Augustine of Hippo preaches a sermon in the octave of Easter, probably in Carthage (central North Africa), and announces that the sermon for the feast of *Marianus and Iacobus (clerics and martyrs of Numidia, S01132), due the following day, will be preached two days later, because of the gathering of a synod. Sermon 256, delivered in Latin, possibly in 418.
Evidence ID
E01993
Type of Evidence
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Major author/Major anonymous work
Augustine of Hippo
Sermon 256 (ending of the sermon)
3. ... Die crastina sanctorum martyrum Mariani et Iacobi festiuitas illucescit; sed, quoniam causa tantae congregationis sancti concilii adhuc aliquantulum occupati sumus, die tertio eiusdem diei natalis ipsius, adiuuante domino, debitum sermonem reddemus uobis.
'Tomorrow the feast (festivitas) of the holy martyrs Marianus and Iacobus will shine. Yet since we are slightly busy because of so great an assembly for the holy council, we will, with Lord's help, preach the sermon that we owe you for this annual feast (dies natalis) only in two days time.'
Text: Morin 1930, 719.
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.
The beginning of this sermon leaves no doubt that it was preached in the Octave of Easter. It is tentatively dated to 418 on the basis of the chronology of Augustine's life, namely his participation in the council of Carthage in 418.
Bibliography
Edition:Morin, G., Sancti Augustini Sermones post Maurinos reperti (Miscellanea Agostiniana, vol. 1; Rome: Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana, 1930).
Translation:
Hill, E., The Works of Saint Augustine. A Translation for the 21st Century, vol. III 7, Sermons 230-272B on the Liturgical Seasons (New York: New City Press, 1993).
Dating:
Kunzelmann, A., "Die Chronologie der sermones des hl. Augustinus," Miscellanea Agostiniana, vol. 2 (Rome: Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana, 1931), 417-452.
Record Created By
Robert Wiśniewski
Date of Entry
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S01132 | Marianus and Iacobus, clerics and martyrs of Numidia | Marianus, Iacobus | Certain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Robert Wiśniewski, Cult of Saints, E01993 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01993