On this day, June 15 according to the Julian Calendar (June 28 civil calendar), the Georgian Orthodox Church commemorates Blessed Jerome of Stridon.
Blessed Jerome of Stridon (c. 347–420) was one of the great Church Fathers and Doctors of the Church, renowned for his translation of the Bible into Latin — the Vulgate — which became the standard biblical text of the Western Church for over a millennium.
Born in Stridon, Dalmatia, Jerome received an excellent classical education in Rome. After his conversion and baptism, he traveled extensively to study Scripture and ascetic practice, spending years in the Syrian desert in intense prayer and fasting. He mastered Greek, Latin, and Hebrew in order to study and translate the Holy Scriptures.
Jerome served as secretary to Pope Damasus I, who commissioned him to revise the Latin biblical translations. After the Pope’s death, Jerome settled in Bethlehem, where he founded monasteries and spent the rest of his life writing biblical commentaries, translating texts, and corresponding with Christians throughout the world.
His writings, including extensive commentaries on the prophets and epistles, polemical works against heresies, and thousands of letters, remain invaluable sources of early Christian thought. The Eastern Orthodox Church honors him as a blessed father and theologian who devoted his life entirely to the service of God’s Word.
May the intercessions of Blessed Jerome of Stridon be with us all.