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The birthplace of Blessed Jerome is the insignificant town of Stridon, which lay on the borders of Dalmatia and Pannonia 3972. The exact time of birth of this great father of the Western Church is unknown 3973, as is his worldly name: most likely he bore the name Eusebius, in honor of his father. The parents of Blessed Jerome belonged, as one might think, to the class of wealthy freedmen 3974; They were Christians and gave their eldest son a strictly Christian upbringing. “I was fed,” Blessed Jerome later said about himself, “on Catholic milk from my very cradle and was all the more devoted to the church because I was never a heretic.” Jerome received his primary education at home, and his teacher, despite the severity of his character, managed to instill in his talented student a love of science. Then, to complete his education, his parents sent Blessed Jerome to Rome. According to the custom of the time, the course of study included logic and, as the main subjects, grammar and rhetoric; Blessed Jerome, in addition, became acquainted with the teachings of some philosophers, but he devoted especially much time to the study of eloquence; he visited courts to listen to famous court speakers. Here in Rome, in his youth, Jerome laid the foundation for his library, which throughout his subsequent life served him as a great consolation. Staying in the capital of the world, among temptations and temptations, left a sad mark on Jerome’s soul: he himself admitted that “during the slippery wanderings of his youth” he led an unclean life in Rome - a circumstance that later cost him many tears and bitter regrets. However, these deviations from the path of piety could not drown out in him the spark of God, planted in his soul from early childhood. He did not break off prayerful communication with his brothers in faith; in addition, on Sundays he, together with Pammachius and other comrades, usually visited the tombs of the martyrs located in the vicinity of Rome; when during these visits Jerome had to descend into the dark catacombs 3975, he could not help but feel as if he were going to the grave alive. Here in Rome, even before completing his education, Jerome made the decision to change his life and start a new, pure and good one. He probably did not hesitate to confirm his intention by baptism 3976; The exact time of the baptism of Blessed Jerome is unknown, but with a large degree of approximation to the truth, it is possible to assume that he was baptized when he was about twenty years old, and that the sacrament was performed on him either by Pope Liberius 3977 or one of the members of his clergy. After leaving Rome, Blessed Jerome undertook a long journey through Gaul, together with Bonosus, his schoolmate and foster brother. During this journey, Jerome, in his own words, “on the semi-barbarian banks of the Rhine for the first time felt the desire to serve God,” that is, the desire for monasticism with its vows of virginity and poverty began to awaken in him. Around 372, Blessed Jerome returned to Stridon from his journey through Gaul. His parents had already died and he was left to take care of the hereditary estate, his sister and young brother Pavlikian - the latter was twenty years younger than him. Probably these concerns prevented Jerome from fully realizing his intention to retire from the world, and he only partially satisfied his desire for monasticism, living at times in Aquileia 3978, where a small semi-monastic circle was formed of people close to each other and Blessed Jerome. But this circle suddenly, for some reason, which Jerome mentions vaguely, fell apart. Then Jerome went to the East to visit mainly Jerusalem, as well as the hermits of Syria and Egypt. On this journey, Blessed Jerome was accompanied by his friends, former members of the Aquilean circle Innocent, Niceus, Iliodor, Iva and Evagrius. The latter, however, went with them only to his native Antioch. They made their journey through Thrace, Bithynia, Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia and Cilicia. The hardships of the long journey, combined with ascetic deeds, undermined the strength of the pious pilgrims. When they reached Antioch, where they found the hospitable shelter of Evargius, Jerome fell ill, and Innocent, to the great sorrow of the blessed father, even died; Iva also died. Sadness intensified Jerome's illness, which lasted for quite a long time, in all likelihood until the spring of 374. Having recovered, Jerome began to study the Holy Scriptures, an inclination for which had awakened in him even earlier 3979, for this purpose he listened to conversations on the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures from the famous Apollinaris 3980. He did not abandon the intention of retiring to the desert, where he was especially drawn after the death of those close to him, especially since Iliodor and Nikeus no longer wanted to continue the journey. In 374, Jerome decided to settle in the “Syrian Thebaid” - the Chalcedonian desert (to the East of Syria). Here he stayed for almost five years, probably living in some monastery and at times leaving it for desert solitude, approving the hostel and advising it to others. Blessed Jerome, as his “Life of Paul the Hermit” shows, at the same time had special respect, bordering on reverence, for those ascetics who, settling alone in remote places of the desert, found shelter in mountain caves, sometimes they For several years they did not see a human face, and only wild animals and scorpions violated their solitude. In the now-mentioned work, Blessed Jerome mentions, among other things, two hermits whom he himself saw in the Chalcedonian desert: one of them ate only barley bread and drank dirty water for 30 years; The only food for the other was dates, which were thrown to him every day, in the amount of 5, to the bottom of the old reservoir where he lived. Mortifying his flesh with prayer, severe feats of fasting, deprivation and physical labor, Blessed Jerome, in desert solitude, devoted himself entirely to the study of the Holy Scriptures, using the necessary books for this from his own library and the library of his friends who lived nearby in Antioch, mainly Evagrius. At the same time, under the guidance of one converted Jew, he began the study of the Hebrew language, in which the books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament were mainly written, the last lesson for Blessed Jerome also served as a humbling means: this goal was fully consistent with the humiliation of studying the alphabet and the unmusicality of the words of the Hebrew language, which was not very pleasant for Blessed Jerome, who formed his style by studying the best representatives of classical literature. The following remarkable dream probably dates back to this time in the life of Blessed Jerome, which he describes in this way: “Wretched man,” he says, “I fasted just before I intended to read Cicero. After many night-long vigils, after tears torn from my very heart by the memory of my previous sins, I usually took up Plautus. If, having come to my senses, I began to read the prophets, then their rude speech offended me, and since I did not see the light with my blind eyes, I