Aurelius Augustine of Hippo , also known as St. Augustine , is a Christian theologian and philosopher, an outstanding preacher, Bishop of Hippo and one of the Fathers of the Christian Church. He is a saint in the Catholic, Orthodox and Lutheran churches.
The biography of Aurelius Augustine contains many interesting facts related to theology and philosophy.
So, here is a short biography of Augustine.
Biography of Aurelius Augustine
Aurelius Augustine was born on November 13, 354 in the small town of Tagaste (Roman Empire).
He grew up and was brought up in the family of an official Patricius, who was a small landowner. It is curious that Augustine's father adhered to paganism, while his mother, Monica, was a devout Christian.
Mom did everything possible to instill Christianity in her son, as well as give him a good education. She was a very virtuous woman who strived for a righteous life.
Perhaps it was thanks to this that her husband Patricius, shortly before his death, converted to Christianity and was baptized. In addition to Aurelius, two more children were born into this family.
Childhood and youth
As a teenager, Aurelius Augustine was interested in Latin literature. After graduating from the local school, he went to Madavra to continue his studies.
During this period of his biography, Augustine read the famous “Aeneid” by Virgil.
Soon, thanks to Romanin, a family friend, he managed to go to Carthage, where he studied the art of rhetoric for 3 years.
Saint Augustine and Saint Monica
At the age of 17, Aurelius Augustine began courting a young girl. Soon they began to live together, but their marriage was not officially registered.
This was explained by the fact that the girl belonged to a lower class, and therefore could not expect to become Augustine’s wife. However, the couple lived together for about 13 years. In this union they had a boy, Adeodate.
About being
God created matter and endowed it with various forms, properties and purposes, thereby creating everything that exists in our world. The actions of God are good, and therefore everything that exists, precisely because it exists, is good.
Evil is not a substance-matter, but a deficiency, its corruption, vice and damage, non-existence.
God is the source of existence, pure form, the highest beauty, the source of good. The world exists thanks to the continuous creation of God, who regenerates everything that dies in the world. There is one world and there cannot be several worlds.
Matter is characterized through type, measure, number and order. In the world order, every thing has its place.
Philosophy and creativity
Over the years of his biography, Aurelius Augustine published many books in which he described his own philosophical concepts and interpretations of various Christian teachings.
Augustine's main works are Confessions and The City of God. An interesting fact is that the philosopher came to Christianity through Manichaeism, skepticism and Neoplatonism.
Aurelius was greatly impressed by the teaching about the Fall and the mercy of God. He defended the dogma of predestination, stating that God originally determined bliss or damnation for man. However, the Creator did this in accordance with his foresight of human freedom of choice.
According to Augustine, the entire material world was created by God, including man. In his works, the thinker outlined the main goals and methods of salvation from evil, which made him one of the brightest representatives of patristics.
Aurelius Augustine paid great attention to government, proving the superiority of theocracy over secular power.
The man also divided wars into just and unjust. As a result, Augustine’s biographers identify 3 main stages of his work:
- Philosophical works.
- Religious and church teachings.
- Questions of the origin of the world and problems of eschatology.
Reasoning about time, Augustine comes to the conclusion that neither the past nor the future have real existence, but only the present. This is expressed as follows:
- the past is only a memory;
- the present is nothing more than contemplation;
- future – expectation or hope.
The philosopher had a strong influence on the dogmatic side of Christianity. He developed the doctrine of the Trinity, in which the Holy Spirit serves as the connecting principle between the Father and the Son, which is within the framework of Catholic doctrine and contradicts Orthodox theology.
Influence
The doctrine created by A. became a model for Western thinkers for a thousand years (see Augustinianism), defining Platonism. orientation of early scholasticism. Up until Thomas Aquinas, Aquinas was an indisputable authority in matters of theology and philosophy, and Catholic representatives still appeal to Aquinas. neo-scholastics, not satisfied with the rationality of Thomism. The founders of Protestantism, M. Luther (an Augustinian monk) in his concept of faith and grace, and J. Calvin in the doctrine of predestination were inspired by A.'s ideas. Characteristic for A. is an appeal to the immediate. personal experience, internal the experience received a wide response in new Europe. philosophy (from B. Pascal to religious existentialism).
Last years and death
Aurelius Augustine was baptized in 387 along with his son Adeodatus. After that, he sold all his property and distributed the proceeds to the poor.
Soon Augustine returned to Africa, where he founded a monastic community. Then the thinker was promoted to presbyter, and later to bishop. According to some sources, this happened in 395.
Aurelius Augustine died on August 28, 430 at the age of 75. He died during the Vandal siege of the city of Hippo.
Subsequently, the remains of St. Augustine were bought by the Lombard king named Liutprand, who ordered them to be buried in the church of St. Petra.
