Augustine of Hippo preaches a sermon on the feast of *Vincent (deacon and martyr of Zaragoza and Valencia, S00290), after the public reading of his Martyrdom. Sermon 277A, delivered in Latin, probably at Hippo Regius (Numidia, North Africa), possibly in 410/412.
E02271
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 277A
[In natale sancto Vincenti
'On the feast of St Vincent']
1. Vincentii martyris sancti fortissimam et gloriosissimam passionem celebrare Christus sollemniter iubet, et non segniter praedicare. Vidimus animo, et cogitatione conspeximus, quanta pertulerit, quae audierit, quae responderit, et quodammodo ante oculos nostros mirandum spectaculum constitutum est: iudex iniquus, tortor cruentus, martyr inuictus, crudelitatis pietatis que certamen; et hinc insania, inde uictoria.
'Christ commands us to celebrate with due solemnity the heroic and glorious sufferings of the holy martyr Vincent, and not to be slow in preaching about it. We have seen in spirit, and gazed in thought at all that he endured, that he heard, that he answered, and how a marvelous spectacle was staged before our very eyes: the wicked judge, the bloody-thirsty torturer, the invincible martyr, a contest between cruelty and piety; on this side raving madness, on that a splendid victory.'
In what follows Augustine refers frequently to the story of Vincent's sufferings.
2. ... Dignus itaque martyr Vincentius a domino coronari, in quo elegit et per sapientiam et per patientiam gloriari; dignus sollemni celebritate, dignus felicitate aeterna, pro qua adipiscenda leue quicquid minacissimus iudex terruit, quicquid carnifex cruentus inflixit.
'... And so the martyr Vincent was worthy to be crowned by the Lord, in whom he chose to boast through both his wisdom and patience; worthy of his perennial renown, worthy of eternal bliss, to gain which, whatever terrifying judge threatened him with, whatever the bloodthirsty executioner inflicted on him, is light indeed.'
Text: Morin 1930, 243-245.
Translation: Hill 1994, 33.
Summary: R. Wiśniewski.
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 was probably preached in Hippo, Augustine's episcopal see. Its tentative dating to 410/412 is based on its relation with Augustine's other writings.
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 8, Sermons 273-305A on 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.
Robert Wiśniewski
03/01/2017
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00290 | Vincentius/Vincent, deacon and martyr of Zaragoza and Valencia | Vincentius | Certain |
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