Augustine of Hippo preaches a sermon, probably on the feast of *Cyprian (bishop and martyr of Carthage, S00411). Sermon 313F, delivered in Latin at Carthage (central North Africa), in the basilica of Mappalia, possibly at the end of the 390s.
Evidence ID
E03369
Type of Evidence
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Major author/Major anonymous work
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 313F
[Habitus in basilica beati martyris Cypriani in Mappalibus die natalis eius
'Preached in the basilica of the blessed martyr Cyprian in the Mappalia, on his feast']
The main topic of the sermon is hope. It does not mention Cyprian.
Summary: Robert Wiśniewski.
Liturgical ActivitiesService for the saint
Festivals
Service for the saint
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.
This sermon is linked with the feast of Cyprian and to Carthage only through its lemma in the manuscript tradition. The contents do not name Cyprian, but show that the sermon was most probably preached outside Hippo during Augustine's episcopate, for in the opening sentence he addresses his colleague, almost certainly a local bishop.
Discussion
The Basilica of the Mappalia was certainly devoted to Cyprian. It was most probably the place when his body was deposited (see Ennabli 1997, 21-24).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.
Basilica:
Ennabli, L., Carthage. Une métropole chrétienne du IVe à la fin du VIIe siècle (Paris: CNRS Éditions, 1997).
Record Created By
Robert Wiśniewski
Date of Entry
01/06/2017
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00411 | Cyprian, bishop and martyr of Carthage | Cyprianus | Certain |
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Robert Wiśniewski, Cult of Saints, E03369 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E03369