Blessed Blessed Jerome of Stridon

Blessed Jerome of Stridon (c. 347–420) was one of the great teachers of the early Church — a presbyter, ascetic, and scholar. Born in Stridon on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia to a Christian family, he received a classical education in Rome and was baptized around age 20. He lived an austere ascetic life, spending years as a hermit in the Syrian desert near Antioch, where he studied Hebrew.

He was ordained a priest by Bishop Paulinus of Antioch but was never made a bishop. His final decades were spent in Bethlehem, where he founded a monastery and produced his greatest work — the Latin translation of the Bible from Hebrew and Greek (the Vulgate), which became the standard biblical text of the Western Church for centuries.

He wrote extensive commentaries on Scripture and was a fierce opponent of the heresies of his time. He is counted among the Fathers of the Church. In Orthodox tradition he is venerated as "Blessed" (not "Hierarch," since he was never a bishop). He is regarded as the patron of translators.