Augustine of Hippo preaches a sermon on the feast of *Vincent (deacon of Zaragoza and martyr of Valencia, S00290), probably after the public reading of his Martyrdom. Sermon 274, delivered in Latin, possibly at Hippo Regius (Numidia, North Africa) in c. 410.
Evidence ID
E02247
Type of Evidence
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Major author/Major anonymous work
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 274
[In natali martyris Vincenti
'On the feast of the martyr Vincent']
Magnum spectaculum spectauimus oculis fidei, martyrem sanctum Vincentium ubique uincentem.
uicit in uerbis, uicit in poenis; uicit in confessione, uicit in tribulatione; uicit exustus ignibus, uicit submersus fluctibus: postremo uicit tortus, uicit mortuus.
'We have been watching a magnificent spectacle with the eyes of faith, the holy martyr Vincent everywhere victorious. He was victorious in his words, victorious in the pains he endured; victorious in his confession, victorious in his tribulations; victorious when burned with fire; victorious when submerged in the waves.'
There follows praise of Vincent, focused especially on his endurance in martyrdom.
Text: Patrologia Latina 38, 1252.
Translation: Hill 1994, 23.
Liturgical ActivitiesSermon/homily
Festivals
Sermon/homily
Service for the saint
FestivalsSaint’s feast
Non Liturgical ActivityTransmission, copying and reading saint-related texts
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.
This sermon is tentatively dated to c. 410 on the basis of intertextual references, but this dating is far from secure. It was possibly preached in Hippo, Augustine's episcopal see.
Discussion
The first phrase of this sermon suggested that it followed the reading of Vincent's acts.Bibliography
Edition:Migne, J.P., Patrologia Latina 38 (Paris, 1865).
Translation:
Hill, E., The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century, vol. III 8. Sermons 273-305A for the Saints (New York: New City Press, 1994).
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
03/01/2017
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00290 | Vincentius/Vincent, deacon of Zaragoza and martyr of Valencia | Vincentius | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Robert Wiśniewski, Cult of Saints, E02247 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E02247