12. The Theological Library of Caesarea Maritima was a key center of knowledge for early Christian thinkers and theologians.
It’s widely believed that the Theological Library of Caesarea Maritima was founded in the first few years of the 3rd century. At the start, it would have just been an unorganised collection of works gathered by the early Christians who settled in the Caesarea Martima area of Palestine. In particular, the theologians Origen and Pamphilus were among the age’s great collectors of Scripture. Over the years they are thought to have amassed a collection of more than 30,000 manuscripts. Over time, these were properly organised, and word soon spread of the treasures of the Theological Library of Caesarea Maritima.
Among the highlights of the library’s collection was the Gospel According to the Hebrews, as well as the Hexapla, supposedly the only complete copy of the Bible translated into Greek from Hebrew, with the two languages compared word-for-word and side-by-side. Small wonder, then, that the likes of St. Jerome, Gregory the Theologian and Basil the Great all travelled to Palestine to study at the Theological Library of Caesarea Maritima. The works they read in the collections helped shape their own writings, helping to influence and inspire new generations of Christian thinkers.