Damasus I.

Damasus I, depiction in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Damasus I (also Damasius I , Latin for "the diamond"; * around 305 probably in Lusitania ; † December 11, 384 in Rome) was Bishop of Rome ( Pope ) from October 1, 366 to December 11, 384. He was elected Pope as the deacon of the Roman bishop Liberius . Damasus was later canonized .

Life

Damasus was probably born as the son of Antonius and Laurentia in what is now Portugal. His father was already a bishop. Later he worked in Rome at the Church of the Holy Martyr Laurentius ( San Lorenzo in Panisperna , also called San Lorenzo in Formosa ).

After the death of Liberius in 366 there was a dispute over the occupation of the office of bishop of Rome between Damasus and Ursinus . Although Damasus was elected with a large majority, he was only able to prevail in protracted and violent clashes. Alongside normal members of the Roman Christian community and other supporters, there were also gladiators on his side. Over a hundred opponents died when the followers of Damasus set a basilica on fire. Ultimately, the confirmation by the pagan city ​​prefect Vettius Agorius Praetextatus brought the decision between the warring camps. His attempt to enforce the privileged legal status of the Bishop of Rome with the emperor failed, but he was granted ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the West. The office of Roman bishop was also symbolically privileged at the time of Damasus. Like high state officials, he was given the right to drive a car through Rome.

During his time, circles of women from circles of the Roman upper class were formed who dedicated themselves entirely to life for God and gave their wealth to the church to the displeasure of their relatives. In view of the significant influence of the pagan senators, the bishop avoided energetically promoting their Christianization.

During the time of the bishop there was a trend towards Latin as a cult language . Damasus commissioned Jerome with a new translation of the Bible into Latin, which became the so-called Vulgate . However, it was not until the Middle Ages that this translation really became generally accepted in Rome.

During the time of his episcopate , the Arian dispute was finally settled in favor of the Nicean creed and against Arianism . In 368 he rejected the attitude of the Arian bishops Valens and Ursacius.

Damasus tried to preserve the early Christian graves in the catacombs . He had the graves of previous bishops and saints decorated. At that time there was also a list of Roman bishops up to and including Peter. Although exact dates were given, much of the data was fictitious.

Damasus called for celibacy and consolidated the primacy of the Bishop of Rome, whom he understood to be the legitimate successor of the Apostle Peter. In his time, the influence of the Roman bishops for the first time extended significantly beyond Italy and into parts of the western half of the empire. Contacts have also been made to Macedonia . Because of his claim to exercise authority outside of Italy, Bernhard Schimmelpfennig, along with his successor Siricius , regards him not only as bishop of Rome, but as one of the first actual popes.

His grave in Rome was initially on Via Ardeatina, later it was moved to the Laurentius Church in the Palace of the Cancelleria ( San Lorenzo in Damaso ).

He was canonized, his name day is December 11th. He is considered the patron saint against fever.

Text output

• Dennis Trout (Ed.): Damasus of Rome: The Epigraphic Poetry. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2015, ISBN 978-0-19-873537-3 (Edition of the Poems of Damasus with English translation and commentary)

literature

• Markus Löx: monumenta sanctorum. Rome and Milan as centers of early Christianity: the cult of martyrs and church building under the bishops Damasus and Ambrosius. Wiesbaden 2013.
• Carlo Carletti:  Damaso I. In: Massimo Bray (Ed.): Enciclopedia dei Papi. Volume 1:  Pietro, santo. Anastasio bibliotecario, antipapa. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 2000, pp. 349–372 ( treccani.it ) ..
• Adolf Lippold : Ursinus and Damasus. In: Historia . 14, 1965, pp. 105-128.
• Ursula Reutter: Damasus, Bishop of Rome (366–384). Life and work (= studies and texts on antiquity and Christianity. Vol. 55). Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2009, ISBN 978-3-16-149848-0 (also: Jena, Univ., Diss., 1999).
• Franz X. Seppelt : History of the Popes from the Beginnings to the Middle of the Twentieth Century. Volume: 1: The development of papal power in the early Middle Ages. From Gregory the Great to the middle of the eleventh century. 2nd revised edition (by Georg Schwaiger ). Kösel, Munich 1955, pp. 109–126.
• Bernhard Schimmelpfennig: The Papacy. From antiquity to the renaissance. 6th edition. Bibliographically edited and updated by Elke Goez . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2009, ISBN 978-3-534-23022-8 .
• Adolf Jülicher : Damasus 7 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume IV, 2, Stuttgart 1901, Col. 2048-2050.

Web links

Commons : Damasus I.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Damasus I in the catalog of the German National Library
• Works by and about Damasus I  in the German Digital Library
• Complete works of Migne Patrologia Latina with table of contents

Individual evidence

1. ^ Bernhard Schimmelpfennig: The papacy. From antiquity to the renaissance. Darmstadt 2009, p. 32.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Bernhard Schimmelpfennig: The papacy. From antiquity to the renaissance. Darmstadt 2009, p. 25.
3. ^ Bernhard Schimmelpfennig: The papacy. From antiquity to the renaissance. Darmstadt 2009, p. 39.
4. ^ Bernhard Schimmelpfennig: The papacy. From antiquity to the renaissance. Darmstadt 2009, p. 28.
5. ^ Bernhard Schimmelpfennig: The papacy. From antiquity to the renaissance. Darmstadt 2009, p. 45.
6. ^ Bernhard Schimmelpfennig: The papacy. From antiquity to the renaissance. Darmstadt 2009, p. 53.

predecessor	Office	successor
Liberius	Bishop of Rome (the term Pope was first used after 384) 366–384	Siricius