Essays
More than 100 works have survived. A., in addition to letters and sermons. The most widely read of them is “Confession” (books 1–13; ca. 400), a kind of spiritual autobiography of A., written with sincerity and psychological depth unprecedented in antiquity and the Middle Ages. analysis, and “On the City of God” (books 1–22; 413–426) – apologetic. work created after the destruction of Rome by the Goths of Alaric in 410. The earliest op. – philosopher treatises in the spirit of Neoplatonism, written in 386–391: “Against the Academicians”, “On Order”, “Monologues”, “On the Quantity of the Soul”, etc. Contained in the treatise “On Music” (books 1–6; 387) the famous The definition “Musica est scientia bene modulandi” (“Music is the science of good singing”) has been repeatedly quoted and interpreted for a thousand years (Cassiodorus, Marcianus Capella, the anonymous treatise “Scolica Enchiriadis”, Aurelian of Reaume, the school of John de Muris, F. Gafuri and others). The most important op. A.: dogmatic - “On the Trinity” (books 1–15; 400–415), “Enchiridion to Lawrence on faith, hope and love” (421), “On 83 different questions” (389–396); exegetical - “On Christian Teaching” (books 1–4; 396–427), “On the Concord of the Evangelists” (books 1–4; 400), two commentaries on book. Genesis, interpretation of the Gospel of John, Psalms and Apostolic Epistles; moral and ascetic - “On abstinence” (394–395), “On patience” (418), “On holy virginity” (400–401), “On the good of widowhood” (414). Of particular interest are his polemics. essays. In the polemic against the Manichaeans [more than 10 works, including: “On Free Decision” (books 1–3; 388–399), “Against Faustus the Manichaean” (books 1–33; 397–398) ] the Augustinian theory of free will takes shape, in the struggle against the Donatists [“On Baptism against the Donatists” (books 1–7; 400)] - ecclesiology and philosophy of history. In disputes against supporters of Pelagius (see Pelagianism), the doctrine of grace and predestination is formulated: “On the baptism of infants” (books 1–3; 411–412), “On the grace of Christ and original sin” (books 1–2; 417 ), “Against Julian” (books 1–4; 421), “On Grace and Free Determination” (426–427), “On the Predestination of the Saints,” and “On the Gift of Perseverance [in Good]” (428–429). In addition, A. wrote against the Arians, Marcionites, and also compiled a set of all 88 heresies known to him and their refutation (“On Heresies,” 428–429). Shortly before his death, A. published 2 books of “Revisions”, in which, summing up everything he had written, he characterized 93 of his works, noting everything that was said in them that was incorrect.
Spiritual quest
Some change in Augustine's worldview and worldview occurred when he was nineteen years old. Then, with funds sent by his mother, he acquired a manuscript of Cicero’s work “Hortensius”, in which he, with his characteristic persuasiveness, revealed the importance of wisdom as the highest good. This work had a strong psychological impact on Augustine, prompting him to think seriously about the meaning of life, including his own, and to compare his usual worldly values with eternal ones.
At some point, Augustine became sympathetic to the false teachings of the Manichaeans, who recognized two opposing principles: good and evil. Reading the Holy Scriptures did not evoke in him the proper feeling of reverence. And Augustine’s level of trust in Christianity was not high enough (perhaps this was due to his father’s pagan ideas). But his sympathy for Manichaeism was facilitated by the internal discord that was characteristic of him due to moral laxity and which he internally felt: on the one hand, a spiritual desire for something bright and sublime, and on the other hand, base carnal impulses. Why not a struggle between two principles, good and evil? The period of Augustine's passion for Manichaeism lasted almost 10 years, from approximately 373 to 382.
Conversion to Christ
As Augustine attended Sunday services, in the rite of the catechumen, he became more and more captivated by the beauty of Orthodoxy. From the sermons of Bishop Ambrose, he learned for himself that the Christian doctrine represents a much richer and more sublime knowledge than he could have imagined. And although the former depravity made itself felt in the form of sinful movements in the soul, according to the Providence of God, he, step by step, approached Christ.
The mysterious incident made a great impression on him. One day, reflecting on his own sinfulness, being in contrition of spirit, he suddenly heard someone’s mysterious voice, as if a child’s, calling to him in a chant: “Take it and read.” Having looked around and not finding who could pronounce it, Augustine interpreted this appeal as an appeal from above. He realized that the object of reading was to be the Holy Scriptures. In turn, this appeal reminded him of the calling of Anthony the Great, whose life, at one time, made a strong impression on him. Augustine immediately returned to the place where he had left the Scripture and began to read. His attention focused on a phrase that warned against various dangers (feasts, drunkenness, sensuality, debauchery, envy, quarrels, lust in general) and called to put on Christ (Rom. 13:13-14).
In 388 or 389, Augustine finally received Baptism. This event could not but please his mother, a zealous Christian. Soon she rested in the Lord.
About grace
The force that largely determines a person’s salvation and his aspiration to God is divine grace. Grace is a special divine energy that acts towards a person and produces changes in his nature. Without grace, human salvation is impossible. The free decision of the will is only the ability to strive for something, but a person is able to realize his aspirations for the better only with the help of grace.
Grace in Augustine's view is directly related to the fundamental dogma of Christianity - the belief that Christ has redeemed all humanity. This means that by its nature grace is universal and should be given to all people. But it is obvious that not all people will be saved. Augustine explains this by saying that some people are not able to accept grace. This depends, first of all, on the capacity of their will. But as Augustine had to see, not all people who accepted grace were able to maintain “constancy in goodness.” This means that another special divine gift is needed that will help maintain this constancy. Augustine calls this gift “the gift of constancy.” Only by accepting this gift will those “called” be able to become “chosen.”
