The Polemic of St. Jerome against Heresies in the Light of the Homily on Psalm 82 (series II)

The article deals with the polemic of St. Jerome against the heresies in the light of his Homily on Psalm 82 (series II). First, it discusses some general characteristics of this polemic and then those fragments of it that refer to specific authors, that is, to Manes, Marcion, Arius, Valentine and Basilides. In this context, St. Jerome is presented as the defender of the unity of the entire Scriptures, because he claimed that the New Testament is a logical continuation and fulfilment of the Old Testament. It is shown that the translator of the Vulgate decisively professed the true divinity of Christ against all those who saw in Him only a creature. Finally, the prince of the exegetes is presented as claiming the absolute dominion of Almighty God over the world and all creatures, this being against those who invented the teaching on the neons and their supposed particular power. The study demonstrates that St. Jerome could have taken certain elements of the polemic from the writings of Origen; nevertheless, he has manifested ample creativity also in the conflict with those heretics who were unknown in the times when the author of The Principles wrote.