Major political and religious events take place in the Empire as Gratian moves against some of the oldest Roman pagan traditions, Magnus Maximus moves against Gratian, and Ambrose asserts himself against Valentinian.
Links:
Solidus of Gratian by Rasiel Suarez
More on the Altar of Victory, including pictures of what it may have looked like.
The Relatio of Symmachus and the two responses of Ambrose
Cameron, Alan “Gratian’s Repudiation of the Pontifical Robe”. The Journal of Roman Studies. Vol. 58. Parts 1 and 2 (1968). pp. 96-102.
Cameron, Alan. “The Imperial Pontifex”. Harvard Studies in Classical Philology. 103 (2007). 341-84.
Thomas Graumann. “The Synod of Constantinople, AD 383. History and Historiography”. Millenium Jahrbuch. 7 (2010). 133-168.
Check out the other great Catholic podcasts at the Starquest Production Network
To listen, just click on the link below:
#381 – A History of the Catholic Church – The Altar of Victory
The debates over the comparative worth of marriage and virginity in Rome, not suprisingly, also lead to debates over the Christian understanding of Mary as a model of the faith and the early steps toward the doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity.
Links:
Gold-glass image of Mary with Saints Peter and Paul by Rama
The Protoevangelium of James
Jerome’s The Perpetual Virginity of Mary Against Helvidius
Hunter, David G. (Spring 1993). “Helvidius, Jovinian, and the Virginity of Mary in Late Fourth-Century Rome”. Journal of Early Christian Studies. Johns Hopkins University Press. Vol. 1 (number 1): pp. 47–71
Check out the other great Catholic podcasts at the Starquest Production Network
To listen, just click on the link below:
#380 – A History of the Catholic Church – Virgin and Mother
Presenting more of the back episodes of the History of the Catholic Church series no longer on the main podcast feed.
Episodes in this volume:
#349 – The Cenobites
#350 – The Conversion of Georgia
#351 – Nicenes and Eusebians
#352 – Anathematizations and Glorifications
#353 – Constantine and the Church
Subscribe to Catholic:Under The Hood Classics via:
RSS Feed
ITunes
To listen, just click on the link below:
Catholic: Under The Hood Episodes 349 to 353
Saint Jerome takes advantage of his time in Rome to promote the consecrated life, especially among Rome’s upper class. These women: Marcella, Paula, Lea, Eustochium and Blaesilla – will, in turn, play a major role in the history of the Church. However, Jerome will also find himself caught in the ecclesiastical politics of Rome, much to his detriment.
Links:
Painting of Saint Jerome with Saints Paula and Eustochium by Francisco de Zurbarán
Jerome’s letter on Marcella
Jerome’s letter on Paula the Elder
Jerome’s letter to Eustochium on virginity
Jerome’s letter to Laeta about her daughter Paula
Check out the other great Catholic podcasts at the Starquest Production Network
To listen, just click on the link below:
#379 – A History of the Catholic Church – The Holy Women of Rome
February 24, 2017 – 8:20 pm
The rise of virginity in the West runs up against traditional Roman support for marriage and children. Saint Ambrose, however, strives to change the minds of the Western Christians and makes an important connection between virginity and our understanding of the Church.
Links:
Saint Ambrose and his sister, Saint Marcellina by Giovanni Dall’Orto
Ambrose’s Concerning Virginity
Nathalie Henry, “The Song of Songs and the Liturgy from the Velatio in the Fourth Century: From Literary Metaphor to Liturgical Reality”, Continuity and Change in Christian Worship: Papers Read at the 1997 Summer Meeting and the 1998 Winter Meeting of the Ecclesiastical History Society, ed. R. N. Swanson, Rochester: The Boydell Press, 1999, pp. 18-28.
Check out the other great Catholic podcasts at the Starquest Production Network
To listen, just click on the link below:
#378 – A History of the Catholic Church – The Velatio
February 17, 2017 – 8:00 pm
The rise of the ascetical movement brought with it the rise of the debate over the relative virtue of marriage versus celibacy. This debate became even more intense as the number of ascetics rapidly expanded in the fourth century and Virgins move to occupy an important position in the life of the Church.
Links:
Saint Piamun and her mother in an Egyptian village by Charles-Antoine Coypel
Tertullian On Exhortation to Chastity
Cyprian of Carthage On the Dress of Virgins
Gregory of Nyssa On Virginity
Check out the other great Catholic podcasts at the Starquest Production Network
To listen, just click on the link below:
#377 – A History of the Catholic Church – Brides of Christ
February 10, 2017 – 8:00 pm
This week we begin a series of episodes on marriage and virginity. While the Christian understanding of marriage is rooted in the Old Testament and Jewish tradition, it is also influenced by the encounter with Greek and Roman Culture as it strives to promote the importance of unity between husband and wife and the the procreation of children. Moreover, the goodness of marriage in the Christian tradition is connected with the belief in the goodness of everything God created.
Links:
Gold-Glass “Medalion” of a Christian couple being crowned by Jesus. The Latin reads “Sweetheart, may you live [long]”
Jewish Seven Blessings
Tertullian’s Ad Uxorem
Gregory Nazianzen on the marriage ritual in the Eastern half of the Roman Empire
Paulinus of Nola’s Ode on Marriage can be found in Documents of the Marriage Liturgy, Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1992, pp. 30-39.
Check out the other great Catholic podcasts at the Starquest Production Network
To listen, just click on the link below:
#376 – A History of the Catholic Church – Be Fruitful and Multiply
February 3, 2017 – 8:00 pm
Having revised the Latin Gospels, Jerome undertakes the much heavier task of translating the Hebrew Old Testament. However, Jerome’s decision to reject the Septuagint is met with significant opposition. Moreover, Jerome’s work contributes to a changing understanding of what it means to be a monk.
Links:
Painting of Saint Jerome in his study by Antonello da Messina
Writings of Jerome, including commentaries
Jerome’s prefaces to his scriptural translations
Correspondence between Jerome and Augustine about his translations and the Septuagint
Check out the other great Catholic podcasts at the Starquest Production Network
To listen, just click on the link below:
#375 – A History of the Catholic Church – The Hebrew Verity
January 31, 2017 – 8:42 am
Presenting more of the back episodes of the History of the Catholic Church series no longer on the main podcast feed.
Episodes in this volume:
#344 – The Illustres
#345 – The First Christian Basilica
#346 – Saint Peter’s and the Holy Sepulchre
#347 – The Mysteries
#348 – The Anchorites
Subscribe to Catholic:Under The Hood Classics via:
RSS Feed
ITunes
To listen, just click on the link below:
Catholic: Under The Hood Episodes 344 to 348
January 27, 2017 – 8:00 pm
After a brief examination of the 382 Synod of Rome and Damasus’ views on the primacy of the bishop of Rome, we look at the first part of Jerome’s work on the Vulgate – his revision of the Gospels. Today Jerome is praised for his work on what will become the official Latin version of the New Testament. However, that was not so much the case at the beginning.
Links:
Painting of Saint Jerome by José de Ribera
The Damasine List of Canonical Scriptures reputedly accepted at the 382 Synod of Rome
Resources on the Vetus Latina or Old Latin Scriptures
Peter Lorenz’ blog posts on Jerome, Ambrosiaster and their conflict over the validity of the Vetus Latina
Check out the other great Catholic podcasts at the Starquest Production Network
To listen, just click on the link below:
#374 – A History of the Catholic Church – Jerome Versus Ambrosiaster
catholicunderthehood.com 
#/media/File:Antonello_da_Messina_-_St_Jerome_in_his_study_-_National_Gallery_London.jpg){kind=link}
