L'ascetismo romano fra Damaso e Siricio

During the chronological span that goes from the episcopate of Damasus (366-384) to that of Siricius (384-399), the reli- gious framework of Rome appears to be characterized by a constant tension between ascetics and monks; this controversy then resulted in a proliferation of contrasts between different forms of Christian life. Against this scenario, Jerome willingly assumes the role of organizer. What is proposed in these pages, therefore, is not an overview of the available documentation about asceticism and monasticism in Rome during the above mentioned period, but rather it is an analysis of some texts showing the persistence, in the last thirty years of the fourth century, of a certain variety in living "outside the world" and, consequently, the impossibility of considering asceticism as a synonym of monasticism. A distinction between asceticism and monasticism thus becomes extremely useful to better under- stand the relationship between Jerome and the two successors on the chair of St. Peter. Although not always explicitly, in fact, both Damasus and Siricius also intervened on the same topic.