thought that it was not the fault of my eyes, but the fault of the sun. When this ancient serpent thus tempted me, about halfway through the fast my exhausted body was seized by a fever, the seeds of which were in me, and without any relief it so fed on my unfortunate limbs that the skin barely held on to my bones. Meanwhile, preparations were already being made for my burial, and the vital heat of my soul barely glimmered in the insignificant warmth of my chest, and my whole body grew cold; and suddenly I was caught up in spirit before the judgment seat of the Divine Judge, where there was such a stream of light and such a blaze of glory from the Angelic spectators that, having prostrated myself on the ground, I could not raise my eyes. When asked who I was, I answered that I was a Christian. “You are lying,” answered the Questioner, “you are a Ciceronian, not a Christian; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” - Instantly I was speechless, and under the blows (for He ordered me to be scourged) I was even more tormented by the fire of conscience, reflecting on the well-known verse: “Who will confess Thee in hell?” But I began to scream and, under the blows of the whip, screaming loudly, said: “Have mercy on me, Lord, have mercy on me!” Finally, those standing near me, throwing themselves on their knees at the feet of the Judge, begged Him to forgive my youth and give me the opportunity to repent of my error, and subsequently to subject me to torment if I ever read books of pagan literature. I myself, who in this mortal need was ready to promise even more, began to repent and, calling on His name, said: “O Lord, if I ever read them, may I be rejected by You!” Released after pronouncing this oath, I returned to the highest region of the air and, to the surprise of everyone, opened my eyes, filled with such a stream of tears that my fear convinced even unbelievers. And indeed, it was not a dream or a simple dream, with which we are often deceived. This court before which I stood, this formidable court which I feared, is my witness; May I never be brought to this court again. I confess that my shoulders turned blue from the beatings, that when I woke up I felt the blows and that from now on I read Divine books with more zeal than I used to read human books.” From the desert of Chalcedon, Blessed Jerome maintained contact with those close to him through correspondence, which he used as a means of fervently calling for ascetic deeds. In this regard, the letter of Blessed Jerome to Presbyter Iliodor received particular fame; in the following fiery words, he convinces his friend to renounce the world: “Away with entreaties, away with caresses! You neglected me when I asked you; perhaps you will listen to me when I reproach you. Pampered warrior! What are you doing in your treacherous house? Here comes the sound of a trumpet from heaven! Here comes an armed Leader from the clouds to conquer the world! Behold, the two-edged sword coming from His mouth destroys all obstacles. Do you leave the room to fight, from the shadows into the sun? Here is the enemy in your very chest trying to kill Christ... Even if your little nephew hung on your neck, even if with loose hair and torn clothes your mother showed you the breasts with which she fed you, even if your father lay on the threshold - walk over his body with dry eyes and run under the banner of the cross! In such a matter, the only true filial love is to be cruel.” In Antioch in the early sixties of the 4th century, two bishops appeared simultaneously, Meletius and Paulinus. Elected in 358 with the consent of the Orthodox and Arians 3981, since both considered him their supporter, Meletius actually justified the hopes of the Orthodox, declaring openly that he contains the teaching about the Son of God, which was set forth by the fathers of the 1st Ecumenical Council 3982. But due to the fact that Meletius was elected not without the assistance of the Arians, Orthodox zealots, who lovingly honored the memory of the great hierarch of the Antiochian Church Eustathius, unjustly deposed through the machinations of the Arians, separated from Meletius, led by Presbyter Paulinus, who in 362 was elevated to the rank of bishop. The situation became more complicated when, in 376, a third Apollinarian bishop, 3983 Vitaly, was installed in the same Antioch. The discord between the parties was further intensified by theological disputes, centered on the question of the dignity and equality of the Persons of the Most Holy Trinity. While Paulinus, to express the doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity, accepted the formula developed in the West - in the Most Holy Trinity there is “one hypostasis 3984 in three Persons,” Meletius, following the usage of the East, recognized “one ousia” 3985 and “three hypostases” 3986. In essence, the supporters of both formulas meant the same thing, they only expressed the same idea in different words 3987. These strife, caused in Antioch by the Meletian schism and Arian unrest, also penetrated into the neighboring Chalcedon desert, where Blessed Jerome labored. In a letter to Pope Damasus 3988, he complains in the following words about the violation of desert solitude caused by the indicated reasons: “The tireless enemy followed me into the desert, so that now in a solitary life I endure a struggle even worse than before settling in the desert. On the one hand, Arian madness rages, supported by the guardians of the world. On the other hand, the church in Antioch, divided into three parties 3989, seeks to take me into itself.” The further time passed, the more the discord in Antioch intensified, and at the same time the anxiety they caused to Blessed Jerome increased. In a letter to Prester Mark, two years after the letters to Damasus, the blessed father, among other things, says: “Why do they call me a heretic when I agree with the West and Egypt? Not a single corner of the desert has been ceded to me. I am asked daily about my faith, as if I were born again without faith. I confess as they wish, but they do not like it; I sign - they don’t believe me. They have only one desire to get rid of me. I'm ready to leave." And indeed, soon Blessed Jerome left the desert for Antioch, probably to his friend Evagrius. In Antioch, Blessed Jerome joined the community of Paulinus; the latter ordained him a presbyter. During the period described, a stay in Antioch could not have been pleasant for the blessed father, who was looking for peace. Therefore he did not stay here long; attracted by the fame of Gregory of Nazianzus 3990 as a church teacher, blessed Jerome went to Constantinople, of which Saint Gregory was the bishop at that time. Subsequently, Blessed Jerome more than once recalled how much he owed to Saint Gregory, who guided him in his studies devoted to the study of Scripture. Here in Constantinople, Blessed Jerome met with the Christian theologian-philosopher Gregory of Nyssa, who read to him his just written essay against the heretic Eunomius, who sinned against the Orthodox teaching of the Holy Trinity. At the end of 381, Blessed Jerome left hospitable Constantinople and went to Rome, prompted, in his own words, by “church necessity”: one must think that Blessed Jerome was