Augustine of Hippo preaches a sermon at the feast of *Cyprian (bishop and martyr of Carthage, S00411) in Carthage (central North Africa). Exposition on Psalm 85, delivered in Latin, possibly in 401/411.
Evidence ID
E01828
Type of Evidence
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Major author/Major anonymous work
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 85
Lemma in Codex Vaticanus Ottob. 319.
Habitus in natale sancti Cypriani vigiliis. Habitus in Mappalia
'Preached at the vigil of the feast of saint Cyprian. Preached in Mappalia.'
Contristatus est beatus Cyprianus in passione; modo consolatus est in corona ... et uigilamus in his luminaribus, et sollemnitas ista dat nobis animum uigilandi; dies ille quales uigilias nobis dabit?
'The blessed Cyprian was sorrowful in his martyrial death, but now is comforted by the crown ... We keep vigil with these lamps, and this festival strengthens our spirit in order to stay awake; what kind of vigils will that day give to us?'
Text: Dekkers & Fraipont 1956.
Translation: Robert Wiśniewski.
Liturgical Activities
Sermon/homily
FestivalsSaint’s feast
Cult PlacesCult building - independent (church)
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 Expositions on the Psalms are based on Augustine's homilies preached either in Hippo or other places in North Africa in the period from 392 to 417. This sermon was certainly preached in Carthage at the feast of *Cyprian, on 13 September. According to La Bonnardière, 84-86, this took place between 401 and 411 (but not in 403 and 410, because in both years Augustine preached on the feast of Cyprian in Hippo).
Bibliography
Edition:Dekkers, E., and Fraipont, J., Enarrationes in psalmos (Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina 38; Turnhout: Brepols, 1956).
Further reading:
La Bonnardière, M.A., "Les Enarrationes in Psalmos prêchées par saint Augustin à l'occasion de fêtes des martyrs," Recherches Augustiniennes 7 (1971), 73-104.
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 |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
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