In this article I investigate to what extent the «ecclesiastical history» is or ought to be linked to a specific ecclesial background. The Greek original of the term (ekklēsiastikē historia, coined by Eusebius of Caesarea) can be interpreted in two ways: as history of the Church or history from an ecclesiastical perspective (corresponding to an objective vs. subject genitive, respectively). The history of Eusebius has a marked apologetical interest, but this does not fatally undermine the scholarly rigor of the work. I argue that the discipline should have a clear theological profile even today, and that moreover this need not exclude a pluralism of perspectives among the specialists of the field.