summoned to Rome by Pope Damasus for a council on the affairs of the ill-fated Meletian schism, which did not cease in the Antiochian Church even after the death of Meletius. By the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople in 3991, Flavian was elected to replace Meletius after his death; The pope and the western bishops supported Paulinus, who was the bishop of Antioch in the days of Meletius. This disagreement 3992 between the Eastern and Western Churches was the reason for the council convened by Damasus. Blessed Jerome arrived in Rome with Paulinus and Epiphanius, whom he met in Constantinople, where they stopped on their way to Rome. In Rome, Blessed Jerome immediately received the position of secretary to the pope and the council. By the way, the fathers of the council entrusted Blessed Jerome with presenting a confession of faith directed against the heretical error of Apollinaris. In general, the position of Blessed Jerome under Pope Damasus, especially at the beginning, was very influential. The Pope, who was engaged in research in the field of studying the Holy Scriptures, used the instructions of Blessed Jerome, encouraging him at the same time to do the same. In the first years of his stay in Rome, Blessed Jerome, for his ascetic lifestyle, for his learning and eloquence, enjoyed universal respect and wide fame: suffice it to say that the blessed father was openly called the successor of Pope Damasus in the department of the Roman Church. But after a short time, Blessed Jerome became the subject of fierce hatred. His insistence that the achievement of Christian perfection is impossible without complete renunciation of the world and the flesh repelled not only pagans, but also many Christians. Some vicious members of the then society took advantage of this circumstance to accuse the ascetic of hypocrisy, spreading all kinds of slander and accusations about him. Many were also embarrassed by the deep respect with which Blessed Jerome treated Origen 3993. Such a hostile attitude, which blamed Blessed Jerome even for his obvious merits, 3994 especially intensified after his letter to Julia Eustochia about preserving virginity. This letter dates back to 383. In it, Blessed Jerome denounces and ridicules the moral laxity and religious hypocrisy of his contemporary Roman Christian society and mainly the clergy. The letter armed literally all Roman Christians against Blessed Jerome, especially since “all pagans, apostates and everyone who hated the Christian name zealously copied this letter, because it dishonored all classes of Christians, all degrees, all professions and the entire Church, exposing them to the most shameful disgrace” 3995. During this storm of indignation, excited by the aforementioned letter, Blessed Jerome found some peace in the company of pious friends who were disposed towards him and respected him. This small circle consisted of: Pammachius, a patrician 3996 and a schoolmate of Blessed Jerome, Oceanus, later a friend of Blessed Augustine 3997, Marcellinus, a notary 3998 and a very noble man 3999, and Presbyter Domnion. Now Blessed Jerome compared these named friends with Daniel, Ananias, Azarias and Mishael (Dan.1:1-21). The following noble, pious and educated women belonged to this society: Melania, Albina and her daughter Marcella, Leia, Asella, as well as Pavla with her daughters: Blesilla, Eustochia, Pavlina, Rufina; Blessed Jerome was especially disposed towards the latter family. The beneficial influence of Blessed Jerome on the noble and noble women of Rome, who were bound by their affection for him, was especially important in view of the extreme decline of morals of that time: he set an example of the best Christian life, which testified for itself; Blessed Jerome's leadership of the circle of people devoted to him consisted in the fact that he read and explained to them the Holy Scriptures, trying to persuade them to lead an ascetic lifestyle, maintaining virginity or widowhood. In 384, the high patron of Blessed Jerome, Pope Damasus, died; his place was taken by Siricius, a less enlightened man who disapproved of the activities of Blessed Jerome. The tongue of the slanderers was no longer restrained, so that the blessed father, seven months after the death of Damasus and after his three-year stay in Rome, was forced to leave the latter. He left it together with his young brother Paulinian and the presbyter Vincentius. Having said goodbye to his friends who accompanied him to the pier, Blessed Jerome, with longing in his soul, boarded the ship to leave the “eternal city” forever. The only consolation for Blessed Jerome during this sorrowful parting was the thought that “even if he was destined to endure the shame of a false accusation, he learned that through evil rumors the Kingdom of Heaven is achieved” ... “and before the judgment seat of Christ it will be revealed how everyone lived.” Blessed Jerome left Rome with the intention of visiting the holy land. On the way there, by the way, he stopped on the island of Cyprus, where he stayed with the Bishop of Salamis, Saint Epiphanius, and in Antioch, under the hospitable shelter of Bishop Paulinus. Here in Antioch, Blessed Jerome was joined by Paula and Eustochia, who broke all ties with their native Rome for the sake of piety. From Antioch, the pilgrims to the holy land - Paul and Eustochius, accompanied by young virgins, and Jerome with Vincentius, Paulinian and a small group of monks - set off together. They visited the tower of the holy prophet Elijah in Zarephath (1 Sam. 17:9) and kissed the sand at the place in Tire where the holy Apostle Paul knelt (Acts 21:3–5); in Caesarea they examined the house of the centurion Cornelius (Acts 10:1–48) and small rooms in the house of the “evangelist” Philip, where once, in the days of the holy apostles, his four virgin daughters lived (Acts 21:8–9). In Jerusalem, pilgrims reverently kissed the Cross of Christ, His tomb, the pillar of flagellation; They also visited all the places in Jerusalem consecrated by the memory of the Lord Jesus Christ. From Jerusalem, passing the tomb of Rachel 4000, the pilgrims arrived in Bethlehem 4001. Here, at the birthplace of Christ the Savior, Paul exclaimed in sacred delight: “Am I, a miserable sinner, worthy to kiss the manger in which the Lord cried as a small child - to pray in the cave in which the Virgin Mary gave birth to the Child - Christ? This is the homeland of my Lord, Here I will live, since the Savior chose it.” After Bethlehem, the pilgrims, having visited the chapel of the “Angel of Good News to the Shepherds,” headed to the Dead Sea 4002 through Gaza and Hebron; then, having visited the Jordan, through Bethel, Shiloh and Nazareth 4003 they reached the Sea of ​​Galilee 4004 and Mount Tabor 4005. From Palestine the pilgrims went to Egypt 4006, where they stayed in Alexandria for a whole month; here Blessed Jerome listened to the teacher of the Alexandrian Catechetical School, the blind Didymus, famous for his knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, successor in the department of Origen 4007. When the travelers arrived in the Nitrian desert in 4008, they were met by Bishop Isidore with “countless crowds of monks.” After communicating with the Nitrian