Augustine of Hippo preaches a sermon on the feast of *Stephen (the First Martyr, S00030), in which he explains why the Church celebrates only the day of a martyr's death. Sermon 314, delivered in Latin, probably in Hippo Regius (Numidia, central North Africa), sometime between 391 and 430.
E03499
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 314
[In natali Stephani martyris
'On the birthday of the martyr Stephen']
1. Natalem Domini hesterna die celebrauimus; serui hodie natalem celebramus: sed natalem Domini celebrauimus, quo nasci dignatus est; natalem serui celebramus, quo coronatus est.
'Yesterday we celebrated the Lord's birthday; today, we are celebrating the birthday of his servant. But the birthday of the Lord which we celebrated was the one on which he was pleased to be born; the birthday we are celebrating of his servant is the one on which he was was crowned.'
In what follows Augustine explains why the Church celebrates both the birthday and death of Christ, whereas the birthday of martyrs in the flesh is not commemorated. It is so because, in the case of Christ both events were salvific, while the bodily birth of the future martyrs in itself did not bring any good. In paragraph 2 the preacher encourages his audience to follow Stephen's example and love one's enemies. The sermon ends with a formula which starts the celebration of the Eucharist.
Text: Patrologia Latina 38, 1425.
Translation: Hill 1994, 426.
Summary: Robert Wiśniewski.
Service for the saint
Eucharist associated with cult
Sermon/homily
FestivalsSaint’s feast
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.
The dating of this sermon is impossible to determine. Augustine does not refer to the discovery of the relics of Stephen in 415, or the subsequent transfer of relics to Hippo, which can be used to date some other sermons on Stephen. Since this sermon was preached on St Stephen's day, the day after Christmas and itself an important occasion, and since Augustine does not suggest that he was a guest preacher, it was probably delivered in Hippo, his episcopal see.
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 9. Sermons 306-340A 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.
Robert Wiśniewski
01/06/2017
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00030 | Stephen, the First Martyr | Stephanus | Certain |
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