Augustine of Hippo, in his treatise Against Faustus, argues that the superiority of virginity over marriage is proven by the fact that it was preached by *Paul (the Apostle, S00008) and chosen as her way of life by *Thekla (follower of Paul, S00092). Written in Latin in Hippo Regius (Numidia, central North Africa), c. 400.
Evidence ID
E01033
Type of Evidence
Literary - Other
Major author/Major anonymous work
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo, Against Faustus 30.4
Augustine rejects Faustus' opinion that the conviction of the superiority of virginity over marriage comes from demons. He argues that it was the teaching of Paul the Apostle, especially to Thecla in Iconium. In this context he says what follows:
Num igitur et de Christo eadem dicere poteritis aut de apostolo Paulo, quem similiter ubique constat et uerbo semper praetulisse nuptis innuptas et id opere quoque ostendisse erga sanctissimam Theclam?
'But will you say the same of Christ, or of the Apostle Paul, who, we know, everywhere expressed the same preference for unmarried women to the married, and gave an example of it in the case of the most saintly Thecla?'
Text: Zycha 1891, 752.
Translation: Stothert 1887.
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.
Against Faustus belongs to Augustine's anti-Manichean treatises. Augustine wrote it some time after his episcopal ordination (397).
Discussion
Even if Augustine refers to Thekla as the 'most saintly' (sanctissima) it does not prove that she had a cult in Africa. Still, Augustine seems to assume that her apocryphal story was well known to his readers and was as good for the sake of argument as any biblical passage.Bibliography
Edition:Zycha, J., Contra Faustum Manichaeum (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 25/1; Vienna: Tempsky, 1891), 251-797.
English translation:
Stothert, R., Reply to Faustus the Manichaean (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series 4; Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1887).
Record Created By
Robert Wiśniewski
Date of Entry
30/12/2015
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00008 | Paul, the Apostle | Paulus | Certain | S00092 | Thekla, follower of the Apostle Paul | Thecla | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Robert Wiśniewski, Cult of Saints, E01033 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01033