Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Vol. 6 (Jerome: Letters)

83-89 Being deprived of clerical services by Bishop John, Paulinian, Jerome's brother, was ordained at his monastery of Ad in the diocese of Eleutheropolis. Paulinian was only thirty years old at the time and was ordained against his will, with force—and even gagging—used to ensure the result (83). Epiphanius, upon returning to Cyprus, wrote a letter to John explaining his actions (83-89). Jerome translated this letter, but it did little to ease the tension. John placed the monasteries under a partial interdict (446-447) and appealed to Rome, Alexandria, and later to Rufinus, the Pretorian Prefect at Constantinople (174, 447).

Theophilus of Alexandria initially supported John vehemently; however, the mission of his confidant, Isidore, failed (444, 445). Eventually, his perspective on the situation shifted, and he made peace with Jerome and his friends. John was also appeased. Jerome, who had written a long and bitter account of the controversy in his treatise "Against John of Jerusalem" (424-447) around 397 or 398, suddenly dropped the matter entirely; the treatise remained unfinished and unpublished, and the strife ceased.

(4) Rufinus. Unlike the conflict with John, the quarrel with Jerome’s early friend, Rufinus, did not fade away. Jerome had deeply loved Rufinus (4) and had highly respected Melania A wealthy Roman noblewoman and early associate of Jerome in their earlier days (5, 7, 53). In his Chronicle for the year 378, he had referred to Rufinus as an "illustrious monk" (Ruf. Ap. ii. 25, 26, Vol. iii. 471). We find no record of any falling out until some years after his return to Palestine. While we do not see the warm affection one might expect between intimate friends meeting after a long separation—and it is possible that Jerome’s exclusion of Rufinus from his Catalogue of Church Writers indicated a coolness that caused resentment—they admitted their friendship remained intact (Ruf. Ap. ii. 8 (2), Vol. iii. 465), with frequent contact between the monks of Bethlehem and those of the Mount of Olives.

The visits of Aterbius (Ap. iii. 33, Vol. iii. 535) and Epiphanius marked the beginning of the estrangement. Rufinus stood with Bishop John during the scenes at the Church of the Resurrection and was mentioned in Epiphanius’ letter as a presbyter regarding whose views he was paternally anxious (84-87). During the quarrel between John and Jerome, Rufinus took the Bishop’s side definitively (84, 430, compared with 250). Jerome’s mind grew so suspicious that he even accused Rufinus of bribing someone in the Bethlehem monastery to steal his translation of Epiphanius’ letter to John from Fabiola’s lodgings (Ap. iii. 4, Vol. iii. 521).

However, as Rufinus was leaving Palestine, the friendship was restored. They partook of the Eucharist together and joined hands (Ap. iii. 33, Vol. iii. 535), and Jerome accompanied his friend part of the way on his journey. Yet, the reconciliation was short-lived. Upon arriving in Rome, Rufinus wrote a preface (168-170) for his translation of Origen’s Περὶ Ἀρχῶν (On First Principles), in which he referred to Jerome in laudatory terms as his predecessor in this work. This seemed to expose Jerome to the same suspicions and condemnation that would naturally fall upon anyone attempting such a project.

Jerome’s friends, Pammachius and Oceanus, sent this work to him (175), along with a preface Rufinus had written for a translation of the Apology for Origen by Pamphilus the Martyr. They expressed their alarm at the translation of the Περὶ Ἀρχῶν in Rome, noting their suspicion that the translation had been crafted to hide the heresies contained in the original. They begged Jerome to translate the work as it stood in the original, pointing out that his own reputation for orthodoxy was at stake (175). Jerome complied immediately. He sent them a literal translation of Origen’s work, along with a letter describing his ongoing relationship with Origen: he admired him as a biblical scholar but had never accepted him as a dogmatic teacher (176, 177). At the same time, he wrote a friendly letter to Rufinus, remonstrating with him for using his name without permission (170). Because this letter was intercepted by Jerome’s friends in Rome and never delivered to Rufinus (Ap. i. 12, Vol. iii. 489), the quarrel, which might have been resolved, became irreparable.

The further progress of the dispute is described in the notices prefixed to the Apologies of Jerome and Rufinus (Vol. iii. 434-5, 482, 518). Suffice it to say that this disgraceful and unseemly wrangle between two well-known Christian teachers, conducted publicly before the whole Church, left a legacy of hatred that Jerome continued to express even after Rufinus’ death (498, 500). To the historian, it has only one redeeming feature: it reveals many instructive facts that would otherwise have remained hidden.

(5) Vigilantius. The controversy with Vigilantius consists only of Jerome’s letter to him (131-133) and the treatise "Against Vigilantius" (417-423). He had originally been introduced to Jerome by Paulinus, Bishop of Nola, who spoke of him in high terms (123).