The History of the Church--Eusebius

[mayot]

Hello Board for a proper introduction see my post in the First Timers meet-and-greet thread.

I’ve started reading Eusebius account of the Church, The History of the Church, and I have a question regarding Mary being Ever Virgin.

For anyone familiar with this work…please see Book 2, How the apostles lived after the Ascension, should be on page 35 starting at the last sentence…I’ll post an excerpt:
Then there was James, who was known as the brother of the Lord; for he, too, was called Joseph’s son, and Joseph Christ’s father, through in fact the Virgin was his betrothed, and before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Ghost…
Help me out here…is Eusebius claiming that James was in fact Jesus’ brother and the son of both Mary and Joseph?

The reason I ask is that I come from a Protestant family and I’m studying the Roman Catholic Church…my wife is slowly coming around, but its not been easy…anyway, she wants to read this book after I’m done and when she reads this, I’ll need to be ready for an answer, b/c we’ve discussed Mary being Ever Virgin…

Blessings
-mayot

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Hello Board for a proper introduction see my post in the First Timers meet-and-greet thread.

I’ve started reading Eusebius account of the Church, The History of the Church, and I have a question regarding Mary being Ever Virgin.

For anyone familiar with this work…please see Book 2, How the apostles lived after the Ascension, should be on page 35 starting at the last sentence…I’ll post an excerpt:Then there was James, who was known as the brother of the Lord; for he, too, was called Joseph’s son, and Joseph Christ’s father, through in fact the Virgin was his betrothed, and before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Ghost…Help me out here…is Eusebius claiming that James was in fact Jesus’ brother and the son of both Mary and Joseph?

The reason I ask is that I come from a Protestant family and I’m studying the Roman Catholic Church…my wife is slowly coming around, but its not been easy…anyway, she wants to read this book after I’m done and when she reads this, I’ll need to be ready for an answer, b/c we’ve discussed Mary being Ever Virgin…

Blessings
-mayot

He is saying that the people assumed that James was Jesus brother. That those who didn’t know any better assumed that he was the son of Joseph, Christ’s father. Joseph wasn’t Christ’s father… but everyone who didn’t know thought he was. That actually the opposite of what everyone thought actually happened. She was with child before she and Joseph could have possibly come together. This had to be the work of the Holy Spirit.

 

[Sacramentalist]

What’s more, it seems that Eusebius is alluding to the very early tradition that Saint Joseph was a widower, and that James and the other “siblings” of Christ were actually Joseph’s children from a prior marriage.

See “Mary: Ever Virgin”