Eustochium

4th and 5th century early Christian monastic founder and saint

Eustochium (c. 368 – September 28, 419 or 420), born Eustochium Julia at Rome, was a high ranking member of the community, specifically the Julian clan. Eustochium was a fourth century noblewoman and consecrated virgin, venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. Guided by the teachings of Jerome, Eustochium practiced asceticism and committed her life to perpetual celibacy.

Eustochium was the daughter of Paula of Rome and the third of four daughters of the Roman Senator Toxotius, for whom Saint Jerome made a number of disputable claims of ancestry. Jerome was a church father in early Christian history who is well known for translating the Holy Bible into Latin and encouraging the practice of asceticism. When Jerome came to Rome from Palestine in 382, they put themselves under his spiritual and educational guidance. Hymettius, an uncle of Eustochium, and his wife Praetextata tried to persuade the youthful Eustochium to give up her austere life and enjoy the pleasures of the world, but all their attempts were futile. About the year 384 she made a vow of perpetual virginity, on which occasion Jerome addressed to her his celebrated letter De custodia virginitatis (Ep. xxii in P. L., XXII, 394–425). A year later Jerome returned to Palestine and soon after was followed by Paula and Eustochium. The three convents, which were under the supervision of Paula, had only one oratory, where all the virgins met several times daily for prayer and the liturgy of the hours. Jerome testifies (Ep. 308) that Eustochium and Paula performed the most menial services. Much of their time they spent in the study of scripture under the direction of Jerome. Eustochium spoke Latin and Classical Greek with equal ease and was able to read the scriptures in the Hebrew text. Many of Jerome's Biblical commentaries owe their existence to her influence and to her he dedicated his commentaries on the prophets Isaias and Ezekiel. The letters which Jerome wrote for her instruction and spiritual advancement are, according to his own testimony, very numerous. Jerome wrote Epitaph on Saint Paula, or Letter 108, honoring a friend and comrade in the form of a letter to Eustochium. Within Letter 108, Jerome briefly states that he's writing the letter to comfort Eustochium after her mother's death. Jerome's letter to Eustochium could be considered slander towards women. One modern scholar pointed to Jerome's opinions on ideal sexuality and body restrictions for women. However, his letters to Eustochium did not direct slander towards her, but rather praised her for her perpetual virginity. considers his letter to be the finest expression of his ascetic doctrine. that this was instigated by John II, the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Pelagians against whom Jerome had written what were considered sharp polemics. Both Jerome and Eustochium informed Pope Innocent I by letter of the occurrence, who severely reproved the patriarch for having permitted the outrage. Eustochium died shortly after and was succeeded in the supervision of the convents by her niece, the younger Paula. Eustochius of Tour might have been her nephew, and further lateral descendants may include Perpetuus and Volusianus. The Catholic Church celebrates her feast on 28 September.

In 2022, Saint Eustochium was officially added to the Episcopal Church liturgical calendar with a feast day on 28 September, along with her mother, Saint Paula of Rome.