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December 11, 2007

Today is the Feast Day of Pope Saint Damascus I, a 4th-century pope who led the church from 366-384. Damascus' papacy occurred only about a half century after Constantine had converted to Christianity and made the religion in vogue throughout the Roman Empire. Yet as the masses entered the Church, the monks went to the desert. Waterless places were considered demonic, so that was a primary place of spiritual battle (hermit is derived from the Greek word for "desert" and monk means "alone"). There, withdrawn from society, monasteries began assuming the task of study and church servants - particularly monks - became scholars.

From this crop sprung Damascus' eventual teacher, Jerome, a gifted linguist whom Damascus encouraged to translate the Old and the New Testaments into Latin. This translation, called the Vulgate, is still used by some Catholics today.

I'm attracted to Damascus in part because of his literary accomplishments, both those by his own pen and those he commissioned. Yet he was alleged to have been both a murderer and an adulterer, though the validity of these allegations is colored by known rival factions who stood to gain from spreading such rumors. Given these allegations, and the fact that he is primarily only celebrated by Catholics (I am Protestant), my choice of profiling Damascus may seem like an odd one.

But history tells us there is another side to him - that Damascus was an incredibly humble man that was keenly aware of the greed and materialism creeping into church leadership. He pressured priests to simplify their living and divulge money and possessions. Perhaps just as important, we're told that he set an example himself with frugal living. Regardless of his alleged missteps in becoming pope, later in life Damascus appeared to have overcome both greed and pride.

A papal crypt was built in his honor and intended to house his remains. But all that is left of him there is this message: "I, Damascus, wished to be buried here, but I feared to offend the ashes of these holy ones." Instead he is buried with his mother and sister. In Damascus we see a reminder that the admirable actions of a truly modest man are often the very things which cause us to forget him.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at December 11, 2007 09:20 PM

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