Pope Damasus I
Bishop of Rome from 366 to 384 who presided over the Council of Rome of 382.
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Pope Damasus I, also called Damasus of Rome, was bishop of Rome from October 366 until his death on 11 December 384. He is best known for presiding over the Council of Rome of 382, which set out the canon of sacred scripture, and for backing Jerome, whose work produced the Vulgate Bible.
Damasus opposed heresies including Apollinarianism and Macedonianism, worked to mend relations between the churches of Rome and Antioch, and promoted the veneration of martyrs. He also wrote Latin verse. The Catholic Church honours him as a saint, with his feast day on 11 December.
Lore & Background
Damasus was born around 305, either in Rome or in Hispania, to Antonius and Laurentia, whose families came from Lusitania. His father became a priest at the Church of St. Lawrence in Rome, where Damasus served first as deacon and then as priest. As archdeacon he briefly followed Pope Liberius into exile in 354 before returning to Rome.
When Liberius died on 24 September 366, rival factions elected Damasus and the deacon Ursinus at the same time. The dispute turned violent, with massacres of Ursinus's supporters in Roman basilicas. The city prefects banished Ursinus to Gaul, and a synod in 378 finally condemned him and upheld Damasus.
Reader's Guide
His papacy fell in the reign of Gratian, when Catholic Christianity first became dominant across the empire and, in 380, the official religion of the Roman state. Damasus condemned heresies at Roman synods in 368 and 369 and sent legates to the First Council of Constantinople in 381.
The scripture list agreed at the Council of Rome of 382 was later reproduced by Gelasius and matches the one given at Trent. He made Jerome of Stridon his confidential secretary. Some call him "the first society Pope".
Did You Know?
- Gold glass cups labelled "DAMAS" are thought to be the earliest surviving contemporary images of a pope.
- He wrote an epitaph for a girl named Projecta, possibly linked to the Projecta Casket in the British Museum.
- Alan Cameron judged his verse clumsy and cliché-ridden.
- Church historians Jerome and Rufinus both supported Damasus.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the Council of Rome of 382 do?
Under Damasus it drew up the canon, or official list, of the books of Scripture.
Who was Ursinus?
A rival elected at the same time as Damasus in 366; he was banished and later condemned by a synod in 378.
Also in the Codexery
More in Catholic Popes & Cardinals
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Pope Damasus I (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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