Augustine of Hippo, in his Letter to the Catholics against the sect of the Donatists, of 401/405, mentions the discovery and miracles of *Gervasius and Protasius (brothers and martyrs of Milan, S00313), and refers to other miracles and visions in diverse holy places, but emphasises that the veracity of miracles is proven by the Catholic Church, not the other way round. Written in Latin in Hippo Regius (Numidia, central North Africa).
E01027
Literary - Other
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine, Letter to the Catholics against the sect of the Donatists (Ad Catholicos de secta Donatistarum) 19.50
Sed utrum ipsi ecclesiam teneant, non nisi de diuinarum scripturarum canonicis libris ostendant, quia nec nos propterea dicimus nobis credi oportere quod in ecclesia Christi sumus, quia ipsam quam tenemus commendauit mileuitanus Optatus uel mediolanensis Ambrosius uel alii innumerabiles nostrae communionis episcopi, aut quia nostrorum collegarum conciliis ipsa praedicata est, aut quia per totum orbem in locis sanctis, quae frequentat nostra communio, tanta mirabilia uel exauditionum uel sanitatum fiunt, ita ut latentia per tot annos corpora martyrum, quod possunt a multis interrogantes audire, Ambrosio fuerint reuelata et ad ipsa corpora caecus multorum annorum ciuitati mediolanensi notissimus oculos lumenque receperit, aut quia ille somnium uidit et ille in spiritu assumptus audiuit, siue ne iret in partem Donati siue ut recederet a parte Donati. Quaecumque talia in catholica fiunt, ideo sunt approbanda, quia in catholica fiunt, non ideo ipsa catholica manifestatur, quia haec in ea fiunt.
'Let them demonstrate that they stick to the Church, but let them do it only on the basis of the canonical books of the divine scriptures. For we also do not say that we should believe that we are in the Church of Christ because we stick to what was recommended by the bishops Optatus of Milevis or Ambrose of Milan or other innumerable bishops of our communion, or because it was announced in the councils held by our fellow-bishops, or because in all the world, in holy places which are frequented by our community, there are so many miracles, when people are healed and their prayers are answered. Or that the bodies of the martyrs, which had remained hidden for so many years were revealed to Ambrose, which those who ask can hear from many people. And that at those bodies a man who had been blind for many years, who was well-known to the city of Milan, regained the light of eyes. Or that a man saw in a dream and another, taken in the spirit, heard, either not to go to the faction of the Donatists or to abandon the sect of the Donatists. If such things happen in the Catholic [Church] they are approved because they occurred in the Catholic [Church]: it is not that the Church is proven to be Catholic because such things occur in it'.
Text: Petschenig 1909.
Translation: Robert Wiśniewski.
Burial site of a saint - tomb/grave
MiraclesMiracle after death
Healing diseases and disabilities
Miraculous intervention in issues of doctrine
Apparition, vision, dream, revelation
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Heretics
Source
Augustine of Hippo was born in 354 in the north African city of Thagaste. He received an education in rhetoric at Carthage, and after a period teaching there moved to Rome, and then in 384 to a public professorship of rhetoric in Milan. In these early years of adulthood Augustine was a Manichaean, but then got disillusioned with this religion, and in Milan in 386, largely under the influence of Ambrose, bishop of the city, he converted to Christianity, and was baptised by Ambrose in 387. Returning to Africa in 388, he was ordained a priest in 391 at Hippo Regius (in the province of Numidia), and rapidly acquired a reputation as a preacher. In 395 he became bishop of Hippo, which he remained until his death in 430. Details of his early life were recorded by Augustine himself in his Confessions, and shortly after his death a pupil and long-time friend, Possidius, wrote his Life, focused on Augustine as an effective Christian writer, polemicist and bishop (E00073).Amongst his many writings, the most informative on the cult of saints are his numerous Sermons, the City of God, and a treatise On the Care of the Dead. The Sermons tell us which saints (primarily African, but with some from abroad) received attention in Hippo, Carthage and elsewhere, and provide occasional details of miracles and cult practices. The City of God records the distribution, and subsequent miracles, of the relics of saint Stephen, after they arrived in Africa from Palestine in around 420. On the Care of the Dead, discusses the possible advantages of burial ad sanctos (in other words, close to a saint), and theorises on the link between the saints who dwell in heaven and their corporeal remains buried in their graves. In these works, and others, Augustine reveals his own particular beliefs about the saints, their relics and their miracles.
The Letter to the Catholics against the sect of the Donatists is one of Augustine's polemical anti-Donatist treatises. It was written between 401 and 405. In this passage Augustine emphasises that only the scriptural argument can prove which of the two competing Churches in Africa, the Catholic or the Donatist, is true.
Discussion
The martyrs who were discovered in Milan by Ambrose are Gervasius and Protasius. The finding of their bodies was described in detail by Ambrose himself, in his Letter 77 (see E05211) and Hymn 11 (see E05215), then by Augustine, in his Confessions (E01019), and will be later retold in the Life of Ambrose by Paulinus of Milan (E00904).It is interesting to note that according to Augustine miracles cannot be used as a proof in theological debates, for they cannot be accepted as true, or perhaps legitimate, unless they are approved by the Church.
Bibliography
Edition:Petschenig, M., Ad Catholicos de secta Donatistarum (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 52; Vienna: Tempsky, 1909), 229-322.
Robert Wiśniewski
28/12/2015
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00313 | Gervasius and Protasius, brothers and martyrs of Milan | Gervasius, Protasius | Certain |
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