, historian and exegete of the Antiochene tradition, deposed at Ephesus in 449, restored at Chalcedon, and posthumously condemned in part at the Fifth Council.

    Father or writer

  • The First Council of Nicaea

    The council that confessed the Son to be of one substance with the Father, addressed the date of Pascha, and issued twenty disciplinary canons. It did not decide which books belong to the Bible.

    Council

  • Athanasius of Alexandria

    Bishop of Alexandria, exiled five times, whose defence of the Nicene confession held the line for half a century, and whose thirty-ninth festal letter contains the earliest surviving list of the twenty-seven New Testament books.

    Father or writer

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Sources for this page

  1. Tier C Socrates and Sozomenus: Ecclesiastical Histories Philip Schaff and Henry Wace (eds.) The Ecclesiastical History, Book I translated edition of primary texts Archived in full. Source record

Tiers are explained in the methodology. No page on this site has been reviewed or approved by any bishop, priest, synod or seminary.