Jerome, in his Commentary on Hosea, mentions the tomb of *John the Baptist (S00020) in Sebaste/Samaria (Palestine). Written in Latin in Bethlehem (Palestine), and sent to Rome, all in c. 400.
E05274
Literary - Theological works
Jerome of Stridon
Jerome of Stridon, Commentary on the Minor Prophets
On Hosea 1.1
When commenting on Hosea 1:1, Jerome explains that Israel, or the Ten Tribes, is sometimes referred to in the Bible under other names:
Interdum propter Ioseph, qui fuit pater Ephraim, uocatur Ioseph; nonnumquam Samaria, quae et ipsa altera urbs fuit metropolis decem tribuum, quae postea ab Augusto caesare appellata est Augusta, id est Σεβαστὴ; in qua ossa Ioannis Baptistae condita sunt.
'Sometimes it is called Ephraim, because of Joseph, who was the father of Ephraim; often [it is referred to] as Samaria, the city which was the capital of the Ten Tribes, which, later on, was named Augusta, that is Sebaste, by the emperor Augustus, and in which the bones of John the Baptist have been deposited.'
Text: Adriaen 1976.
Translation and summary: Robert Wiśniewski.
Burial site of a saint - tomb/grave
RelicsBodily relic - entire body
Source
Jerome wrote the Commentary on Hosea in Bethlehem between 393 and 406. The work was dedicated to Pammachius, one of his powerful friends in Rome.Discussion
According to Rufinus, the tomb of John the Baptist in Sebaste was destroyed by pagans during the reign of Julian (361-363). The bones of the prophet were burnt and dispersed, but some monks collected the remains, and took them to Jerusalem, whence, during the episcopate of Athanasius (i.e. before 373), they arrived in Alexandria: Rufinus, Church History 11.28, see E04543. Rufinus' story suggests that the tomb in Sebaste was left empty, but Jerome, who mentions it also in his Commentary on Micah 1.1 (E05278) and in Letter 108.13 (E05362), evidently assumes that the body of the saint is still there.Bibliography
Edition:Adriaen, M., Corpus Christianorum. Series Latina 76 (Turnhout, 1969), 1–158.
Robert Wiśniewski
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00020 | John the Baptist | Iohannes Baptista | Certain |
|---|
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Robert Wiśniewski, Cult of Saints, E05274 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E05274