Welcome to five minutes in church history hosted by Dr Stephen Nichols, where we take a little

break from the present to go exploring the past. Travel back in time as we look at the people,

events, and even the places that have shaped the story of Christianity.

This is our story, our family history.

Let's get started.

Welcome back to another episode of five minutes in church history. On this

episode we're going back to the early church and back to a figure named

Jerome. Jerome was born in 347 and he died in 420, which was a significant date in the history of the Roman Empire.

This is of course the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire as Rome is about to get sacked

by the barbarians.

So they are at the gate and inside the castle walls.

And this is the end of the Roman Empire.

Jerome was sort of a chicken little.

He was running around during all of this saying,

the sky is falling, the sky is falling,

oh mighty Rome is falling.

Well besides that, what else is... is the Vulgate. The Vulgate is the Latin translation of the Bible. Now think

about this from 400 all the way through to the time of the reformation. So well into the 1500s, this is over 1100 years.

The translation, the version of what really is the most central book is Jerome's translation, The Vulgate.

Even after the Reformation in the Roman Catholic Church, of course, the Vulgate remains the standard text, and even to this day, those that wish to study the Latin text, much of what is studied today, the essence of it, the heart of it, is Jerome's translation.

Jerome's text, the Vulgate.

So this is a remarkable accomplishment.

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