patristic testimonies reconsidered logical clarifications indicate that the term “Nazarenes” was not com-
monly used as a title for “heretical” Jewish Christians before Epipha-
nius wrote hisPanarion. However, once the point of reference for the
term “Nazarenes” was fixed in thePanarion, it worked very well among
Greek and Latin-speaking Christians because no contemporary, “ortho-
dox” Christian group bore that name in Latin or Greek. After Epiphanius,
several authors in the West used the term, but usually referring to Jew-
ish Christians in general, so that it became synonymous with “Ebionites.”
Yet we know that before and after Epiphanius in the East, the cognates of
the term Nazarenes were commonly used to denote Christians in general
amongSyrians,Arabs,PersiansandArmenians.^75 It follows that, once we
move over to sphere of Semitic Christianity in the East, we have to reckon
with the possibility that the term “Nazarenes” was used to denote Chris-
tians whose beliefs and practices were not clearly “heretical.” As a matter
of fact, it seems that Jerome’s Nazarenes provides an example of one such
group.
Before a discussion of Jerome’s references to the Nazarenes, a short
overview of Jerome’s biography is needed in order to determine how his
references are related to Epiphanius’ information about the Nazarenes.
A more detailed account of Jerome’s life with special emphasis on his
literary activity follows in Chapter ..
Jerome was born in Stridon in or .^76 He had Christian parents
and he received his education in Rome. He made his first trip to the East
in . Originally he had planned to go to Jerusalem but illness prolonged
his stay in Antioch and finally made him give up the plan. Instead, he
tried the life of a monk in Beroea (/–). Most scholars assume
that if Jerome really met Nazarenes, whose gospel he started to quote
ten years later, it must have happened here. Jerome returned to Rome in
in the company of bishops Paulinus and Epiphanius, with whom he
stayed in regular contact afterwards. After the death of Pope Damasus
in , Jerome entertained hopes of becoming his successor. However,
he was not elected and he headed again to Jerusalem where he arrived
in . After a short trip to Alexandria, Jerome settled in Bethlehem in
and connected them to the first Christians because, being Semitic, they had a ring of
authenticity. See above footnote .(^75) For the term Nazarene in general, see Chapter ...
(^76) Kelly , – has argued for an earlier date of birth, . However, this is not
convincing since that would make Jerome years old when starting grammar school.
Thus, Nautin , –.