Augustine of Hippo, in his Letter 140 of 412, refers to a sermon, preached the preceding year at Carthage (central North Africa) at the feast of *Cyprian (bishop and martyr of Carthage, S00411). Written in Latin.
Evidence ID
E01827
Type of Evidence
Literary - Letters
Major author/Major anonymous work
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo, Letter 140.3
Hunc psalmum septuagesimum et secundum nocte, qua inlucescebat sollemnitas beatissimi Cypriani, per ministerium nostrum expositum lege et diligenter aduerte.
'Read and carefully think over this psalm 72, which I commented on in the night of the feast of the most blessed Cyprian.'
Text: Goldbacher 1904, 165.
Translation: Robert Wiśniewski.
Liturgical Activities
Sermon/homily
FestivalsSaint’s feast
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
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.
Discussion
In this letter Augustine refers to his Exposition of the Psalm 72.Bibliography
Edition:Goldbacher, A., Augustinus, Epistulae (ep. 124-184A) (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 44, Vienna: Tempsky, 1904).
Record Created By
Robert Wiśniewski
Date of Entry
27/06/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00411 | Cyprian, bishop and martyr of Carthage | Cyprianus | Certain |
|---|
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Robert Wiśniewski, Cult of Saints, E01827 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01827