Biography.guide
Home › People › Church historian › Gelasius of Caesarea
Portrait of Gelasius of Caesarea

Gelasius of Caesarea

335 – 395

Greek bishop and church historian (died 395)

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Gelasius of Caesarea

Lived 335 – 395 (aged 59–60). Gelasius of Caesarea was a church historian, eastern Orthodox priest and bishop.

Gelasius of Caesarea (; died 395) was bishop of Caesarea Maritima from 367 to 373 and from 379 to his death. He was also an author, though none of his work survives.

Gelasius participated in the First Council of Constantinople in 381. He was forced to surrender his position as bishop to the semi-Arianist Euzoius of Caesarea between the years of 373 and 379, because in matters of Christology he was a staunch Nicaean. However, in the fifth century Socrates Scholasticus cites some of his works, and it seems that he wrote a sequence to Eusebius' Church History, preserved in the first fifteen chapters of Rufinus' tenth book added to Eusebius' history, which includes the legend of Helena's discovery of the True Cross.

Gelasius was nephew to Cyril of Jerusalem, the most vigorous advocate for Jerusalem in the later fourth century, and at whose deathbed request Gelasius wrote his history.

He is also the first to mention the rôle of Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, in the finding (inventio) of the Holy Wood, the Cross of Christ in Jerusalem under the Temple of Venus on the hill known as Golgotha.

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Born
335
Birth century
Died
395

People in Gelasius of Caesarea's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Gelasius of Caesarea's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Gelasius of Caesarea?

Greek bishop and church historian (died 395)

When was Gelasius of Caesarea born?

Gelasius of Caesarea was born in 335.

When did Gelasius of Caesarea die?

Gelasius of Caesarea died in 395.

What was Gelasius of Caesarea's occupation?

Gelasius of Caesarea was a church historian, eastern Orthodox priest and bishop.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Gelasius of Caesarea

· Wikidata: Q2735853

· DBpedia: Gelasius of Caesarea

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Gelasius of Caesarea. https://biography.guide/gelasius-of-caesarea/

MLA: "Gelasius of Caesarea." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/gelasius-of-caesarea/.

Chicago: "Gelasius of Caesarea." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/gelasius-of-caesarea/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:11 UTC