Augustine of Hippo preaches a sermon, on a feast of martyrs. Sermon 329, delivered in Latin, possibly in Hippo Regius (Numidia, central North Africa), sometime between 391 and 430.
E04355
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 329
[In natali martyrum
'On a feast of martyrs']
1. Per tam gloriosa sanctorum martyrum gesta, quibus ubique floret ecclesia, ipsis oculis nostris probamus quam uerum sit quod cantauimus, quia pretiosa in conspectu Domini mors sanctorum eius: quando et in conspectu nostro pretiosa est, et in conspectu eius, pro cuius nomine facta est.
'Through such glorious deeds of the holy martyrs, with which the Church blossoms everywhere, we prove with our own eyes how true what we have just been singing is that "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints" (Ps. 116:5); seeing that it is precious both in our sight and in the sight of him for the sake of whose name it was undertaken.'
In what follows Augustine presents his general reflections on martyrdom and does nor refer to any specific martyrs or their cult.
Text: Patrologia Latina 38,1454.
Translation: Hill 1994, 182.
Summary: Robert Wiśniewski.
Service for the saint
Sermon/homily
FestivalsSaint’s feast
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 cannot be dated with any certainty; it was possibly preached in Hippo, Augustine's episcopal see or some other place in which a group of martyrs was venerated, but even this is uncertain. The texts does not refer explicitly to any feast.
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
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00060 | Martyrs, unnamed or name lost | Certain |
|---|
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