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It wasn't until the late second century that Caesarea recorded its first [[bishop]], Zacchaeus the Publican, and the city began to develop a Christian prominence. It was the site of a [[synod|council]], about 196, that involved regulation of the celebration of [[Pascha]]. Caesarea became the ecclesiastical metropolis of Palaestina Prima, subject to the [[Church of Antioch|Patriarch of Antioch]] which, until 451, was itself senior to the [[Church of Jerusalem|Bishop of Jerusalem]]. Included among Caesarea's bishops were such personalities as the historian [[Eusebius of Caesarea|Eusebius]].
In 231, [[Origen]] arrived in Caesarea after fleeing Alexandria where he had been banished by Bp. [[Demetrius of Alexandria ]] for his unauthorized [[ordination]] as a [[priest]] and made it his permanent home. There, he established a theological school with the scholarly priest [[Pamphilius of Caesarea ]] who had a reputation for having an extensive ecclesiastical library of over 30,000 manuscripts. While the collection at the library suffered during the persecutions, the collection was restored by the bishops of Caesarea.
The library's presence contributed to the scholarship that came from Caesarea. Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea and the first Church historian, is famous for his works that include his books on Church history (Historia Ecclesiastica) and a geographical-historical study of the Holy Land (Onomasticon).
==Decline==
In 639, Caesarea was overrun by the Arabs after which the population of the city declined. The twelfth century brought the crusades and almost two centuries of warfare. In 1101, Baldwin I, who led a Frankish army of crusaders, took the city from the Arabs. The city became the seat of a Latin [[archbishop]] in a crusader built [[cathedral]]. An aspect of the crusader occupation of Caesarea is the storied finding of the legendary Holy Grail in Caesarea. Late in the twelfth century Caesarea was taken by Saladin before Richard the Lionhearted of England recaptured it four years later.
Louis IX, King of France, rebuilt the fortifications of Caesarea in 1251, before the city was attacked by the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in 1265. After he had taken the city, Baibars razed the city's fortifications to prevent their re-use by the crusaders. Caesarea, then, faded into history.