hermits, the pilgrims returned to Bethlehem in the fall of 386. For the residence of pilgrims who decided to stay in Bethlehem, Paul undertook the construction of monasteries - female and male; in the latter the rector was Blessed Jerome; Pavla then built two more convents. Construction lasted about three years; All this time, Paul and the virgins and Blessed Jerome and the monks lived in uncomfortable rooms. In addition to the monasteries, Paul built a hospice house where, when visiting Bethlehem, pilgrims found free shelter, flocking in large numbers to the holy land even from such distant places of the Christian world as Galia, Britain, Armenia, Pontus, Ethiopia and India. The hospice house was open to all pilgrims, excluding heretics; “Joseph and Mary,” says Blessed Jerome, “if they had come to Bethlehem again, they would not have found themselves without a place again.” Wide and generous charity finally exhausted Pavla’s rich personal funds, so that Blessed Jerome, in support of the monastery, was forced to send his brother Pavlinian to Dalmatia with instructions to sell his personal inheritance. Blessed Jerome himself lived in a cave located next to the cave of the Nativity of Christ. His food was bread with edible herbs, and his drink was water: and even this meager food the blessed father ate on fasting days only after sunset. He led the monks of his monastery, supervising at the same time the pious exercises and studies of Pavla and Eustochia, and the latter’s persistent questions about certain obscure passages of the Holy Scripture put him in great difficulty. Blessed Jerome devoted part of his working day to teaching boys. But his main occupation, as before, was the study of Holy Scripture and correspondence. Sulpicius Severus 4009, who lived with Blessed Jerome in his cave for six months, testifies that the blessed father was always busy reading or writing, taking almost no rest, not only during the day, but also at night. Here in the cave, Blessed Jerome, sparing no expense, collected for himself an extensive library, mainly from the works of Origen, Didymus, Irenaeus and Eusebius of Caesarea. In connection with the main occupation of Blessed Jerome in the study and interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, there is his study of the Hebrew language, which he continued in Bethlehem: he conducted these studies either with Rabbi Varanina, or with a rabbi from Lydda or Tiberias, and the latter took a high fee for his lessons. In studying the Hebrew language, Blessed Jerome was inspired, in addition to the desire to become acquainted with the authentic language of the Old Testament holy books, by the desire to refute the ridicule of Christians by the Jews: the latter pointed out that the texts of Scripture to which Christians refer allegedly have a different meaning in the original. The time of Blessed Jerome's stay in Bethlehem was the dawn of his literary activity. This especially needs to be said about the first ten years. Then attacks of fever, the fear of social disasters that gripped the entire East, trembling in anticipation of the invasion of the Huns 4010, disrupted the peaceful stay of Blessed Jerome in Bethlehem. But his polemics caused him especially a lot of grief, which he could not refuse even here, in Bethlehem’s distance from the world, and which he pursued with great enthusiasm. Blessed Jerome either denounced persons who expressed views that disagreed with the teachings of the Church, or defended his views in the event of attacks on them from persons who disagreed with the opinion of the blessed father on a well-known church issue. So Blessed Jerome came out with three accusatory books against one free-thinking monk Jovinian; he pointed out the following errors in the latter's teaching: 1) that virginity, widowhood and marriage in themselves are equally indifferent and equally pleasing to God; 2) that those truly reborn in the waters of baptism can be sinless; 3) that fasting and the use of food combined with thanksgiving to God have the same moral dignity. In 399, Blessed Jerome was involved in the famous Origen controversy, which lasted about five years. During this dispute, which caused extreme trouble for Blessed Jerome, he turned from a former admirer of the famous Alexandrian teacher into an ardent denouncer of his errors; This dispute caused a final break between Blessed Jerome and Rufinus, once friends. More successful was his correspondence with Blessed Augustine, which also caused a lot of grief for Blessed Jerome: Jerome convinced Augustine to abandon his erroneous opinion, according to which he considered it unnecessary to translate the Holy Scriptures from the Hebrew language in view of the existence of translations by 70 interpreters. On the other hand, Blessed Augustine persuaded Blessed Jerome to tacitly abandon his interpretation of vv. 11–15. Chapter 2 of the Epistle to the Galatians, where Blessed Jerome presented the action of the supreme apostles in the light of insincerity, which humiliated their high dignity and shook the authority of the Holy Scriptures. Blessed Jerome was primarily a man of science and left behind a rich legacy in the form of his literary works. According to their subject and nature, these works can be divided into four types: 1) dogmatic-polemical; 2) moral and ascetic; 3) works on the interpretation of Holy Scripture and The dogmatic-polemical ones include: “Conversation against the Pelagians” 4011 (written at the end of 415); “The Book Against Helvidius on the Ever-Virginity of Blessed Mary” (in Rome, in 383); “Against Jovinian (in Bethlehem, in 392) and “Against Vigilantius” 4012. Many works of this kind were also caused by Origenistic disputes: “Epistle to Theophilus of Alexandria”, “Against Bishop John of Jerusalem” 4013 (398–399). "Two Books of Apology 4014 against the Books of Rufinus" (402), "The Third Book or Last Reply to the Scriptures of Rufinus" (402). The forced participation of Blessed Jerome in the strife caused by the schism in the Antiochian Church was the reason for the appearance of the book: “The Dispute between the Orthodox and the Luciferian” (in 379, in Antioch). Of the translated purely dogmatic works, the translations of Blessed Jerome are remarkable: Origen’s work “On Elements” (399) and Didymus’ work “On the Holy Spirit”. The moral and ascetic activity of Blessed Jerome found its expression mainly in his letters; Of these, 120 indisputably authentic ones have survived. The following letters from the blessed father are especially instructive; 14th to Iliodorus, with praise of the hermit's life; 22nd to Eustochia about maintaining the vow of virginity; 52nd to Nepotianus on the virtues of monastics in connection with the depiction of the ideal of pastoral service; 58th to Peacock with instructions to the monk. This also includes descriptions of the lives of the ascetics compiled by Blessed Jerome: Paul of Thebes (376), Malcha the monk and Saint Hilarion (both written around 379); The 103rd letter to Eustochia contains the biography of Pavla, a Bethlehem associate of Jerome. But Blessed Jerome acquired a truly immortal service to the Christian world through his works related to his favorite field of study of the Holy Scriptures. The works of this type of Blessed