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Jerome: Saint Biblical Scholar Doctor of the Church

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DE VIRIS ILLUSTRIBUS 325: Nicea I 331: Birth of Jerome 361-363: Julian the Apostate 380: Edict of Thessalonica 381: Constantinople I 391: Closing of Pagan Temples 410: Sack of Rome by Alaric Sept. 30 th 420: Death of Jerome S. Ambrose S. Anastasius I (P.) S. Athanasius S. Augustine S. Basil S. Cyril of Jerusalem S. Damasus I (P.) Didymus the Blind S. Epiphanius S. Gregory Nazianzus S. Hilary of Poitiers S. Innocent I (P.) Ss. John and Paul S. John Chrysostom S. Julius I (P.) S. Martin of Tours Pelagius S. Siricius (P.)

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PRINCIPIUM 331: Born at Stridon ~342-347: Grammar (Rome) ~347-351: Rhetoric (& Law?) ~Before 366: Baptism ~350s-360s: Trier, Stridon, Aquileia ~372: To Antioch, via Athens

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MONACHUS Lent 374: Vision of Judgment ~374-377: The Syrian Desert 377-381: Antioch and Constantinople 382-385: Rome Again 385-386: Holy Land Pilgrimage 386-420: Bethlehem Vision of St. Jerome by Bernardino Mei, 1657-60

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ASCESIS Popularizer of Monasticism Letters & Example Translated St. Pachomius Rule Criticized tepid clergy/laity Polemical battles for objective superiority of consecrated life Defended Perpetual Virginity of Mary Against Helvidius Dialogue Against the Pelagians Penitent St. Jerome by Georges de la Tour, 1628-30

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CONTROVERSIAE Meletian Schism 4 th Century Soap Opera Saints on all sides Jerome tried to stay out of it Asceticism/Monasticism Still new to the West Noble Roman Ladies Death of Blesilla St. Jerome as Cardinal by El Greco, 1610-14

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CONTROVERSIAE Origenism Proto-Protestantism Against Vigilantius Communion of Saints Relics Married Clergy Pelagianism Monastery attacked Library burned St. Jerome by Marinus van Reymerswale, 1541

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RUFINUS -Childhood/School friend -Monk, settled in Bethlehem -Devoted fan of Origen -393: Rupture w/Jerome -397: Reconciliation, to Italy -397-8: Translates Origen, prefaces implicate Jerome -Drama and Intrigue- -410: Rufinus dies, rupture continues

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AUGUSTINUS 394: Augustine writes Jerome -Important letters miscarry- 398-9: Jerome hears of letter, incensed at Augustine -Exchange of letters: Jerome suspicious, Augustine deferential 404: Augustine has won Jeromes friendship & respect -Later assist one another vs. Pelgianism St. Jerome and St. Augustine by Carlo Crivelli, c. 1490

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VIR LITTERARUM -Master of the Latin Language -Wrote in almost every genre -Knew Greek, Hebrew, Syriac -Impressively well-read -Extraordinary Translator -Accomplished Interpreter -Capable Theologian

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COMMENTARIA 374: First Commentary Obadiah (Allegorical) Others: 387/8: Philemon, Galatians, Ephesians, Titus 389: Ecclesiastes Genesis, Psalms, Micah, Nahum, Habbakuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Job 12 Minor Prophets (again), Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah (incomplete) St. Jerome in His Study by Albercht Drer, 1514

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HEBRAICA VERITAS -First studied Hebrew in Syria -Continued rest of his life -Often did double translations -Used Hexapla of Origen, et al. -Eventually argued for Hebrew canon vs. LXX = Septuagint = Greek OT -Apologetic concern: Jews -Still quoted apocrypha as Scripture St. Jerome in His Study by Jan van Eyck, 1432?

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BIBLIA SACRA VULGATA -383/4: Pope Damasus asks J. for revision of Old Latin Bible -Jerome re-translates Gospels (beginning of Vulgate), and Psalms (now lost) -389: Ecclesiastes -391-405: Entire Old Testament St. Jerome in His Study by Domenico Girlandaio, 1480

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SPIRITUS PARACLITUS Sept. 15, 1920 1500 th Anniversary of the Death of St. Jerome Goal: Present St. Jerome as a model, inspire assiduous and reverent study of Sacred Scripture Pope Benedict XV 1914-1922

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SPIRITUS PARACLITUS Brief Biography Jerome: Doctrinal Model Inspiration Authority of Scripture Total Inerrancy of Scripture Includes Historical Truth Reaffirms Leo XIII Condemns abuse of principles Example of Christ Communion of St. Jerome (Detail) by Domenichino, 1614

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SPIRITUS PARACLITUS Jerome: Pastoral Model Love of Scripture Preparation & Good will Fidelity to Church Clergy under greater obligation to biblical fluency Goals for biblical studies: Advancement in Spiritual Life Doctrine Last Communion of St. Jerome (Detail) by Botticelli, c. 1495

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SPIRITUS PARACLITUS Jerome: Exegetical Model Seek the Four Senses Literal first Continue to the Spiritual Commentators: Be clear, straightforward Love of Scripture leads to love of the Church Everything in Scripture points to Christ The Four Doctors of the Church with the Symbols of the Four Evangelists (Detail) by Pier Francesco Sacchi, 1516

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BENEDICT XVI What can we learn from St Jerome? It seems to me, this above all; to love the Word of God in Sacred Scripture. St Jerome said: "Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ". It is therefore important that every Christian live in contact and in personal dialogue with the Word of God given to us in Sacred Scripture. However, to avoid falling into individualism, we must read it in communion with the living Church.

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VIR CATAGRAPHISSIMUS St. Jerome in His Study by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1520s

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BIBLIOGRAPHIA Steinmann, Jean. Saint Jerome and His Times. Trans. Ronald Matthews. Notre Dame, IN: Fides Publishers, 1959. Kelly, J.N.D. Jerome: His Life, Writings, and Controversies. London: Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd., 1975. Reprint Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998 Available on www.Vatican.va:www.Vatican.va Benedict XV Encyclical Spiritus Paraclitus Sept. 15, 1920 Benedict XVI Audiences on Nov. 7 & 14, 2007 Available on www.NewAdvent.org: www.NewAdvent.org Jeromes Letters Polemical Works Select Prefaces Illustrious Men Lives of Malchus, Paulus, Hilarion