354–430

Augustine of Hippo

Bishop of Hippo whose Confessions and City of God became two of the most influential works in Western Christianity. His theology of grace, original sin, and predestination shaped both Catholic and Protestant traditions.

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354–430

Biography

Aurelius Augustinus was born on November 13, 354, in Thagaste, Numidia (modern-day Souk Ahras, Algeria). His father Patricius was a pagan; his mother Monica was a devout Christian who prayed persistently for his conversion. Augustine received a classical Roman education in rhetoric and literature.

As a young man, Augustine pursued a career as a rhetorician. He lived with a concubine for fifteen years and had a son, Adeodatus. He explored Manichaeism for nine years before becoming disillusioned with it. He moved to Rome in 383 and then to Milan in 384, where he secured a prestigious professorship in rhetoric.

In Milan, Augustine came under the influence of Ambrose, the bishop, whose allegorical interpretation of Scripture resolved intellectual difficulties that had kept Augustine from Christianity. After a period of intense struggle, Augustine was converted in a garden in Milan in the summer of 386, famously prompted by a child's voice saying "Take up and read." He was baptized by Ambrose at Easter 387.

Augustine returned to North Africa and was ordained a priest in 391 in Hippo Regius (modern Annaba, Algeria). He became bishop of Hippo in 395 and served until his death. He wrote prolifically on theology, philosophy, biblical interpretation, and pastoral matters.

His Confessions (397) was the first psychological autobiography in Western literature. The City of God (413-426) was a massive work defending Christianity against the charge that it caused the fall of Rome. He also wrote major works against the Pelagians on grace and free will, and against the Donatists on the nature of the church.

Augustine died on August 28, 430, as the Vandals were besieging Hippo.

Life & Career

354 Born November 13 in Thagaste, Numidia

373 Became a Manichaean hearer

384 Appointed professor of rhetoric in Milan

386 Converted to Christianity in a garden in Milan

387 Baptized by Ambrose at Easter

391 Ordained priest in Hippo Regius

395 Became bishop of Hippo

397 Wrote the Confessions

413 Began writing the City of God

430 Died August 28 during the Vandal siege of Hippo

Significance

Why Augustine Matters

Augustine's theology of grace became the foundation on which both Catholic and Protestant traditions built. Against Pelagius, who taught that humans could obey God by their own natural ability, Augustine argued that human nature was so corrupted by the fall that salvation required God's initiative from beginning to end. This emphasis on the priority of grace was central to the Protestant Reformation a thousand years later.

His doctrine of original sin held that Adam's fall corrupted the entire human race, leaving every person unable to choose God without prior divine grace. This view became standard in Western Christianity, though the Eastern churches developed a different understanding.

Augustine's Confessions established the genre of spiritual autobiography and modeled a form of introspective self-examination that influenced Christian devotion for centuries. His exploration of memory, time, and the restlessness of the human heart produced some of the most quoted lines in Christian literature.

His political theology in the City of God distinguished between the earthly city (organized around self-love) and the city of God (organized around the love of God), and argued that the two are intermingled throughout history. This framework shaped Christian thinking about the relationship between church and state for over a millennium.