History Series: St. Augustine

History of St. Augustine

Today is the Feast of St. Augustine

Augustine, by Sandro Botticelli, 1480. Image: Wikipedia

The Feast of Saint Augustine is August 28, the date of his death in 430 A.D. Augustine is the most influential bishop in history; he is the patron saint of brewers, printers, theologians, and several cities and dioceses worldwide.

Most of what we know about him is from his writings:

• Confessions (397 A.D.) is an autobiography written in the form of a prayer to God about his spiritual struggles.
• Retractions (428 A.D) discusses his mental struggles in coming to faith.

Who was this man beloved by Roman Catholics for his writing on ecclesiology (the Church) and by Protestants for his writings on soteriology (salvation)?

Significance of Augustine

Augustine of Hippo was the first to clarify and systemize the meaning of the New Testament. He did it more brilliantly than anyone else had done. The Protestant Reformation is essentially a restatement of Augustine.

• Martin Luther, the German Reformer in Wittenberg, was an Augustinian monk.
• Ulrich Zwingli, his contemporary, the Swiss Reformer in Zürich, was a student and admirer of Augustine.