Augustine of Hippo preaches a sermon on a feast of martyrs, in which he encourages his congregation to follow their example, explains that they are friends of God, but were human, and so can be imitated. Sermon 335H, delivered in Latin in Hippo Regius (Numidia, central North Africa), possibly in 416/420.
E04449
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 335H
[In die natali martyrum
'On a feast day of the martyrs']
1. Omnes sollemnitates beatissimorum martyrum admonent nos quantum sit contemnenda uita praesens, et quantum sit futura quaerenda.
'All the feasts of the most blessed martyrs remind us what little regard we should have for this present life, and how much we should set our hearts on the life to come.'
After a passage focusing on Christ, who is the 'chief of the martyrs', Augustine admonishes the congregation to follow their example.
2. Vos ergo, fratres, admoneo hortor atque obsecro, ut quomodo celebratis deuote sollemnitatem martyrum, sic ametis sanctos mores martyrum. Martyres sunt, sed homines fuerunt. Orationibus adiuuant nos, sed hoc erant quod nos. Nolite ergo desperare merita eorum. Qui enim donauit illis, potest donare et nobis. Non enim eos tamquam deos colimus, sed eos propter deum honoramus, eum uero deum colimus, qui et noster dominus est, et illorum. Illi gratia eius amici sunt eius, nos simus uel serui eius.
'So then, I'm admonishing you, brothers, urging and begging you, that just as you are celebrating the feast of the martyrs with great devotion, so you should love the holy conduct of the martyrs. They are martyrs, yes; but they were human beings. They help us with their prayers, but they were just what we are. So don't despair of equaling their merits. The one who endowed them can also endow us. You see, you are not worshipping them like gods, but honouring them on God's account, while the God we worship is the one who is both our Lord and theirs. They are his friends by grace, let us, at least, be his servants.'
Text: Patrologiae Latinae Supplementum, 830-831.
Translation: Hill 1994, 246-247.
Summary: Robert Wiśniewski.
Service for the saint
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.
This sermon is tentatively dated to 416/20 on the basis of intertextual references, but this dating is far from secure. It was certainly preached in Hippo, for the end of the sermon is directed to Augustine's congregation. The preacher admonishes those who are not yet baptised, to enrol for baptism.
Bibliography
Edition:Hamman, A., Patrologiae Latinae Supplementum, vol. 2 (Turnhout: Brepols, 1960).
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).
Robert Wiśniewski
23/08/2017
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00060 | Martyrs, unnamed or name lost | Certain |
|---|
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