The Epistle of Jerome to Pope Damasus I (), written in 376 or 377 AD, is a response of

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...

Pope Damasus I Pope Damasus I (; c. 305 – 11 December 384) was the bishop of Rome from October 366 to his death. He presided over the Council of Rome of 382 that determined the canon or official list of sacred scripture. He spoke out against major heresies ( ...

's letter urging him to make a new Latin translation of the

four gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

, to replace the ''Vetus Latina'' translation. The letter predates the 382–405 period when Jerome worked on his translation, the

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

. In the epistle, Jerome agreed that the translation of the

should be revised and corrected, acknowledging the numerous differences between every Latin manuscript such that each one looked like its own version. To remedy the problem, Jerome agreed that they should be corrected on the basis of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

manuscripts (Greek

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

). Jerome explained why the old Latin order of the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

s ( Matthew,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, Luke,

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * F ...

) should be changed to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, because it is the order of the Greek manuscripts. He also explained the importance of the

Eusebian Canons Eusebian canons, Eusebian sections or Eusebian apparatus, also known as Ammonian sections, are the system of dividing the four Gospels used between late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The divisions into chapters and verses used in modern texts d ...

and how to use them. Copies of the letter occur in many Latin manuscript

Gospel book A Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels (Greek: , ''Evangélion'') is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament – normally all four – centering on the life of Jesus of Nazareth ...

s and Bibles (even in old Latin

Codex Sangallensis 48 Codex Sangallensis, designated by Δ or 037 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 76 ( von Soden), is a Greek-Latin diglot uncial manuscript of the four Gospels. It is usually dated palaeographically to the 9th century CE, though a few palaeograp ...

). Usually it is placed at the beginning of the gospel book (e.g. Codex Sangallensis 48 or the

Lindau Gospels The Lindau Gospels is an illuminated manuscript in the Morgan Library in New York, which is important for its illuminated text, but still more so for its treasure binding, or metalwork covers, which are of different periods. The oldest ele ...

External links

Hieronymus Epistola ad Damasum
at the Documenta Catholica Omnia
Hieronymus Epistola ad Damasum
* Wikisource:Jerome's Letter to Pope Damasus: Preface to the Gospels
Letter of Jerome to Pope Damasus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Letter Of Jerome To Pope Damasus Biblical criticism 4th-century Christian texts Works by Jerome

See also

External links