Jerome can be divided into: 3) exegetical. The following works of Blessed Jerome are considered esagogical: 1) “On Hebrew Names” - this work, compiled under the influence of Josephus, Philo and Origen, contains an explanation in a mystical-allegorical spirit of various proper names found in the Old Testament and New Testament books of the Holy Scriptures and arranged in alphabetical order. In 380, Blessed Jerome wrote an essay entitled: “The Book of the Position and Names of Jewish Places,” a work very important for the study of the topography and archeology of Palestine. “Jewish Questions on the Book of Genesis,” another work of the Blessed Jerome of this kind, represents critical comments on the most difficult passages of the book of Genesis, made on the basis of a comparative study of the texts of the “Italian,” Jewish and Greek 70 interpreters. The following works, written by Blessed Jerome, are of a philological nature: a correction according to the existing editions of the LXX translation, the so-called “Italic”, Latin translation of the Bible, widespread in the Latin Church, but containing a lot of errors. Blessed Jerome began this work in 383 on behalf of Pope Damasus; first of all, he set about correcting the four Gospels and the remaining books of the New Testament; He corrected the Psalter from the Old Testament books. The Psalter, by order of Pope Damasus, was immediately introduced into liturgical practice and began to be called the “Roman Psalter” 4015. The books of the New Testament, corrected by Blessed Jerome, are still part of the Bible used throughout the Western Catholic Church. Already during his life in Bethlehem, Blessed Jerome completed the correction of the “Italic text” for the books of the Old Testament, and he again began this work with the Psalter, which he corrected according to Origen’s hexaples. The manuscript of the latter was found by him in Caesarea, where Origen was in the 3rd century. 4016 This Psalter is known as the “Gallic Psalter” because it came into use primarily in the Gallic church and was then adopted throughout the Western Church. In the same manner, Blessed Jerome corrected all the other books of the Old Testament, but this work “through the wickedness of one man,” as the blessed father himself says, disappeared without a trace, with the exception of the book of Job. Being an expert in the Hebrew, “Chaldean,” Latin and Greek languages ​​and having at hand such an important manual as Origen’s hexaples, Blessed Jerome undertook an independent Latin translation of all the holy books of the Old Testament from their original language; he wanted to eliminate the shortcomings of the Italian text. Blessed Jerome began his work around 390, and completed it in 405, when the entire Old Testament was translated, with the exception of non-canonical books - Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees and the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach. Almost all books are translated from the Hebrew original; only Tobit and Judith were translated from the “Chaldean language”, and some parts of the books of Esther and Daniel from Greek. The translation of Blessed Jerome is not without shortcomings, because it was carried out extremely hastily: for example, the book of Tobit was translated in one day, the books of Solomon in three days, but even with its shortcomings, the translation of Blessed Jerome still has no equal in beauty, expressiveness and accuracy of presentation. And it is not surprising, therefore, that under Gregory the Great 4017 the translation came into general use in the Latin Church, and from the 13th century. became known under the name of the Vulgate, that is, a translation widespread among the entire people. The exegetical works of Blessed Jerome are divided into translations (translations of Origen's homilies - 14 on the prophet Jeremiah, 14 on Ezekiel, 2 on the Song of Songs, 39 on the Evangelist Luke) and his own; the latter include: interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew (398), of the Epistles of St. Paul to the Galatians, Ephesians, Titus and Philemon, as well as an interpretation of the Apocalypse. Many individual interpretations are scattered throughout his letters. The interpretations of Blessed Jerome are for the most part philological explanations, which often turn into conversations of a mystical-allegorical nature; they are also valuable in that among the explanations excerpts from the now lost works of Origen, Apollinaris and Didymus have been preserved. The historical works of Blessed Jerome are limited to the following: the translation of the “Chronicle of Eusebius of Caesarea” into Latin, and its minor revision and continuation until 378 and the “Catalogue of Famous Men”. Given the limited historical material preserved by antiquity, the first work is of no small importance. The latter work, compiled mainly from the writings of Eusebius of Caesarea, gives a consistent historical overview of all Christian literature, ending with the 14th year of the reign of Theodosius the Younger. Along with information about the works, biographies of the writers themselves are also included: in this review, Blessed Jerome pays the main attention to exegetical works, among which he included his own. Blessed Jerome had to be a contemporary of the fall of Rome under the blows of the Gothic hordes of Alaric (in 410). The “Eternal City,” which for many centuries was the living embodiment of state power, was a place of “horror, confusion, hunger and misery, fire and bloodshed.” His "brilliant churches were reduced to ashes and rubbish." During these terrible days in Rome, people close to Blessed Jerome died: Marcellinus and Pammachius. When the news of the fall of Rome reached Blessed Jerome, it gave him the impression of an unexpected thunderclap and filled him with great sorrow; the latter found its echo in his letters. “Who would believe,” he asked, “that Rome, founded on triumphs over the whole world, could be destroyed? So that he, the mother of nations, could also become their tomb? So that all the countries of the East, Egypt, Africa are filled with crowds of young men and maidens of the former ruler of the world? So that the holy city of Bethlehem should have to see, day after day, how brilliant persons of both sexes, who once lived in abundance and luxury, flock to its walls as beggars? Blessed Jerome, not being able to help them, shared the grief that befell them, shedding tears with them. But these tears were a relief compared to those that flowed from his eyes when he first received news of the capture of Rome and the horrors that accompanied this world event: “My voice,” he says in a letter to Principia on the death of her mother Marcella, “is suppressed, and sobs make it difficult for me to dictate words. Take the city that itself once took the whole world; Moreover, he perished from hunger before he fell by the sword, and scarcely a few men were found to take them prisoner. The rage of the hungry turned into vile cannibalism: people tore off each other’s members, a mother did not spare her infant child.” In 411, the elderly ascetic suffered a new test: Bethlehem itself trembled with horror caused by the wild raid of Bedouin Arabs, and only the mercy of God