Augustine of Hippo preaches a sermon in the basilica of the *Martyrs of Massa Candida (S00904) at Utica (Proconsularis, central North Africa), probably at the feast of these martyrs. Exposition on Psalm 144, delivered in Latin, possibly in 417.
Evidence ID
E01836
Type of Evidence
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Major author/Major anonymous work
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 144
Habitus Uticae in Basilica Massae Candidae
'Preached in Utica, in the Basilica of Massa Candida.'
In the text of the sermon itself there are no references to the martyrs of Massa Candida or their feast.
Translation and summary: Robert Wiśniewski.
Liturgical Activities
Sermon/homily
FestivalsSaint’s feast
Cult PlacesCult building - independent (church)
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.
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. According to La Bonnardière, 87-88, this sermon was preached in 417.
Discussion
For other sermons by Augustine preached for the Martyrs of Massa Candida see E01760, E02745 and E02773. Although the sermon does not name the martyrs, it was probably preached at their feast, otherwise it would have been delivered in the main church of the city.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 | S00904 | Martyrs of Massa Candida (Utica) | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Robert Wiśniewski, Cult of Saints, E01836 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01836