Jaffe-Kaltenbrunner: St. Damasus I (366-384)
P. Jaffé and F. Kaltenbrunner, Regesta Pontificum Romanorum Ab Condita Ecclesia Ad Annum Post Christum Natum MCXCVIII, 2nd ed. (Leipzig 1885), 37-40.
The first edition of Jaffe-Kaltenbrunner used a different numbering system than the second edition, translated here. Extant letters considered genuine were listed in one numbering system, and letters considered false were listen in another. In the second edition of the Regesta, both genuine and spurious letters are included in one numbering system. An asterisk (*) indicates a letter no longer extant. A dagger (†) before a letter number indicates that the letter is considered false by Jaffe-Kaltenbrunner.
In addition, an Arabic numeral in parentheses following the letter number indicates the letter’s number in the first edition’s list of extant genuine letters, e.g., Letter 209 (40). A Roman numeral in parentheses following the letter number indicated the letter’s number in the first edition’s list of false letters, e.g., Letter †207 (CLI).
All information found within the chart, including parenthetical and bracketed information, is found in Jaffe-Kaltenbrunner. Any additional information will be found in the footnotes.
| Date | Place | Letter | Historical Event or Content of Letter
| Bibliographic Reference |
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| The first Roman bishop under whom the scrinium of the Roman church is remembered is St. Damasus. See the “Tome” of the Roman Council directed to the Easterners in Coustant and Mansi. | COU p. 500; MAN 3:462 |
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| 366 | ||||
| Sept | In Lucina | He is chosen by those who appointed Felix. | FM (MB 5:652; GAL 7:461 [PL 13:82]) |
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| Sept | At the basilica of Julius | “Armed with sticks, he breaks through and rages with a great murder of believers for three days” after “he agitated all the charioteers and unskilled multitude with money.” So it is in Faustinus and Marcellinus. | FM pref 1 | |
| Oct 1 | In the Lateran Basilica | He is consecrated “seven days later” (namely, after the death of Liberius). | FM pref 1 | |
| Oct 26 | Basilica of Liberius (Basilica of Sicininus) | When seven priests fled with Ursinus, “on the second hour of the day, on the seventh day before the Calends of November, in the consulship of Gratianus and Dagalaifus, he besieges and seriously agitates a battle. For when the doors had been smashed open and a fire had been started below, he sought an entrance from which he might invade. . . . then all of Damasus’ people rushed into the basilica. They killed 160 of the people, as many men as women, and they wounded just as many.” . . . Concerning this slaughter this is in Ammianus: “Damasus and Ursinus, desirous beyond the human manner for seizing the episcopal see, were struggling very harshly with the devotees divided. . . . And Damasus overcame in the dispute since the party which favored him was menacing. And it stands that, in the basilica of Sicininus, . . . in one day the 137 corpses of those killed were found.” Cf. Jerome: “Ursinus. . . invaded the basilica of Sicininus with his men, where, when the people of Damasus’ party flowed together there, the most cruel murders were perpetrated against both sexes.” | FM pref 1; AMM 27.3; JER6 p. 197 |
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| 366-367 | ||||
| Rome | A synod of 28 bishops and 25 priests in which Liberius was condemned. (See Prosperus Aquitanus). Cf. Faustinus and Marcellinus: “When (Damasus) solemnly invited them (the bishops of Italy) to his birthday and some of them gathered, he planned for prayers among them and money so that they would render a verdict on St. Ursinus. They responded, ‘We have not come to your birthday to condemn someone unheard.’” | EUS3 1:33; PA1 (RON 1:632; PL 51:581); FM 1.1 |
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| He casts the priest Macarius out of the city for assembling a gathering of Christ’s believers without his consent. | FM (MB 5:658; GAL 7:469 [PL 13:98]) |
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| He implores the power of the judge Bassus against the Luciferians, but this is in vain. | FM pref 1 | |||
| c. 368 | ||||
| Rome | A synod in which Ursacius and Valens and their allies are condemned. | ATH32 (ATH 2:718 [PG 26:1046]) |
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| 369-374 | ||||
| Rome | A synod of 90 (some: 93) Gallic and Italian bishops in which the Trinity is dealt with and Auxentius, bishop of Milan, is condemned. See the “Tome” intended for the Easterners in Coustant and Mansi and the letter which followed. Cf. Libellum synodicum in Voelli and Justelli. | COU p. 487; MAN 3:459; LS (VJ 2:1187); HEF 1:739 |
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| 232 (55) | “Confidimus quidem” (Πιστεύομεν/“Credimus sanctam”) He reports to the bishops of Illyricum that Auxentius, the heretical bishop of Milan, has been condemned in a synod. He writes that the laws of the Council of Nicaea need to be kept and that there is no authority at all to the decrees of Rimini. (Ps-Isidore adds here: “The date was the 17th before the Calends of November in the consulship of the noble men Siricius and Ardaburis.”) |
PS-IS p. 518; DAM p. 200; HOL 1:165 (DEU 1.81); COU p. 481; MAN 3:443,455; PL 13:347; THE 2.22; SOZ 6.23 |