saved the community of Blessed Jerome from ruin. Thus, amidst disasters, having outlived all his friends, Blessed Jerome ended his days in sad loneliness. His very appearance testified to the exploits, hardships and losses he had endured: gray hair had long framed his forehead, furrowed with deep wrinkles; weak, sunken eyes and a pale, emaciated face bore traces of many tears. The only bright ray that brightened up the gloomy old age of Blessed Jerome was the settlement in Bethlehem of the younger Pavla, the granddaughter of Pavla and Albina, the Christian wife of a pagan priest, with her daughter Melania. They probably closed the eyes of the dying old man. The exact year of death of Blessed Jerome is unknown. However, the testimony of Prosper of Aquitaine has been preserved, which says that Blessed Jerome died on September 30, 420. He probably passed away into eternity after a rather long and serious illness 4018; was buried near Pavla and Eustochia in a cave adjacent to the place of the Nativity of Christ. In 642, the relics of Blessed Jerome were transferred from Bethlehem to Rome and placed in the Church of the Mother of God in Maggiore; where they are now is unknown. Only the honest hand has survived, which is located in Rome in the church named after him near Piazza Farnese. On the same day, the transfer of the relics of St. Theodore Sikeot, Bishop of Anastasiupol (for his life, see April 22 The location of the city is difficult to determine more precisely, since it was destroyed by the Goths already in the days of Blessed Jerome. Researchers who have been involved in resolving this issue indicate different chronological dates for the birth of Blessed Jerome: 331, 342 and 346. Those. were slaves and then received freedom. The wealth of Blessed Jerome's parents is evidenced by the fact that he was able to travel extensively throughout Europe and Syria, having with him a library of selected writers: all this, of course, required significant funds. Catacombs (catacumbae) are underground passages and caves arranged in an irregular network: catacombs are known near Rome, in Naples, Syracuse and on the island of Malta. The catacombs in the vicinity of Rome are especially extensive, so that if it were possible to extend them in one straight line, the length of the latter would be equal to the length of the Italian peninsula. The catacombs served for Christians of the first centuries as a secret place of liturgical meetings and a place of burial of the dead: it is assumed that for this purpose Christians took advantage of old abandoned underground passages formed during the extraction of pottery clay: Christians only continued and expanded them. At that time, there was a custom to postpone baptism - in most cases, out of a desire to atone for the sins of a previous life with baptism and partly out of fear of breaking the vows of baptism in the early years, when the will was not yet strong and the person was susceptible to sinful temptations. Liberia occupied the see of the Bishop of Rome 352–356. Aquileia was a large and famous city in Northern Italy at the time being described, a connecting point of roads leading to Pannonia, Noricum, Istria, and Dalmatia. Soon after completing his education in Rome, he wrote an interpretation of the book. Prophet Obadiah. Bishop Apollinaris of Laodicea, not limiting himself to denying Arian positions in the doctrine of the Son of God (see below for Arianism), sought to establish positions opposite to them; This desire led him to heresy. So, in contrast to the special emphasis of the Arians, which they, depending on their teaching about the Son of God as a created being, placed on the recognition of the all-human nature in Christ, Apollinaris destroyed the human personality in the Lord Jesus. From a psychological point of view, it seemed incredible to him that the teaching of the Nicene symbol that in Christ perfect deity and perfect humanity were united: he reasoned that two essences, while retaining all their properties, could never unite into one. The idea of ​​God-manhood seemed unthinkable to him also from the dogmatic side: sin is associated with full humanity, but if one thinks of sin in Christ, even as a possibility, then the work of redemption for him already becomes impossible. Therefore, Apollinaris, following the Greek philosopher Plato in dividing human nature into the body, animal or vital soul (pykn) and the spiritual soul, spirit (noys), believed that Christ, having assumed the body and soul of a human during the incarnation, did not perceive the distinctive part of the human being - the human spirit, since the latter necessarily presupposes freedom, and with it the inclination to sin, the human spirit, according to Apollinaris, in Christ replaced the Divine Logos, which ruled over all the evil desires of the animal soul. Apollinaris died in 390. The heresy of Apollinaris was condemned by the Council of Alexandria in 362. In 375, when Apollinaris, having separated from the church, began to form his own sect, he was condemned by a council in Rome; the last condemnation was repeated by the Second Ecumenical Council. Arius is a heretic (d. 386), who blasphemously asserted that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is not God, consubstantial with the Father, but a created Being, and therefore non-eternal, although the most perfect of all created beings. This heresy, known in the history of the Christian Church under the name Arian, was condemned at the first Ecumenical Council (325) in Nicaea, the fathers of which outlined the Orthodox teaching about the consubstantiality of the Son of God with God the Father: “we believe... in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten, begotten of the Father, i.e. from the essence of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, through whom (the Son) all things came into being, both in heaven and on earth”; The very heresy was condemned by the fathers of the council. But the Nicene symbol did not put an end to the church turmoil caused by Arianism: the Arian bishops, who were present at the council in significant numbers, sealed the conciliar definition of faith with their signatures solely out of fear of state power, which shared the beliefs of the Orthodox members of the council; having managed, soon after the end of the council, to attract state power to their side, the leaders of the Arians, with its support, entered into a fierce struggle with the defenders of the right faith; in the middle of the 4th century they won an almost complete external victory over their opponents, united under the sacred banner of the Nicene symbol. See previous note. Those. who shared the heretical error of Apollinaris of Laodicea, see above, p. 451. Moreover, this word was understood in the sense of essence - “ousia”. “Like the West, we too,” says Saint Gregory the Theologian (see about him below), “piously declare that there is one essence and three hypostases, but since the poverty of their alphabet does not provide a separate expression for ousia and hypostasis, they are forced to introduce the word prosopon (person), so as not to seem to recognize tri-essence. What could be more ridiculous or pathetic than making it a subject of controversy? Damasus occupied the