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The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity


from its origins to circa AD 700, across the entire Christian world


Augustine of Hippo, in his Sermon 356, mentions a memorial shrine (memoria) at Hippo of an unnamed martyr, almost certainly *Stephen (the First Martyr 00030), built and paid for by the local deacon Heraclius; and the basilica of the *Eight Martyrs (of Hippo, S01441), ordered by Augustine, paid for by his congregation and overseen by the priest Leporius. Sermon delivered in Latin in Hippo Regius (Numidia, central North Africa), in January 426.

Evidence ID

E04536

Type of Evidence

Literary - Sermons/Homilies

Major author/Major anonymous work

Augustine of Hippo

Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 356

In this long sermon Augustine lists the clergy of Hippo and presents their material status.

7. Diaconus Eraclius ante uestros oculos uersatur, opera eius lucent coram oculis nostris. De opere eius expensa pecunia eius memoriam sancti martyris habemus.

'The deacon Heraclius is constantly before our eyes, his works are brilliantly evident to the eyes of all of us. It is thanks to his work and the money he has spent that we have the memorial shrine (
memoria) of the holy martyr.'


Other members of the clergy are listed. One of them is the priest Leporius about whom Augustine tells what follows:

10. ... Xenodochium aedificandum modo uidetis aedificatum. Ego illi iniunxi, ego iussi. Obtemperauit mihi libentissime, et sicut uidetis, operatus est: quomodo meo iussu etiam basilicam ad Octo Martyres fabricauit, de his quae per uos Deus donat. Coepit enim de pecunia quae data erat ecclesiae propter xenodochium, et cum coepisset aedificare, ut sunt religiosi desiderantes opera sua in caelo scribi, adiuuerunt prout quisque uoluit, et fabricauit. Opus ante oculos habemus: omnis homo quid factum sit uideat.

'As for the building of the hostel which you can now see completed, I myself laid this task on him, I myself gave the orders for it. He was most willing to comply with my wishes, and as you can see, he has done the work. It was also on my instructions that he has put up the basilica for the Eight Martyrs, with the resources God has provided through your generosity. He began with money which had been given to the Church for the hostel, and when he started building, devout people who desire to have their works recorded in heaven gave their help to the extent each wished, and up the building went. We have the work in front of our eyes; just look, everyone of you, at what has been done.'


Text: Lambot 1950, 136 and 138.
Translation: Hill 1995, 176 and 178.
Summary: Robert Wiśniewski.

Cult Places

Cult building - unspecified

Non Liturgical Activity

Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Construction of cult buildings

Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Ecclesiastics - lesser clergy

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 was preached at the beginning of January 426. The dating is based on several pieces of information concerning persons and events which took place in Hippo.


Discussion

The shrine is almost certainly that of Stephen (the First Martyr, S00030) whose relics were deposited in Hippo in 425. On this occasion, Augustine preached Sermon 318 (E03606). The deacon Heraclius was designated by Augustine as his successor at the episcopal see of Hippo.

The term
memoria (literally 'memory' or 'memorial') is also used by Augustine both for the shrines of martyrs and, more narrowly, for their relics. Since it is evident that, for Augustine, the memorial shrine (memoria) of a saint contained relics of that saint, there is often (as here) no substantive difference in the ways he uses the word.

Bibliography

Edition:
Lambot, C., Sancti Aurelii Augustini Sermones selecti duodeviginti = Stromata Patristica et Mediaevalia 1 (1950).

Translation:
Hill, E., The Works of Saint Augustine. A Translation for the 21st Century, vol. III 10, Sermons 341-400 On Various Subjects (New York: New City Press, 1995).


Record Created By

Robert Wiśniewski

Date of Entry

23/08/2017

Related Saint Records
IDNameName in SourceIdentity
S00030Stephen, the First MartyrUncertain
S01441Eight Martyrs of Hippo RegiusOcto martyresCertain


Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Robert Wiśniewski, Cult of Saints, E04536 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E04536