Adversus Jovinianum

work by Saint Jerome

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July 23, 2026

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Adversus Jovinianum is a polemical work written by Saint Jerome around 393 CE. It was a response to the monk Jovinian, who argued that virginity and marriage were equal in God's eyes. Jerome's treatise strongly defended the superiority of virginity and monastic life, criticizing marriage and secular pursuits. The work is noted for its brilliant arguments but also for its harsh and crude language, reflecting Jerome's passionate defense of asceticism.1

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St. Jerome
Major literary works of St. Jerome
…Jerome wrote a polemical diatribe Adversus Jovinianum (393) that was frequently brilliant but needlessly crude, excessively influenced by the 2nd- and 3rd-century theologian Tertullian, whose writings were at times unnecessarily harsh toward marriage. Against the priest Vigilantius, Jerome dictated in one night a defense of monasticism, clerical celibacy, and certain…
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…Jerome wrote a polemical diatribe Adversus Jovinianum (393) that was frequently brilliant but needlessly crude, excessively influenced by the 2nd- and 3rd-century theologian Tertullian, whose writings were at times unnecessarily harsh toward marriage. Against the priest Vigilantius, Jerome dictated in one night a defense of monasticism, clerical celibacy, and certain…
Read More