As part of the institutional project SVEJERKOV – St. Jerome’s Forge of Words, doctoral candidate Maja Rončević and her supervisor, Prof. Ivan Bodrožić, PhD, took part in the 51st Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Patristic Studies to research and present a plan for a future doctoral dissertation.
On the first day of the 51st Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Patristic Studies, Prof. Bodrožić delivered his lecture. Titled “Asceticism as Therapy for Human Wounds According to St. Jerome’s Epistles,” the lecture shows how Jerome, in several places in his epistles, speaks of spiritual health, drawing on vivid expressions from the field of medicine. Jerome particularly emphasizes that the spiritual illness known as concupiscence is especially dangerous because it destroys the individual from within. It can be fought only through a serious ascetic life, which also includes choosing food as part of one’s dietary regimen. Jerome also stresses that even physicians such as Galen confirmed that not every food is equally suitable for everyone or for every stage of life. It is therefore all the more important to pay attention to the spiritual dimension of food, since it builds up the soul and serves as a remedy for the development of one’s character and the attainment of salvation: “We do not seek the nourishment of a body that has flourished on such food, but the strength of a soul that grows stronger through the body’s weakness.”
On the third day of the conference, doctoral candidate Maja Rončević took part in the session set aside for doctoral candidates — the Predissertation Workshop, intended for presenting and discussing doctoral research in progress. In her presentation, titled “The Concept of Friendship Between the Classical Ideal and the Evangelical Realization in Jerome’s Epistles during the First Period of His Life (347–382),” she presented her research and engaged in academic discussion and an exchange of views with other participants and experts. The research conducted at the John M. Kelly Library, together with the comments and suggestions received during the workshop, will be a valuable contribution to the further development and direction of the research. In addition, the conference provided an opportunity to meet and establish contacts with researchers such as Mark Vessey, who likewise works on St. Jerome. His expert insights and future cooperation will further contribute to the quality and progress of the work on the future doctoral dissertation.