see of Roman bishop 366–384. Those. on supporters of bishops Meletius, Paulinus and Vitaly St. Gregory the Theologian, the great father of the church and universal teacher, was born around 329 in Arianza (a place south of Nazianza, an insignificant town in Cappadocia). In early childhood, St. Gregory saw a dream that amazed him and showed him the path of his subsequent life: chastity and purity in the form of beautiful virgins appeared to him, inviting him to follow him. Secondary education St. Gregory received it in Caesarea in Cappadocia, where he first met Basil the Great. After this, in order to complete his education, he traveled to Palestinian Caesarea, Alexandria and Athens. The time spent in Athens, quite a long one, left St. Gregory's best memories; here he became friends with Basil the Great, and the two friends “knew only two paths - to school and the Christian church”; here he met the future emperor Julian, who later became notorious for his apostasy from Christianity. Julian produced St. Gregory is a repulsive impression. Around 357, St. left with sadness. Gregory, “golden Athens,” arrived in his homeland through Constantinople, where he was baptized. In 359, on the day of the Nativity of Christ, Gregory, unexpectedly for him, was ordained a presbyter by his father Gregory the Elder, bishop. Nazianza. When the father of Gregory the Theologian simply signed the semi-Arian symbol and thereby aroused the Orthodox flock against himself, St. Gregory reconciled her with the bishop. Meanwhile, Basil the Great, already bishop. Caesarea, almost forcibly consecrated his friend Gregory as bishop for the town of Sasim. But St. Gregory, in the rank of bishop, remained with his elderly father as his vicar and assistant until his death, which followed in 373 or early 374. Soon the mother of St. died. Gregory Nonna; brother and sister predeceased. Then St. Gregory retired to Seleucia to the monastery of St. Thekla, striving for asceticism, from which his duties towards his family had previously kept him away. From Seleucia St. Gregory was summoned by the Orthodox to Constantinople to defend Orthodoxy, persecuted by the Arians. In May 381, when, by the will of Emperor Theodosius, the Second Ecumenical Council was convened, St. Gregory, according to the wishes of the emperor and the people, was elected to the idle see of Bishop of Constantinople; the fathers of the council approved this election. Soon the chairman of the council, Meletius of Antioch, died, and his place, naturally, was taken by the newly elected bishop of the capital, i.e. St. Grigory. Disagreements between him and the fathers of the council - mainly regarding the measures by which to end the Meletian schism in Antioch - forced St. Gregory to retire to his homeland, where he spent time in solitude, engaged in literary works; here he died in 389. After himself, St. Gregory left a significant number of works: 45 words, 243 letters and a collection of poems. Words and some letters of St. Gregory had a great influence on the clarification of the Orthodox teaching about the Most Holy. The Trinity and the Face of the Lord Jesus Christ. In 381 under Emperor Theodosius the Great. As installed by a Western bishop (Lucifer, bishop from the island of Sardinia), Peacock was always in connection with the West. Therefore, when at the council, after the death of Meletius, there was talk about his successor, the fathers of the council chose not Paulinus, supported by the West, but Flavian, the presbyter of the Antiochian Church, for, they rightly said: in the affairs of the Eastern Church the East should be master, and not the West. Origen is the famous teacher of the Alexandrian Church, a miracle of his age in intelligence and depth of learning. Many of the most remarkable Fathers of the Church had deep respect for the theological works and merits of Origen; but later, during his lifetime, he was condemned as a heretic at two local councils of Alexandria and, after his death, at the Council of Constantinople in 543. Without expressing his non-Orthodox opinions as immutable truths, Origen, nevertheless, thought incorrectly about many of the truths of the doctrine of the Christian Church, which is why some considered his firmness in the most important Christian dogmas questionable. Developing the non-Orthodox doctrine of the pre-existence of souls, he thought incorrectly about Christ, believing that God created a certain number of spiritual beings of equal dignity, capable of understanding the Divine and becoming like Him; one of these created spirits rushed to the Divine with such fiery love that he inextricably united with the Divine Word or became Its created bearer; this, according to Origen, is the human soul through which God the Word could be incarnated on earth, since the direct incarnation of the Divine, in his erroneous opinion, is unthinkable. Holding a heretical view of the incarnation of God the Word and the creation of the world and man, Origen also understood the death of Christ in a non-Orthodox sense, representing it as something repeated spiritually in the spiritual world and having there an effect on the liberation of Angels and attributing too much in the matter of salvation to the action of ordinary forces with which our nature is endowed. Origen thought wrongly in some points of his teaching about the resurrection and the future life, for example, that the devil can be saved and in the interpretation of Holy Scripture he exaggeratedly understood too much in the mysterious sense, to the detriment of the historical meaning of Scripture. But, in any case, Origen’s services to the Church are more significant and cover his errors. In his schools he educated many remarkable fathers and teachers of the Church, some of whom owe to him their conversion from paganism to the Christian faith, with which he wanted to harmonize knowledge and philosophy. Particularly remarkable are his works on the study of St. Scripture - interpretation, and most importantly - restoration and purification of the original text; Origen’s writings are also remarkable, aimed at defending Christianity against its enemies and heretics. During the persecution of Decius, Origen was awarded the glory of a courageous confessor of Christ; he died as a seventy-year-old old man in Tire in 254. Thus, for example, the necessary and useful revision of the Latin translation of the books of Holy Scripture, made by Blessed Jerome on behalf of Pope Damasus, aroused fierce enmity, because it deprived Christians of many familiar and beloved sayings of Holy Scripture, which, although they were erroneously expressed in comparison with the original language of St. books, but due to long use they became expensive. This is how his former friend Rufinus subsequently reproached Blessed Jerome for the ill-fated letter. Those. a man of noble birth. Famous father of the Western Church (d. 430). Secretary at the court of the sovereign. Subsequently, at the request of Emperor Honorius, Marcellinus presided over the Council of Carthage in 410, convened to reconcile the Donatists with the Orthodox. Patriarch Jacob buried his beloved wife Rachel on the road to Ephrath, i.e. Bethlehem and erected a monument over her tomb (Gen. 35:18–19). Rachel's tomb was well known