Damasus

Damasus (c.304–84), pope. Born in Rome, Damasus was of Spanish extraction, his father was a priest. Damasus became a deacon under Pope Liberius and succeeded him in 366. A minority of the Roman clergy, however, elected Ursinus: a violent struggle ensued, the Emperor Valentinian supported Damasus and exiled Ursinus. Damasus' pontificate was notable for several reasons. The Emperor Theodosius proclaimed that the Christianity of Rome and Alexandria was the religion of the Roman State; Damasus proceeded energetically against heretics, mainly Arians, Macedonians, and Donatists; he promulgated the Canon of Scripture and commissioned Jerome to revise the Latin text of the Bible by producing a single ‘Vulgate’ to replace the many different versions then in existence. He also saw to the collection and housing of papal archives and took a keen interest in the Roman martyrs, whose relics formed a unique collection and made Rome especially glorious. This was manifested by his famous collection of inscriptions and epigrams in their honour, mainly composed by himself. Some modern scholars believe that this activity was inspired by political and propaganda motives against Constantinople as well as by religious ones. He built the churches of S. Lorenzo in Damaso and of SS. Marcus and Marcellianus on the Via Ardeatina, where he was buried with his mother and sister: his tomb was embellished with his own epitaph affirming his belief in the Resurrection of Christ and of his own. Feast: 11 December.

Bibliography
Click here for a list of abbreviations used in this bibliography.

• Liber Pontificalis (ed. L. Duchesne), i. 212–15; works in P.L., xiii. 109–424; A. Ferrua, Epigrammata Damasiana (1942); C. H. Turner, ‘Latin Lists of the Canonical Books, I, The Roman Council under Damasus, A.D. 382’, J.T.S., i (1899–1900), 554–60; E. M. Shepherd, ‘The Liturgical Reform of Damasus I’ in P. Granfield and J. A. Jungmann, Kyriakon (1970), pp. 847–63; A. Van Roey in D.H.G.E., xiv (1960), 48–53