Christian Instruction; Admonition and Grace; The Christian Combat; Faith, Hope and Charity

The Fathers of the Church #2

by Augustine of Hippo, John J. Gavigan (Translator), John Courtney Murray (Translator)

The translated works in this volume have been dated variously either to the beginning or to the final decade of Augustine's career as Bishop of Hippo. De agone Christiano , a treatise on the challenges of the Christian life in simple Latin for unschooled believers, was composed in the late 390s, as was more than half of the De doctrina Christiana. The latter work, which was finally completed near the end of Augustine's life, includes his views on the canon of Scripture, the proper approach to biblical exegesis, and how to preach effectively, as well as his famous distinction between "use" and "enjoyment." Later works included in this volume are the Enchiridion de fide, spe, et caritate , which is a compendium of Augustine's doctrines, and the anti-Pelagian work De correptione et gratia . The latter asserts the necessity of divine grace while affirming the benefit of firm human guidance, including rebuke, in monastic formation.

494 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

Early church father and philosopher Saint Augustine served from 396 as the bishop of Hippo in present-day Algeria and through such writings as the autobiographical Confessions in 397 and the voluminous City of God from 413 to 426 profoundly influenced Christianity, argued against Manichaeism and Donatism, and helped to establish the doctrine of original sin.

An Augustinian follows the principles and doctrines of Saint Augustine.

People also know Aurelius Augustinus in English of Regius (Annaba). From the Africa province of the Roman Empire, people generally consider this Latin theologian of the greatest thinkers of all times. He very developed the west. According to Jerome, a contemporary, Augustine renewed "the ancient Faith."

The Neo-Platonism of Plotinus afterward heavily weighed his years. After conversion and his baptism in 387, Augustine developed his own approach to theology and accommodated a variety of methods and different perspectives. He believed in the indispensable grace to human freedom and framed the concept of just war. When the Western Roman Empire started to disintegrate from the material earth, Augustine developed the concept of the distinct Catholic spirituality in a book of the same name. He thought the medieval worldview. Augustine closely identified with the community that worshiped the Trinity. The Catholics and the Anglican communion revere this preeminent doctor. Many Protestants, especially Calvinists, consider his due teaching on salvation and divine grace of the theology of the Reformation. The Eastern Orthodox also consider him. He carries the additional title of blessed. The Orthodox call him "Blessed Augustine" or "Saint Augustine the Blessed."

Santo Agostinho

Reviews

[sch]

Will try this translation of the Enchiridion.