many centuries later (1 Samuel 10:2). Local Jews and Mohammedans still treat Rachel's tomb with great reverence. Arabs gather here for solemn prayers during rainless periods. Bethlehem in the Old Testament is known as the birthplace of the greatest Jewish king, David, and in the New Testament as the birthplace of Jesus Christ. It was located two hours south of Jerusalem and lies on two hills, the slopes of which abound with vineyards, and at the bottom there are well-cultivated grain fields. From this fertility, the very name “Bethlehem” probably comes from, from Hebrew - “house of bread”. In ancient times it was called Ephraim (Mic. 5:2) from Hebrew - “to bear fruit.” Since the birth of Christ the Savior, Bethlehem has become a sacred place for all Christians. Before the occupation of Palestine by the Ottomans (15th century), Bethlehem was completely destroyed more than once, and by this time it had fallen into complete decline, from which it recovered only at the beginning of the 19th century. Now it is a small town with a population of Arabs, half Orthodox, half Catholic. On the site of the cave or den where the Lord Jesus Christ was born, there is a church; the cave is under his altar; its walls and floor are decorated with marble. The birthplace of the Savior is revered as a recess in the cave, illuminated by five silver lamps. There is a silver star embedded in the floor with the Latin inscription: Hic de Virginie Maria Jesus Christus natus est - Here Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary. About three steps from this place there is a depression recognized as the location of the manger in which Christ was laid. To the northwest of the cave stretches a narrow underground passage, with thrones and chapels, as well as the cave where Blessed Jerome was buried. The Dead Sea is an inland Salt Lake in the southeastern part of Palestine; The Lison Peninsula divides the Dead Sea into two basins; it lies 394 m below the level of the Mediterranean Sea. The waters of the Dead Sea are saturated with salts to such an extent that fish cannot live in them, and the specific gravity of the water is so significant that organic bodies that fall into the water do not drown. The land around the Dead Sea is covered over a considerable area with salt; According to legend, on the site of the Dead Sea there was a fertile valley of Sidymm, in which lay the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Nazareth - from Heb. industry or enclosed place - a small town in southern Galilee, so little known before the coming of the Savior that it is never mentioned in St. Scriptures of the Old Testament. But with the advent of New Testament times, Nazareth became the most famous place in Galilee, because many events from the life of the Savior are associated with it: Nazareth was the birthplace of the Betrothed to the Mother of God, righteous Joseph; here was the Annunciation to the Most Holy Theotokos; here, upon the return of the holy family from Egypt, the Savior’s childhood and adolescence passed; Here the Lord remained even after entering into open service to the human race, until he changed Nazareth for the unbelief of the inhabitants to Capernaum. As he spent most of His life in Nazareth, Jesus Christ bore the name of a Nazarite (Matthew 2:33). The Sea of ​​Galilee or Lake Gennesaret was one of the favorite places for the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ; it is remembered by the repeated visits of his Lord (see for example Matthew 4:13–17, 23–25, 8:23–24, 9:1–8, 13:1). Mount Tabor lies in Galilee, the northern part of Palestine; Church tradition has long recognized Mount Tabor as the Mount of Transfiguration. Egypt, one of the earliest states on the globe, occupies a narrow coastal strip of Africa on both sides of the Nile River. Blessed Jerome, speaking about the events that happened during the days of his childhood, conveys the following about Didyma; when the famous hermit St. arrived in Alexandria. Anthony, summoned here by St. Athanasius to fight the Arians, Didim visited the great ascetic: the latter, marveling at Didim’s intelligence and knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, asked him: “Does he grieve that he is blind?” And when Didymus admitted that blindness was a difficult test for him, Anthony remarked: “It is strange that you grieve over the loss of the gift that flies and ants possess, and do not rejoice in the possession of such knowledge, which only saints and apostles were awarded.” The Nitrian desert was a favorite place of residence for monks in Egypt; lies south of the Skitskaya Hermitage. Sulpicius Severus (d. 410 or 429), originally from Aquitaine, was first a lawyer, and then, after the death of his wife, retired in 392 to a monastery near Beziers; from here in 409 he moved to Marseilles. Known for his closeness to St. Martin of Tours, whose life he described in detail, but not entirely believably. In addition, he wrote “History” (Historia) or “Sacred Chronology (Chronica sacra), where in two books the events are set out from the creation of the world, ending with 409 A.D.; he also owns two dialogues. A letter from Blessed Jerome from 395 to Oceanus has been preserved, where he reports, among other things, that the entire East trembled in anticipation of the invasion of the Huns. Blessed Jerome was forced to keep ships ready in Joppa for his monks and nuns in order to escape in the event of an attack by the Huns on St. land. The Huns were already besieging Antioch, and there was a rumor that they intended to storm Jerusalem, looking for treasures in it. Pelagius (a heretic of the 5th century) denied the teaching of the Church about original sin, understanding it only in the sense of the first bad example given by Adam, and not in the sense of the tendency of human nature to sin after the Fall of Adam; at the same time, he also denied the doctrine of grace as a special power sent by God to man; he understood grace as God's revelation of all that is good in nature and history, beginning with the fact of existence and ending with the revelation of the highest truth through Christ. The latter rebelled against the veneration of saints and martyrs, against the exaltation of monastic life, against the veneration of relics, against the excessive importance accorded to good deeds, fasting and almsgiving. In general, he rebelled against all forms of church and religious life that existed in his time, not distinguishing true from false. Apology – απολογια – defense. However, it was used only until the 16th century, Origen's hexaples are a list of books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament, divided into six columns (hence the name): the first column contained the Hebrew text in Hebrew letters; in the second - the same text in Greek transcription, in the third - a translation of Aquila, in the fourth - Symmachus; in the fifth LXX interpreters and in the sixth Theodotion. The LXX translation was accompanied by notes indicating its differences from the Hebrew text. Since 590, Bishop of Rome. So we can guess based on the fact that for the last nine months of 420 there is not a single letter from Blessed Jerome: obviously, illness deprived him of the opportunity to write. You might be interested in: