Augustine of Hippo
354 – 430 · Bishop of Hippo Regius
Also known as Aurelius Augustinus · Saint Augustine
Feast: 28 August (Catholic) · 15 June (Orthodox)
Bishop of Hippo and the most influential Latin Father. Author of Confessions, City of God, On the Trinity, and the anti-Pelagian works.
Highlights
- Main contribution
- Augustine became the grammar of Western Christianity.
- Event connection
- Donatist schism opens in Africa (311)
- Best first read
- Confessions
- Primary source
- Augustine, Confessiones
Augustine became the grammar of Western Christianity. Confessions gave the church a new way to write about memory, desire, sin, grace, and the divided self; City of God gave it a way to think about history after Rome's collapse; his anti-Pelagian writings shaped later arguments about grace and freedom. Catholics, Protestants, medieval scholastics, Reformers, and modern philosophers all keep returning to him because he asked questions that did not expire. To understand the Western church, you have to understand what Augustine made possible.
Notable works
- ·Confessions · 400
- ·City of God · 426
- ·On Christian Doctrine · 397
- ·On the Trinity · 419
- ·Enchiridion · 421
- ·Sermons · 400
Primary sources
- ·Augustine, Confessiones
- ·Augustine, Retractationes
- ·Possidius, Vita Augustini
Book of the day
City of God
Augustine of HippoA reading pick tied to today's figure, quote, era, or event. Augustine's answer to Rome's collapse: two cities, providence, empire, worship, and Christian hope.
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