St Augustine of Hippo, who was born in the 4th century AD, is remembered by the wider church on 28th August each year. His recommendations for the life of religious communities were adopted by a Pope in the 11th century, and this "Augustinian rule" was followed by all Augustinians, including the canons of Brinkburn Priory. His teachings focus on values that are recognised and accepted by a wide cross-section of Christians across all traditions, even now in the 21st century.
Who was St Augustine?
Born AD 354 in what is now Algeria but was then part of the Roman empire, Augustine came from a privileged family. He had a Christian mother, and enjoyed a good Roman education. He was very able academically, and pursued his education and embarked on a teaching career in Carthage, where he is said to have followed a dissolute lifestyle. He was an ambitious and successful teacher, and was appointed to a professorship in Italy, where he met St Ambrose, whose faith hugely impressed him, and a few years later, in AD386 at the age of 31, after much study, and following his reading of St Paul’s letter to the Romans, Augustine experienced a conversion that changed the whole course of his life. Augustine was baptised by Ambrose in AD387.
Augustine was ordained a priest in AD391, and in AD395 made Bishop of Hippo (now Annaba in Algeria),a post he held until his death in AD430. While Bishop of Hippo he became widely known across the Christian church. In Hippo he shared the Bishop’s house with a community of clergy who bound themselves to observe “religious poverty”. He is know as Augustine of Hippo to distinguish him from another Augustine, who was the first Archbishop of Canterbury in AD597.
Augustine was a prolific writer in many fields, including Christian philosophy as well as theology. His "Confessions" relate the story of his soul, his Retractations give the history of his mind, while his friend Possidius wrote the "Life of Augustine". Augustine’s writings on the Pauline themes of God’s grace and salvation were emphasised a thousand years later at the time of the Reformers, many of whom were themselves from an Augustinian background.
What was distinctive about the Augustinians?
The ethos of Augustinian foundations included a number of key points, all based on the teachings of St Augustine:
• Propagation of learning through study and education both locally and nationally, e.g. the founding of Merton College, Oxford
• Love, chastity and self-discipline as the basis of all relationships
• The value of all human beings - they supported Magna Carta
• God’s grace as the basis for life: we cannot earn His love
• Material possessions are of little importance, with all possessions, including clothes, held in common
Augustinians like other religious communities, lived by a “rule” that provided strict guidance on the way the community should operate. The so-called “Rule of St Augustine” was not developed by Augustine himself, but is consistent with his 5th century teachings, Many years later it was promoted by an 11th century Pope, at a time when monastic communities were being founded across Europe.
Augustinian communities made a significant contribution to the life of the world, including the development of Magna Carta. Thomas a Becket, Pope Nicholas Breakspeare, and John Wycliffe were all either Augustinians or educated in colleges founded by Augustinians.