Who was St Augustine?
Saint Augustine lived from 13 November 354 to 28 August 430. He was a bishop, an early Christian theologian and a “Doctor of the Church”. This is a title given by the Catholic Church to saints recognized as having made a significant contribution to theology or doctrine through their research, study or writing. He was a Roman African from the Roman province of Numidia in Africa. More about this below.
For what is he remembered?
The writings of St Augustine have influenced the development of the Western Church and Western philosophy, and indirectly all of Western Christianity. He is regarded as one of the most important “Church Fathers” of the Latin Church for his writings. The “Church Fathers” were the ancient and influential Christian writers and theologians who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity.
His most important works are:
- The City of God
- De Doctrina Christiana
- Confessions
He helped formulate the doctrine of original sin and made contributions that strongly influenced the later development of the theory of a just war. His thoughts profoundly influenced the medieval worldview. The segment of the Church that adhered to the concept of the Trinity as defined by the Council of Nicaea and the Council of Constantinople closely identified with Augustine’s book called On the Trinity.
By whom is he remembered?
Augustine is recognized as a saint in the Catholic Churches, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion. Many Protestants, especially Calvinists and Lutherans, consider him to be one of the theological fathers of the Protestant Reformation because of his teachings on salvation and divine grace.
Roman African
Roman Africans are the ancient Northwest African populations of Roman North Africa that had a Romanized culture. They existed mostly from the Roman conquest until their language faded out after the Arab conquest of North Africa in approximately the 8th century AD. Roman Africans lived in all the coastal cities of modern-day Tunisia, Western Libya and Eastern Algeria. They were generally Berbers or Punics but also the descendants of populations from Rome itself or from legionaries and senators from the various regions of the Roman Empire.
The African province of the Roman Empire was amongst the wealthiest regions in the Empire (rivaled only by Egypt, Syria and Italy itself) and as a consequence people from all over the Empire migrated into the province. Large numbers of Roman Army veterans settled in Northwest Africa on farming plots promised for their military service.
The Roman Africans were one of the first Roman provinces to convert to Christianity and among their most well known figures are Saint Felicita, Saint Perpetua, Saint Cyprian and Saint Augustine.
Augustine of Hippo
Saint Augustine is also known as Augustine of Hippo. This name comes from the name of a region called Hippo Regius (the present day seaport city of Annaba in the north-eastern corner of Algeria, close to Tunisia). Hippo Regius was a centre of early Christianity and the site of many Christian synods. Augustine of Hippo was the bishop here from 396AD until his death in 430AD.
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