Augustine of Hippo
Influential Christian theologian and philosopher of the Patristic Period.
Augustine of Hippo was a Christian theologian and philosopher born in Thagaste, Numidia Cirtensis in 354 who became Bishop of Hippo Regius.[1] His theological output included some ninety books and eight thousand sermons distributed across the Roman Empire.[2] Within the Patristic Period, he is considered a highly significant philosopher in the Western tradition and a major Church Father of the Latin Church.[3]
Quick Facts
- Titles
- Bishop of Hippo Regius
- Church Father
- Doctor of the Church
- Blessed
- Birth name
- Aurelius Augustinus
- Born
- 13 November 354
- Birthplace
- Thagaste, Numidia Cirtensis, Roman Empire (present-day Souk Ahras, Algeria)
- Died
- 28 August 430 (aged 75)
- Place of death
- Hippo Regius, Numidia Cirtensis, Western Roman Empire (present-day Annaba, Algeria)
- Resting place
- Pavia, Italy
- Feast day
- 28 August (Western Christianity)
- 15 June (Eastern Christianity)
- 4 November (Assyrian)
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
He was ordained a priest in Hippo in 391 and became coadjutor Bishop of Hippo in 395.[4][5] Between 373 and 374, he taught grammar in Thagaste, then moved to Carthage to run a rhetoric school, and in 383 he relocated to Rome to establish a school there.[6] After converting to Christianity, he was baptized by Ambrose in 386, and subsequently crafted his own distinctive philosophical and theological system.[7]
What the cited sources add
Boyce notes that Augustine's struggle to achieve celibacy led him to blame himself rather than the Devil for his sin, shifting Christian tradition.[2] Sypert argues that Augustine purposely appropriated common rhetorical elements in his preaching to make Scripture plain and compelling to his audience.[8] Possidius describes how Augustine taught and preached against Donatists, Manichaeans, and pagans both in finished books and extemporaneous sermons.[9] Boyce states that Augustine adopted the Vulgate's mistranslation of Paul that "all men had sinned in Adam" due to his limited Greek.[2]
The Catholicapologetics source lists Augustine as patron saint of theologians, printers, and brewers.[10]
References
- Wikipedia, "Augustine of Hippo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Augustine", Dictionary.com; Wells 2000, p. 54 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Boyce, James (May 2015) "Don't Blame the Devil: St Augustine and Original Sin". Utne Reader.. facts only, no text reused. utne.com
- Wikipedia, "Augustine of Hippo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wilken, "The First Thousand Years: A Global History of Christianity", Yale University Press, 2012, p. 183 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Augustine of Hippo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tell, "Augustine and the 'Chair of Lies': Rhetoric in The Confessions", Rhetorica, 1 November 2010, p. 384–407 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Augustine of Hippo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Brown 2000, p. 63; Augustine, ep.126.1 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Augustine of Hippo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Encyclopedia Americana, v. 2, p. 685. Danbury, Connecticut: Grolier, 1997. . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Augustine of Hippo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: TeSelle 2002, p. 343; MacCulloch, "A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years", Penguin Books, 2009, p. 306 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Sypert, "Redeeming Rhetoric: Augustine's Use of Rhetoric in His Preaching Ministry", Eleutheria, 1 May 2015. facts only, no text reused. digitalcommons.liberty.edu
- Possidius, Life of St. Augustine (trans. Weiskotten), Chapter XXXI. Death and burial, https://tertullian.org/fathers/possidius_life_of_augustine_02_text.htm#C31. facts only, no text reused. tertullian.org
- Know Your Patron Saint. catholicapologetics.info. facts only, no text reused. catholicapologetics.info
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Augustine of Hippo (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Notable Figures
Elsewhere in Historical Figures
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced