Jerome, Against John of Jerusalem 37.407a-b
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/370
Context
During the mid-390s St. Jerome was embroiled in the Origenist
controversy with leading figures of the Church in the East. Following the open hostility
between the bishops Epiphanius of Salamis and John of Jerusalem, Jerome opposed his
bishop John on an accusation that amounted to heresy for his purported embrace of the
teachings of Origen. In 397 Jerome sent a vehement and detailed essay to Pammachius, one
of his noble Roman coterie, in part sustaining Epiphanius’ assault against John and in
part defending himself against John’s specific complaints to Pope Siricius at Rome.
Toward the end, Jerome rebukes John for appealing to Theophilus bishop of Alexandria
against him, when in fact he should have recognized the authority of Caesarea and
Antioch over the see of Jerusalem.
Text
Tu qui regulas quaeris
ecclesiasticas, et Nicaeni concilii canonibus uteris, et alienos clericos et cum suis
episcopis commorantes tibi niteris usurpare, responde mihi, ad Alexandrinum episcopum
Palaestina quid pertinet? Ni fallor, hoc ibi decernitur, ut Palaestinae metropolis
Caesarea sit et totius Orientis Antiochia. Aut igitur ad
Caesariensem episcopum referre debueras, cui spreta communione tua
communicare nos noveras; aut si procul expetendum judicium erat, Antiochiam potius litterae
dirigendae. Sed novi cur Caesaream, cur Antiochiam nolueris mittere.
Sciebas quid fugeres, quid vitares. Maluisti occupatis auribus molestiam facere, quam
debitum metropolitano tuo honorem reddere. Nee hoc dico, quod praeter amicitias, quae
suspicionem generant, quidquam in legatione reprehendam; sed quia apud interrogantes magis
et praesentes te purgare debueris.
1
Textual Note
Ed. Migne 1883Corrigenda Note
Minor corr. (punctuation)Translation
You who ask for ecclesiastical rules, apply the canons of the
Council of Nicaea, and seize control over priests in another diocese and actually living
with their own bishops, answer my question: what has Palestine to do with the bishop of
Alexandria? Unless I am deceived, it is decreed in those canons that Caesarea is the metropolis of Palestine, and Antioch of the
whole East. Therefore you ought either to appeal to the bishop of Caesarea, with whom you know that we have communion while we
spurn communion with you, or, if judgement were to be sought from afar, letters ought
rather to be addressed to Antioch. But I know why you were unwilling to send letters to Caesarea or to Antioch. You knew what to escape, what to
avoid. You preferred to assail with your complaints ears that were preoccupied rather
than pay due honor to your metropolitan. And I do not say this because I have anything
to blame in the mission itself, except certain partialities which beget suspicion; I say
this because you ought rather to clear yourself in the actual presence of your
questioners.
2
Translation Note
Adapted from Fremantle 1892Works Cited
- 1 Jerome, S. Eusebii Hieronymi Stridonis presbyteri opera omnia, ... tomus secundus, ed. J.-P. Migne, Patrologiae cursus completus, series Latina 23 (Paris: Garnier, 1883), ch: 37, col: 407a-b.
- 2 Jerome, Jerome: Letters and Select Works, trans. W. H. Fremantle, Philipp Schaff, and Henry Wace, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: A Select Library of the Christian Church, 2.6 (New York: Christian Literature Publishing, 1893)
Additional Bibliography
- Elizabeth A. Clark, The Origenist Controversy: The Cultural Construction of an Early Christian Debate, repr. Princeton 2016 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992)
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Jerome, Against John of Jerusalem 37.407a-b,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/370.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Jerome, Against John of Jerusalem 37.407a-b.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/370.About this Entry
Entry Title: Jerome, Against John of Jerusalem 37.407a-b
Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:
- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “Jerome, Against John of Jerusalem 37.407a-b”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Jerome, Against John of Jerusalem 37.407a-b”
Additional Credit:
- TEI encoding by William L. Potter
- Electronic text added by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife