Augustine of Hippo preaches a sermon on the feast of *Cyprian (bishop and martyr of Carthage, S00411). Sermon 313A, delivered in Latin at the shrine of the saint in Carthage (central North Africa), sometime between 391 and 430.
E02878
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 313A
[Habitus Carthagine and mensam beati martyris Cypriani de eius natale, XVIII Kalendas octobris
'Preached in Carthage, at the Table of the blessed martyr Cyprian, on his birthday, on the 18th day before the Kalends of October' [= 14 September]
1. Sancta sollemnitas beatissimi martyris, quae nos in nomine Domini congregauit, de meritis et gloria tanti martyris exigit aliquid dici: sed non potest aliquid digne dici; uirtutibus enim eius et gloriae posset forte humana lingua sufficere, si se uoluisset ipse laudare. Verumtamen et nos deuotione magis quam facultate laudemus eum, immo Dominum laudemus in eo: dominum in illo, et illum in Domino.
'The holy festival of this most blessed martyr, which has brought us here together in the name of the Lord, requires something to be said about the merits and glory of so great a martyr. But it is impossible to say anything really worthy of him; perhaps, I suppose, a human tongue could have measured up to his virtues and glory, if he had been willing to praise himself. Nonetheless, let me too praise him, more by my devotion than by any ability I may have; or rather, let me praise the Lord in him – the Lord in him, and him in the Lord.'
In what follows Augustine praises Cyprian for his rejection of pleasure and endurance in suffering, and then preaches against greed and lust. He returns to Cyprian though at the end of the sermon:
5. Beatus ergo laudetur in Domino. Quando hoc posset, si non adiuuisset Dominus? Quando uinceret, si non spectator, qui coronam parabat uincenti, subministraret uires laboranti? Gaudet plane et ipse, gaudet pro nobis, non pro se, quando in domino laudatur ... Sancte celebretur, tamquam a christianis celebretur. Non enim aram constituimus tamquam Deo Cypriano, sed uero Deo aram fecimus Cyprianum.
'So, let the blessed [Cyprian] be praised in the Lord. When could he have overcome all this, if the Lord had not come to his aid? When could he have been victorious, if the spectator, who was preparing a crown for him in his victory, had not provided him with the necessary strength in toils? He too certainly rejoices, rejoices for us, not for himself, when he is praised in the Lord ... Let us celebrate in a holy way, let us celebrate as Christians. After all, we have not erected an altar (ara) to Cyprian as though he were God, but we have made an altar to the true God out of Cyprian.'
Text: Morin 1930, 65 and 69.
Translation: Hill 1994, 90 and 94.
Summary: Robert Wiśniewski.
Sermon/homily
Service for the saint
FestivalsSaint’s feast
Cult PlacesAltar
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Theorising on SanctityConsiderations about the veneration of saints
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.
According to the lemma this sermon was preached in Carthage, at Cyprian's shrine, known as the Mensa Cypriani. Its dating is highly uncertain.
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 9, Sermons 306-340A 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
01/06/2017
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00411 | Cyprian, bishop and martyr of Carthage | Cyprianus | Certain |
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