Click on photo to enlarge it
Many travelers to the Holy Land are familiar with the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Not as many, though, know that the author of the Latin Vulgate, Jerome, lived in a cave (grotto) that is underneath the church. In some traditions, he lived in the cave that the Innocents (the male children killed by Herod the Great) were buried in.
Jerome spent about 30 years translating the Scriptures from Greek and Hebrew into Latin. His translation known as the Vulgate was the authoritative version for Catholics until the 20th century. The historian G. S. P. Freeman-Grenville may well have been correct when he said that the Vulgate has been heard by more Christians than any other version.
Jerome died in 420 AD. He was buried beneath the church, and later his remains were sent to Constantinople. Then later, they were transferred to Rome, where today they lie in rest in the Basilica of St. Mary Major.
Comments
Post a Comment