Theological Term of the Week: Jerome

Jerome
“[T]he most accomplished scholar of the early Church,”1 who translated the Bible—the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament—into Latin. He was born around 347 and lived until 420.

• From 2000 Years of Christ’s Power by N. H. Needham, page 244: 

[I]n 382 Jerome visited Rome, where pope Damascus … asked him to prepare a new Latin translation of the Bible. Jerome agreed — and it took him 23 years to complete the task. In Jerome’s day, there were many Latin translations of Scripture circulating in the West, but none of them were particularly good. Jerome made an entirely fresh translation, using the Greek of the New Testament and the original Hebrew of the Old Testament as the basis for his new Latin version. He finished it in 405. A work of massive scholarship, it was called the Vulgate, and soon became the accepted translation of the Bible in the Western Latin speaking world, a position it held until the Reformation in the 16th Century.

Learn more:

1. Got Questions: Who was Saint Jerome?
2. 5 Minutes in Church History: Jerome
3. Christian Classics Ethereal Library: St. Jerome
4. Christian History: Jerome 
5. Christian History Institute: 405 Jerome Completes the Vulgate

Related terms:

• Ambrose of Milan
• Athanasius
• Basil of Caesarea
• Cappadocian fathers
• Gregory of Nanzianzus
• Gregory of Nyssa
• Hilary of Poitiers
• Irenaeus of Lyons
• John Chrysostom
• Justin Martyr
• Origen
• Sabellius
• Tertullian

Filed under Christian History

1From 2000 Years of Christ’s Power by N. R. Needham.

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Theological Term of the Week: John Chrysostom

John Chrysostom
“One of the most glorious preachers of the early Church, or indeed of the Church in any age.”.1 He was born around 349 and lived until 407.

• From 2000 Years of Christ’s Power by N. H. Needham, page 220: 

John’s preaching in Antioch won a matchless reputation for brilliance. Later, after his death, the Church gave him the nickname Chrysostom, which is Greek for “golden mouth”. He preached his way verse-by-verse through books of the Bible, and was astonishingly direct and outspoken in denouncing sin among believers, especially the sin of compromising with worldly standards of behaviour. He also made hard-hitting criticisms of the way that rich Christians used or abused their wealth. Others wrote down Chrysostom’s sermons as he preached them, and many have survived, e.g. his 58 sermons on selected Psalms, 90 sermons on Matthew’s Gospel, and 88 on John’s. Most modern students find them to be among the easiest to read and most practically helpful of all the writings of the early Church fathers.

Learn more:

1. Got Questions: Who was John Chrysostom?
2. Theopedia: John Chrysostom
3. 5 Minutes in Church History: This Church Father Could Preach
4. Christian History Institute: Christian History Timeline: John Chrysostom
5. Christian Classics Ethereal Library: John Chrysostom

Related terms:

• Ambrose of Milan
• Athanasius
• Basil of Caesarea
• Cappadocian fathers
• Gregory of Nanzianzus
• Gregory of Nyssa
• Hilary of Poitiers
• Irenaeus of Lyons
• Justin Martyr
• Origen
• Sabellius
• Tertullian

Filed under Christian History

1From 2000 Years of Christ’s Power by N. R. Needham.

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Clicking on the Theological Terms button will take you to an alphabetical list of all the theological terms.

Theological Term of the Week: Hilary of Poitiers

Hilary of Poitiers
“A bishop from western France, banished to Asia Minor in 356” for refusing to accept Arianism under pressure from the Roman ruler Constantius.1 He lived from 315-368.

• From 2000 Years of Christ’s Power by N. H. Needham, page 220: 

While in exile, Hilary wrote his influential treatise On the Trinity. Because of his steadfast loyalty to the doctrine of Christ’s deity, Hilary is sometimes referred to as the “Athanasius of the West”. He is also the first of the great Latin hymnwriters; during his banishment in Asia Minor he heard the hymns that Arians were composing, and responded by writing orthodox hymns, which he put into use in Western churches after returning from exile to France in 361. 

Learn more:

1. Got Questions: Who was Hilary of Poitiers?
2. Theopedia: Hilary of Poitiers
3. Christian Classics Ethereal Library: St. Hilary of Poitiers
4. Credo Magazine: Hilary of Poitiers

Related terms:

• Ambrose of Milan
• Athanasius
• Basil of Caesarea
• Cappadocian fathers
• Gregory of Nanzianzus
• Gregory of Nyssa
• Irenaeus of Lyons
• Justin Martyr
• Origen
• Sabellius
• Tertullian

Filed under Christian History

1From 2000 Years of Christ’s Power by N. R. Needham.

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Do you have a a theological term you’d like to see featured as a Theological Term of the Week? Email your suggestion using the contact button in the navigation bar above. 

Clicking on the Theological Terms button will take you to an alphabetical list of all the theological terms.