On 30 September the church remembers Jerome, teacher of the faith, biblical translator and monastic leader, traditionally regarded as the most learned of the Latin Fathers (347-420).

But who was Saint Jerome?

Jerome (also known as Eusebius Hieronymus) was born around the year 342 at the edge of the Latin-speaking world in the city of Strido in Dalmatia (modern Croatia). He was highly influential in the history of Christian thought and his translations were crucial to the spread of Christianity and Christian study.

However, he was an extremely temperamental individual, sarcastic, impervious to gossip (many of his close friendships were with women), and had a habit of making enemies wherever he went. He could, by all accounts, be equally gregarious and an enthusiastic friend when his confrontational side was not to the fore.

The man who became known as the ‘prince of translators’ began by studying grammar and rhetoric at Rome. During his time in the city he was baptized, and then left for Trier in Gaul where, with a group of friends, he was persuaded to enter the monastic life.

After an argument, the group split, and Jerome left the community. With some of the group, Jerome journeyed to Antioch, and by the time he had reached the city in 374 two of his travelling companions had died, and Jerome himself was seriously ill. It was during this period that he is believed to have had a dream in which God condemned him for living more like a person from classical literature (a Ciceronian) than as a Christian. On his recovery he started to live as a hermit in Syria, and during this time learnt Hebrew – a language he found difficult and coarse, and from which he frequently retreated.

He was ordained priest in Antioch, before studying in Constantinople under Gregory of Nazianzus. Jerome’s ordination to the priesthood was strange. He never served as a priest in any capacity, and there is no evidence of his ever celebrating the Eucharist. He seems to have been ordained simply to fulfil the desires of others, and saw himself as having primarily a monastic vocation.

It was in Constantinople that his reputation as a translator began to emerge, and he was much in demand as an interpreter but once again he found relationships difficult and his work took him back to Rome. In Rome he began a work on a Latin text of the Bible, which eventually became known as the Vulgate. Jerome’s translation was to become the standard version of the Bible in the Western Church for over a thousand years. He was supported in his work by a group of Christian women, which resulted in some scandalous gossip. As ever with Jerome this relationship did not last long. He eventually settled in Bethlehem in 386, founding a monastery where spent the last 35 years of his life as a monk and a scholar.

During this period of his life Jerome wrote many books, some vehement in their response to what he considered false teaching. His single-mindedness in pursuit of his own point of view led to the loss of his great friendship with Rufinus, and he also locked horns with Augustine.

Jerome was an intensely knowledgeable man, gifted in translation, and devout in his personal life. His difficult personality and frequent quarrels have led many to speculate at his designation as a saint. However, Jerome’s immense literary output, his translation of texts from the original Hebrew into Latin, his Bible translation, his adaptation, revision and continuation of Eusebius’ Church History, and his biblical commentaries, mark him out as one of the most gifted and erudite Fathers of the Church.

His correspondence is refined and detailed, drawing from the best of Eastern and Western theology. It shall come, it shall come, that day when this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality Letter 14.

A Prayer of Saint Jerome

O Lord, show Your mercy to me and gladden my heart.
I am like the man on the way to Jericho who was overtaken by robbers, wounded and left for dead.
O Good Samaritan, come to my aid.
I am like the sheep that went astray.
O Good Shepherd, seek me out and bring me home in accord with Your will.
Let me dwell in Your house all the days of my life
and praise You for ever and ever with those who are there.
Amen.

Revd Paul A. Carr and extract from ‘Saints on Earth: A biographical companion to Common Worship’ by John H Darch and Stuart K Burns