Jesus and His Disciples as Ethical Vegans: Testimony from Eusebius. Dr. Chapman Chen

The early Christian historian Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 260–c. 339 CE), often regarded as the “Father of Church History,” offers one of the most significant surviving patristic testimonies supporting the view that Jesus and his first disciples lived an ethically vegan lifestyle. In his apologetic work The Proof of the Gospel (Demonstratio Evangelica), Eusebius presents a theological portrait of Jesus that challenges Jewish animal sacrificial practices and highlights the ascetic, vegan commitments of his earliest followers.

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1. Jesus’ Rejection of Animal Sacrifice

In Book V, Chapter 5 of The Proof of the Gospel, Eusebius confronts the charge that Jesus was a deceiver by highlighting his opposition to animal sacrifice:

He has not ordained that God should be honoured with sacrifices of bulls or the slaughter of unreasoning beasts, or by blood, or fire, or by incense made of earthly things. That He thought these things low and earthly and quite unworthy of the immortal nature, and judged the most (d) acceptable and sweetest sacrifice to God to be the keeping of His own commandments. That He taught that men purified by them in body and soul, and adorned with a pure mind and holy doctrines would best reproduce the likeness of God, saying expressly: "Be ye perfect, as your Father is perfect." (Eusebius, 1920, Demonstratio Evangelica, trans. W.J. Ferrar, Book III, Ch. 3 https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/eusebius_de_05_book3.htm)

This passage presents Jesus as rejecting blood sacrifice—a central element of Second Temple Judaism—and emphasizing moral purity over ritual slaughter. This may serve as a footnote to Jesus’ famous declaration, “I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice!” (Matt. 9:13, 12:7), quoting Hosea (6.6). This is also corroborated by The Gospel of the Ebionites:- “I (Jesus) came to abolish sacrifices, and unless you cease from sacrificing, my anger will not cease from you.” (see Epiphanius, Panarion, Book I, 30.16.5 https://gnosis.study/library/%D0%9A%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0/ENG/Epiphanius%20of%20Salamis%20-%20The%20Panarion,%20Book%20I%20(Sects%201-46).pdf).

1.1. Jesus Enacted His Animal Liberation Stance

Subsequently, Jesus lived out this animal liberation stance by way of the Temple Raid, which, alas, cost Him His life. In emptying the Temple of innocent creatures about to be slaughtered for sacrifice, and in calling the Temple-turned-butcher-shop "a den of robbers/murderers" (Mark 11:16, Luke 20:46, Matt. 21:12-13), Jesus debunked the evil and fraudulent nature of animal sacrifice and disrupted the chief priests' and scribes' lucrative revenue stream. Immediately afterwards, they conspired to destroy Him (Mark 11:15-18), eventually leading to His arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection at Easter (cf. Akers 2000, 117-118).   

2. The Disciples’ Abstinence from Flesh

In Book III, Chapter 5, Eusebius turns to the lifestyle of Jesus’ disciples:

Consider the character of the disciples of Jesus. From the men as they stand, surely any sensible person would be inclined to consider them worthy of all confidence; they were admittedly poor men without eloquence, they fell in love with holy and philosophic instruction, they embraced and persevered in a strenuous and a laborious life, with fasting and abstinence from wine and meat, and much bodily restriction besides, with prayers and intercessions to God, (c) and, last but not least, excessive purity, and devotion both of body and soul (Eusebius, 1920, Book III, Ch. 5 https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/eusebius_de_05_book3.htm).

The context makes clear that "they" refers to the original disciples—those closest to Jesus, including the Twelve. Their abstention from wine and flesh is not incidental but is presented as a defining characteristic of their transformation from ordinary men to holy philosophers and preachers. The phrase "abstinence from wine and from flesh" aligns with established Greco-Roman philosophical ideals of asceticism and bodily discipline (Akers, 2000), and lends credence to the view that the first followers of Jesus embraced a lifestyle of compassion and restraint, including veganism.

Eusebius’ description of the twelve disciples being vegan is corroborated by the following writings on individual disciples:

2.1. James the Just:

James, the Lord's brother, succeeds to the government of the Church, in conjunction with the apostles. He has been universally called the Just, from the days of the Lord down to the present time… was holy from his mother's womb. He drank no wine or other intoxicating liquor, nor did he eat flesh… He alone was permitted to enter the holy place: for he did not wear any woollen garment, but fine linen only. (Hegesippus 1887, Fragments from Hegesippus’ Five Books of Commentaries on the Acts of the Church, trans. Roberts-Donaldson  https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/hegesippus.html; cf. Eusebius, Church History, Book II, Ch. 23.5-6 https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250102.htm)

2.2. Saint Peter:

“I use only bread and olives, and rarely pot-herbs; and that this is my only coat and cloak which I wear.” (Clementine Homilies, Hom. 12, Ch. 6 https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/080812.htm; also see, Recognitions 7.6); and “the things which are well-pleasing to God are these: to pray to Him, to ask from Him, recognising that He is the giver of all things, and gives with discriminating law; to abstain from the table of devils, not to taste dead flesh”(Clementine Homilies, Hom. 7, Ch. IV https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/080807.htm)

2.3. Matthew the Apostle:

“It is far better to be happy than to have a demon dwelling with us. And happiness is found in the practice of virtue. Accordingly, the apostle Matthew partook of seeds, and nuts, and vegetables, without flesh.” (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book II, Ch.1 http://www.logoslibrary.org/clement/instructor/201.html)

2.4. Thomas the Apostle:

He fasts much and prays much, and eats bread and salt and drinks water, and wears one garment, and takes nothing from any man for himself, and whatever he has he gives to others’” (Acts of Thomas, Ch. 20 https://archive.org/details/actsofthomas0000unse/page/118/mode/2up?q=salt&view=theater)

3. Conclusion

Eusebius of Caesarea, writing in the early fourth century, preserves vital testimony supporting the view that Jesus and his earliest disciples lived lives of ethical nonviolence that included abstention from animal products. Through his Proof of the Gospel, Eusebius portrays Jesus not only as rejecting blood sacrifice but also as embodying and teaching a higher divine ethic grounded in compassion, moral purity, and spiritual perfection. This vision extends to the apostles themselves, whom Eusebius describes as adopting rigorous ascetic practices—including abstinence from wine and flesh—out of devotion to their Master and the God of peace. Their way of life, further corroborated by early Christian texts concerning James the Just, Peter, Matthew, and Thomas, exemplifies a radical commitment to compassion, simplicity, and ethical purity that resonates with contemporary vegan values. In preserving these traditions, Eusebius offers more than historical insight; he invites us to recover a forgotten dimension of Christian discipleship—one that sees the love of God expressed not through sacrifice, but through mercy to all living beings.