Augustine of Hippo preaches a sermon on the feast of *Eulalia (virgin and martyr of Mérida, S00407), in which he also mentions other martyrs, all of them from Africa. Sermon 313G, delivered in Latin, probably in Hippo Regius (Numidia, central North Africa) in the early 410s.
E03498
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 313G
[Sermo de die sanctae Eulaliae
'Sermon on the day of saint Eulalia']
Augustine emphasises that the readings on the feast days of the martyrs remind us about their victories and show that they triumphed over the persecutors thanks to the help of Christ whom they followed.
3. Quod autem ait Dominus, ueniet hora, ut, qui uos occiderit, putet se obsequium praestare Deo, non pertinet ad illos martyres, de quibus erat ista, cuius celebramus sollemnitatem. Ista enim sancta Eulalia, de prouincia Spania, sancta et fortis femina, quae per affectum uicit sexum, sicut sancta Crispina, sicut beatus Cyprianus, sicut alii multi martyres sancti, sicut Octo, sicut Viginti, et omnes eorum socii, de gentium multitudine crediderunt, et a paganis occisi sunt.
'As to what the Lord said, though, "the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering a service to God" (John 16:2); it does not apply to those martyrs among whom this one is included, whose feast we are keeping. This Saint Eulalia, you see, from the province of Spain, a holy and valiant woman, who by her love overcame the weakness of her sex like Saint Crispina, was like the blessed Cyprian, like many other holy martyrs, like the Eight, like the Twenty and all their companions, who all came to believe from the number of the Gentiles, and were killed by the pagans.'
Text: Morin 1930, 595.
Translation: Hill 1994, 124.
Summary: Robert Wiśniewski.
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.
The tentative dating of this sermon is based on intertextual links with other writings of Augustine. The place in which it was preached is impossible to determine. The reference to the 'Eight' and to the 'Twenty', two groups of martyrs local to Hippo, strongly suggests that the sermon was delivered there.
Discussion
The 'Eight' and the 'Twenty' mentioned in this sermon are certainly the *Eight Martyrs, and the *Twenty Martyrs, both of Hippo (S01441 and S00703), whose cult is attested in Hippo elsewhere in Augustine's works.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 | S00407 | Eulalia, virgin and martyr of Mérida | Eulalia | Certain | S00411 | Cyprian, bishop and martyr of Carthage | Cyprianus | Certain | S00703 | Twenty Martyrs of Hippo Regius | Viginti | Certain | S00905 | Crispina, of Thagora, martyred at Theveste, with companions | Crispina | Certain | S01441 | Eight Martyrs of Hippo Regius | Octo | Certain |
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