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| 374 | ||||
| 233 (56)* | He sends to Peter, bishop of Alexandria, through some deacon “a letter of consolation and at the same time of communication.” See Peter’s letter in Theodoret. Cf. Coustant. | THE 4.22; COU p. 593 n. 6 |
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| Rome | A synod in which Eustathius and Apollinaris are condemned. Fragments of a synodal letter are extant. Cf. Hefele. | DAM p. 202; MAN 3:481; PL 13:348; HEF 1:740 |
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| 376 | ||||
| Rome | A synod in which Apollinaris and Timothy are condemned. See Damasus’ letter. Cf. Pagius and Hefele. | THE 5.10; PAG 373; HEF 1:742 |
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| 378? | 234 (59) | Ὅτι τῆ ἀποστολικη/“Quod debitam” (ancient collections: “Quod vestra charitas”). He praises the reverence of the eastern bishops towards himself. He is amazed that they sought from him in order to condemn Timothy, whom he also writes was already condemned together with his teacher, Apollinaris, while Peter, bishop of Alexander, present. He advises them to keep the laws of the Council of Nicaea. |
THE 5.10; DAM p. 218; COU p. 571; MAN 3:427; PL 13:370 |
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| 380 | ||||
| Rome | A synod which, first, seeks this from the emperors Gratian and Valentinian: “That Your Piety may deign to command that, if anyone who had been condemned by the judgment of either him (Damasus) or us who are Catholic unjustly wants to retain his church or out of obstinacy does not approach when called by priestly judgment or by illustrious men in charge of the praetorium of your Italy, either he should either come to the city of Rome when summoned by the vicar or, if a question of this kind emerges in more remote regions, an examination should be led through the judgment of the metropolitan of the places.” Then it seeks this: “That the bishop of Rome, if his case is not believed by the council, may defend himself in an imperial council.” See the letter of the Roman Council in Coustant, Mansi, and Migne. And second, this synod condemns the Apollinarists, Sabellians, Eunomians, Macedonians, and Photinians. See the following letter. Cf. Hefele. | COU p. 523; MAN 3:624; PL 13:575; HEF 1:743 |
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| 235 (57) | “Per filium meum Vitalem” (“Per ipsum filium”). “Post concilium Nicaenum” (Ἐπειδὴ μετὰ/“Quoniam post”). He directs Paulinus, bishop of Antioch, not to receive either Vitalis or his allies unless first they subscribe to the Nicene formula with the anathemas against the Apollinarians, Sabellians, Eunomians Macedonians, and Photinians brought forward in a Roman synod and attached to this letter. (This letter, divided into two parts, is given by Pseudo-Isidore unchanged in Hinschius p. 498 and 516; but the second part is in another place in Hinschius p. 499, 516 n. 20 and 508. He divides it into 3 chapters, adding in the third not a little forged material, cf. Coustant). |
DAM p. 205,209; LEO 3:3973 (PL 56:684); HOL 1:180; THE 5.11; COU p. 507,517; MAN 3:425,481; LF 1:365,366; PL 13:356,357; PS-IS p. 498,499; PS-IS p. 508,516; COU p. 581 |
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| 236 (58)* | He presents to Peter, bishop of Alexandria, who is setting out from Rome, a letter by which he confirms both the decrees of the Council of Nicaea (the “consubstantiality” faith) and the ordination of Peter. See Socrates and Sozomen. Cf. Coustant. | SOC 4.37; SOZ 6.39; COU p. 594 n. 7 |
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| 237 (60) | “Decursis litteris.” He writes to the bishops Acholius, Eurydicus, Severus, Uranius, Philippus, and John that the bishopric of Constantinople has rightly been taken away from the Cynic Maximus. And as a matter of fact “the habit of the philosophers is not fitting the Christian walk. . . .philosophy, friendly to secular wisdom, is hostile to the faith, a certain poison to hope, a very grave war to charity. . . to this man who walks along in the habit of an idol the name “Christian” must never be given.” In holding the Council of Constantinople he advises them to take care that a worthy man be chosen and not “allow someone to be led across from one city to another contrary to the statutes of the ancestors.” |
DAM p. 214; HOL 1:37; COU p. 535; MAN 8:749; PL 13:365 |
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| 238 (61) | “Ad meritum.” He entrusts to Acholius (bishop of Thessalonica) that Rusticus, silentiary to emperor Gratian, has achieved in Rome the “grace of God” (i.e., baptism). He adds about the catholic bishop substituting in place of Maximus of Constantinople. |
DAM p. 217; HOL 1:42; COU p. 539; MAN 8:750; PL 13:369 |
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| 382 | ||||
| Rome | A synod in which the Apollinarists are dealt with. Cf. Hefele. | THE 5.9; RUF2 (JER 5.23 [not in PL]); HEF 2:40 |
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| 383? | 239 (62) | “Commentaria cum.” He advises Jerome to explain what “Hosanna” means in Hebrew. |
DAM p. 280; JER 1:634 (PL 22:375); COU p. 573; MAN 3:425; PL 13:371 |
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| 366-384 | ||||
| May 23 | †240 | “Gaudet ecclesia.” He sends bishop Jerome, “by whose spring the church has already been nourished and for which it is thirsty for more,” the lives of his retiring magistrates. |
