The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Jovinian
condemned 393; d. before 406 · Monk · Opponent of ascetic hierarchy · Rome → Milan
The Nicene Age
Who Jovinian was
A monk who turned against the ascetic movement from within, teaching that baptized virgins, widows, and wives stand equal in merit, that fasting is no better than thankful eating, and that all the saved share one reward — positions that read to his age as an attack on monasticism itself. Condemned by Siricius at Rome and by Ambrose’s synod at Milan (393), he was answered by Jerome with such contempt for marriage (‘Against Jovinian’) that Jerome’s own friends suppressed the book’s circulation. Augustine wrote ‘On the Good of Marriage’ partly to answer Jovinian without Jerome’s excess. The heretic whose refutation forced the church to defend marriage while ranking virginity.
Also listed in desert fathers & mothers.
Common questions
When did Jovinian live?
Jovinian is dated condemned 393; d. before 406 in the archive, which places Jovinian in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
Which early sources mention Jovinian?
Jovinian is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Ambrose of Milan, Jerome and Augustine of Hippo. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Jovinian from?
The archive associates Jovinian with Rome, Milan. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Jovinian’s contemporaries?
The archive links Jovinian to 4 other figures, including Siricius of Rome, Ambrose of Milan, Jerome of Stridon and Augustine of Hippo. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Letter 42 of Ambrose (the Milan synod's condemnation, seconding Siricius)
c. AD 390Against Jovinianus I.3
c. AD 393He has attempted to teach that virgins, widows, and married women, once washed in Christ, are of the same merit, if they differ not in other works.Jerome · source text
On Heresies 82 (the Jovinianists)
c. AD 428Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
- AD 343 · The Council of Serdica, AD 343
- AD 361 · Julian’s pagan restoration, AD 361
- AD 366 · Damasus and the catacomb epigrams, AD 366
- AD 367 · Athanasius lists the 27 NT books, AD 367
- AD 372 · The martyrdom of Sabbas the Goth, AD 372
- AD 378 · Queen Mavia’s revolt, AD 378
- AD 380 · The Edict of Thessalonica, AD 380
- AD 381 · The Council of Constantinople, AD 381
- AD 381 · The Council of Aquileia, AD 381
- AD 384 · The Altar of Victory petition, AD 384
- AD 390 · Thessalonica and the penance of Theodosius, AD 390
- AD 397 · Carthage confirms the canon, AD 397
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Jovinian, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.