4th century – 5th century
Thagaste, Hippo, and Roman North Africa
Augustine of Hippo was the leading figure in the Catholic revival of late Roman North Africa. Born at Thagaste in 354, he pursued education and rhetoric before passing through Manichaeism, Neo-Platonism, and Catholic Christianity. After becoming bishop of Hippo in 396, he developed a sustained campaign against Donatism, supported coercive imperial legislation, and shaped the theological response to Pelagianism. His work helped Catholic Christianity gain supremacy in Africa between 410 and 429.
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The Story
Augustine was born at Thagaste in November 354, during a period of Catholic ascendancy. His father, Patritius, served as a pagan city councillor, while his mother, Monnica, was a committed native Catholic Christian. Augustine received a provincial education, studying grammar at Madaura and later attending the university at Carthage, where he developed an enthusiasm for Latin philosophy, especially Cicero’s Hortensius.
His early intellectual search led him toward the Manichees, whose explanation of evil appealed to his concern with psychological and moral questions. He became a Hearer in the sect around 373 while continuing to regard himself as a Christian. After receiving recognition for rhetoric from the proconsul Vindicianus around 379, he left Africa for Rome around 382 and then obtained an appointment as public speaker at the court of Valentinian II at Milan.
Milan transformed Augustine’s religious outlook. Neo-Platonism helped him understand evil as a deprivation of good rather than a positive force, while Bishop Ambrose showed him how Neo-Platonist mysticism could be reconciled with Catholic Christianity. After entering the catechumenate by the summer of 385, Augustine experienced a decisive conversion in Milan in August 386 and was baptized by Ambrose the following Easter. He returned to Africa in 388 after the death of Monnica.
Augustine became presbyter in 391, co-adjutor to the bishop of Hippo, and finally bishop of Hippo in 396. His return to Africa brought him into direct conflict with Donatist Christianity. He rejected the idea that the Church could be confined to a single province, opposed Donatist rebaptism, and argued that the validity of the sacraments did not depend on the personal character of the minister.
After the Donatist succession crisis and the defeat of Gildo in 398, Augustine intensified his campaign. Supported by Aurelius of Carthage and Alypius of Thagaste, he pressed the imperial government to apply anti-heretical legislation against the Donatists. After the attacks of 403 and the laws of 405, he openly supported the forceful suppression of Donatism, invoking the command “Compel them to come in.”
At the Conference of Carthage in 411, Augustine concentrated the argument on the historical origins of the Donatist dispute. The Catholic side prevailed, and imperial orders confiscated Donatist property in June 411. Honorius proscribed Donatism in January 412. Augustine then became the principal intellectual force behind the Catholic revival, while also opposing Pelagian ideas through African councils and pressure on the papacy.
4th century – 5th century
Thagaste, Hippo, and Roman North Africa
Augustine of Hippo was the leading figure in the Catholic revival of late Roman North Africa. Born at Thagaste in 354, he pursued education and rhetoric before passing through Manichaeism, Neo-Platonism, and Catholic Christianity. After becoming bishop of Hippo in 396, he developed a sustained campaign against Donatism, supported coercive imperial legislation, and shaped the theological response to Pelagianism. His work helped Catholic Christianity gain supremacy in Africa between 410 and 429.
Continue exploring
The Story
Augustine was born at Thagaste in November 354, during a period of Catholic ascendancy. His father, Patritius, served as a pagan city councillor, while his mother, Monnica, was a committed native Catholic Christian. Augustine received a provincial education, studying grammar at Madaura and later attending the university at Carthage, where he developed an enthusiasm for Latin philosophy, especially Cicero’s Hortensius.
His early intellectual search led him toward the Manichees, whose explanation of evil appealed to his concern with psychological and moral questions. He became a Hearer in the sect around 373 while continuing to regard himself as a Christian. After receiving recognition for rhetoric from the proconsul Vindicianus around 379, he left Africa for Rome around 382 and then obtained an appointment as public speaker at the court of Valentinian II at Milan.
Milan transformed Augustine’s religious outlook. Neo-Platonism helped him understand evil as a deprivation of good rather than a positive force, while Bishop Ambrose showed him how Neo-Platonist mysticism could be reconciled with Catholic Christianity. After entering the catechumenate by the summer of 385, Augustine experienced a decisive conversion in Milan in August 386 and was baptized by Ambrose the following Easter. He returned to Africa in 388 after the death of Monnica.
Augustine became presbyter in 391, co-adjutor to the bishop of Hippo, and finally bishop of Hippo in 396. His return to Africa brought him into direct conflict with Donatist Christianity. He rejected the idea that the Church could be confined to a single province, opposed Donatist rebaptism, and argued that the validity of the sacraments did not depend on the personal character of the minister.
After the Donatist succession crisis and the defeat of Gildo in 398, Augustine intensified his campaign. Supported by Aurelius of Carthage and Alypius of Thagaste, he pressed the imperial government to apply anti-heretical legislation against the Donatists. After the attacks of 403 and the laws of 405, he openly supported the forceful suppression of Donatism, invoking the command “Compel them to come in.”
At the Conference of Carthage in 411, Augustine concentrated the argument on the historical origins of the Donatist dispute. The Catholic side prevailed, and imperial orders confiscated Donatist property in June 411. Honorius proscribed Donatism in January 412. Augustine then became the principal intellectual force behind the Catholic revival, while also opposing Pelagian ideas through African councils and pressure on the papacy.
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