Damasus I
Bishop of Rome in the 370s and early 380s. The edict of Theodosius in 380 named his faith as the standard of orthodoxy, the eastern bishops wrote to him in 382, and he set Jerome to revise the Latin Gospels.
Jerome’s Chronicle records that Damasus was ordained bishop of Rome and that a rival, Ursinus, was set up soon afterwards, with bloodshed between their supporters (Jerome, Chronicle entry on Damasus and Ursinus). The edict of 380 defines the Catholic faith as that which “the pontiff Damasus” and Peter of Alexandria follow (Theodosian Code 16.1.2) (see the Edict of Thessalonica), and the bishops who met at Constantinople in 382 addressed their statement of faith to him and the other bishops gathered at Rome (Theodoret, Church History 5.9).
Jerome served him as secretary and at his request revised the Latin Gospels against the Greek (Jerome, Letter 123.10) (Jerome, Preface to the Four Gospels) (see Jerome Translates the Latin Vulgate). Jerome adds that he wrote verse and died in the reign of Theodosius at almost eighty (Jerome, On Illustrious Men 103). Prosper’s chronicle enters his successor Siricius under the year 384 (Prosper, Chronicle 1182 (AD 384)).
In the timeline
- c. 382–405, estimated dateJerome Translates the Latin Vulgate
At the request of Pope Damasus, Jerome revises the Latin Gospels against the Greek. At Bethlehem he then translates the Old Testament from Hebrew, book by book, over more than a decade. His version became the common Bible of the Latin West.
Primary sources
Chronicle
- Jerome, Chronicle entry on Damasus and Ursinustertullian.org
The Theodosian Code
- Theodosian Code 16.1.2droitromain.univ-grenoble-alpes.fr
Letters
- Jerome, Letter 123.10newadvent.org
On Illustrious Men
- Jerome, On Illustrious Men 103newadvent.org
Chronicle
- Prosper, Chronicle 1182 (AD 384)archive.org