FC 1:347; LIP p. 269; DAM p. 25; PL 13:441 |
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| 17 | †241 (clx) | “Scripta sanctitas tuae.” He sends to Aurelius, bishop of Carthage, the decrees of his retiring magistrates, which he encourages him to take care to observe. |
PS-IS p. 21; DAM app p. 11; MAN 3:423; PL 13:423 |
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| Oct 28 | †242 (clxi) | “Dum multa corpora.” He asks Jerome to send him the “Psalter of the Greeks.” |
PS-IS p. 498; DAM app p. 25; MAN 3:428; PL 13:440 |
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| Oct 25 | †243 (clxii) | “Lectis fraternitatis vestrae.” He writes to Stephanus, archbishop of the council of Mauritania, and all the bishops of the African province that “the apostolic see is established as the immobile foundation fixed by God, the brightest title of all the bishops, and the summit of the churches.” “A metropolitan, together with his fellow provincials, are allowed to examine bishops and the highest cases of church businesses such that no one is left out. And no one is allowed to settle the highest cases of quarrels or condemn bishops without the authority of this holy see.” |
PS-IS p. 502; DAM app p. 12; MAN 3:431; PL 13:424 |
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| June 1 | †244 (clxiii) | “Licet fratres carissimi.” He writes to Prosperus, bishop of the first see of Numidia, and Leo, Reparatus, Alexander, Benedictus, Rufus, and all the other orthodox bishops about the deputy bishops who carry out their duties harshly in order to diminish what pertains to the dignity of the bishops. |
PS-IS p. 509; DAM app p. 18; MAN 3:437; PL 13:431 |
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| Apr 11 | †245 (clxiv) | “Optaveram dilectissimi.” He encourages all the bishops established throughout the province of Italy not to go on “accepting the accusations of brothers through writings without a legitimate accuser” or to “ever discuss the case of those who are accused through writings before when called canonically by the arrangements of the quarrelers they come to a synod and as a present person understand from a present person what is objected against them.” |
PS-IS p. 519; DAM app p. 24; MAN 3:444; PL 13:439 |
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| †246 (clxv) | “Dirigimus vestrae.” He signifies to Jerome that “a contention has arisen in the entire Roman world about sacrifice, namely, at which hour it is permissible to sacrifice.” He asks what he thinks about this matter. |
DC p. 301 | ||
| †247 (clxvi) | “Calumniator.” He decrees this: “A false accuser, if he fails in his accusation, receives retaliation.” Cf. Ps-Isidore, above letter 243. |
GRA C2q3c2; MAN 3:446; PS-IS 15 p. 504 |
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| †248 (clxvii) | “Si quis episcopum.” “If any of the bishops or priests or deacons sought after false crimes and was not able to prove them, let him not think that in the end communion must be given to him.” (It is chapter 75 from the Council of Eliberit from 305). |
GRA C2q3c4; MAN 3:446 |
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| †249 (clxviii) | “Hanc consuetudinem.” He forbids “the offerings which are offered within the holy church from being held under the dominion of the laity.” |
GRA C10q1c15; MAN 3:446 |
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| 366-384 | ||||
| †250 (clxx) | (“Quoniam quidem metropolitanus”) “Quisquis metropolitanus.” He decrees “that if any metropolitan does not within three months of his consecration send to the apostolic see to expound his faith and receive his pallium, he will lack the dignity entrusted to him.” |
BUR 1.25; DEU 1.79; IVO 5.354; MAN 3:447 |
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| 367-384 | ||||
| 251 | (“Prius agendum est”). In a synod he publishes a decree about the Holy Spirit, about the canon of Holy Scripture and about the patriarchal sees. See Gelasius’ decretum about accepting and not accepting books (letter 700 below), whose first chapter Thiel proves must be attributed to Damasus. |
THI 1:44 | ||
| 382-384 | 252* | He sends to Ambrose, bishop of Milan, a pamphlet which the Christian senators (from 382) wrote down against Symmachus, prefect of the city, and its allies, who wanted to rebuild a statue of Victoria from the curia demolished by emperor Gratian. | AMB2 2.1:826 (PL 16:963) |
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| 384 | ||||
| 253 (63) | “Dormientem te.” He poses to Jerome five questions on the Old Testament. He denies that he delights in the books of Lactantius. |
DAM p. 220; JER 1:158 (PL 30:485); COU p. 579; MAN 3:424; PL 13:371 |
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| 254 (64)* | It is sworn by Symmachus, prefect of the city, that neither do “the followers of the catholic religion bear any abuse” nor are “any of them held either by prison or chains.” See Symmachus. | SYM 34 p. 500 (PL 30:485) |
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| Dec 10 | He dies “nearly an octogenarian.” The day is read in Jerome’s martyrology. And about the year there can be no doubt, since almost all the catalogues testify that Damasus possessed the see for 18 years, 2 (some: 3) months, 10 (some 11) days. | JER2 2:935 (PL 23:701); JER1 11:519 |
