Saint Blessed Augustine, Bishop
of Hippo.

Augustine was born in 354 in the municipium of Thagaste in the Roman province of Numidia. His mother, Monica or Monnica, was a devout Christian; his father Patricius was a pagan who converted to Christianity on his deathbed. He had a brother named Navigius and a sister whose name is lost but is conventionally remembered as Perpetua.

In his youth, Augustine pursued worldly ambitions. Upon Patrick's death in 370 CE, Augustine became a professor of rhetoric in Carthage. Joining some other intellectuals, he became interested in the Christian sect of the Manichaeans. At about the age of 15, Augustine began a relationship with a young woman in Carthage. Though his mother wanted him to marry a person of his class, the woman remained his lover. He was warned by his mother to avoid sex outside marriage. However, Augustine persisted in the relationship for over fifteen years. The woman gave birth to Augustine's son Adeodatus, which means "Gift from God".

When Augustine moved to Milan as a professor of rhetoric, his life took a decisive turn. Numerous significant experiences in Milan led up to the dramatic moment, beginning with the influence of the great Ambrose of Milan. Originally attending Ambrose's sermons to observe the preacher's celebrated oratorical skills, Augustine was unexpectedly influenced by the message itself. He discovered that Catholic Christianity could be reasonably defended, particularly against the Manichees, and that many of the troubling Old Testament passages could be interpreted allegorically.

He returned to north Africa and created a monastic foundation at Tagaste for himself and a group of friends. In 391 he was ordained a priest in Hippo Regius (now Annaba, in Algeria). In the year 391 Valerian, Bishop of Hippo, ordained Saint Augustine a priest, and in 395, appointed him vicar bishop of the see of Hippo. After the death of Bishop Valerian, Saint Augustine took his place.

During his 35 years as bishop, Saint Augustine wrote many works devoted to combating the Donatist, Manichaean and Pelagian heresies. He became a famous preacher (more than 350 preserved sermons are believed to be authentic), and was noted for combatting the Manichaean heresy. His theological method combined rigorous dialectic with pastoral sensitivity, earning him renown across North Africa and the broader Church. "It is better," he said, "for them to condemn our grammar, than for people not to understand." Saint Augustine died on August 28, 430.

He wrote his autobiographical Confessions in 397–398. His work The City of God was written to console his fellow Christians shortly after the Visigoths had sacked Rome in 410. These masterworks established Augustine as a theologian of enduring influence across East and West.

By 430, the Vandals were laying siege to the city of Hippo. Augustine orchestrated the city's final defenses from his deathbed. As he weakened, his faithful scribes wrote out the Psalms in large letters for him to read. When he could no longer hold the pages, they pasted them to the walls. He died on 28 August 430. Shortly after his death, the Vandals lifted the siege of Hippo, but they returned soon after and burned the city. They destroyed all but Augustine's cathedral and library, which they left untouched.

The Fifth Ecumenical Council, held in Constantinople in A.D. 553, listed Augustine among other Fathers of the Church, though there is no unqualified endorsement of his theology mentioned. In the acts of the Sixth Ecumenical Council (not yet translated into English), he is called the "most excellent and blessed Augustine" and is referred to as "the most wise teacher."

The famous and revered Bishop of Hippo, a pivotal figure in the history of North African Christianity, is commemorated in the Orthodox Church on June 15. He appears to have been added to the calendar in Russia during the "Western Captivity" when the influence of Latin scholasticism was at a high point. The celebrated theologian of the eighteenth century, Nikodemos the Hagiorite, included the name of Saint Augustine in the Synaxaristes (the book of the saints). He states the following: "In memory of our father among the saints, Augustine, Bishop of Hippo." And he includes two verses as follows: "You were enflamed by the love of God, you demonstrated to be all splendid, blessed Augustine."

In Orthodox tradition, Augustine is approached with theological reserve regarding certain aspects of his thought—particularly his teachings on predestination and grace—yet honored for his monumental defense of orthodox teaching against heresies and his confessional and devotional contributions to the spiritual treasury of the Church.

Blessed Augustine of Hippo (354–430) stands as one of the great Church Fathers of the early Christian era. Born in 354 in the municipium of Thagaste (now Souk Ahras, Algeria) in the Roman province of Numidia, his mother, Monica or Monnica, was a devout Christian; his father Patricius was a pagan who converted to Christianity on his deathbed. Augustine and his family were Berbers, an ethnic group indigenous to North Africa, but were heavily Romanized, speaking only Latin at home as a matter of pride and dignity.

Aurelius Augustinus was born in 354 in Tagaste (modern-day Souk Ahras, Algeria) to a Christian mother and a pagan father, raised in Roman north Africa, educated in Carthage, and employed as a professor of rhetoric in Milan by 383. He followed the Manichaean religion in his student days, and was converted to Christianity by the preaching and example of Ambrose of Milan. He was baptized at Pascha in 387. The Word of God produced in his soul a radical crisis; he accepted holy Baptism, gave all his wealth to the poor and was tonsured as a monk.

In the year 391 Valerian, Bishop of Hippo, ordained Saint Augustine a priest, and in 395, appointed him vicar bishop of the see of Hippo. After the death of Bishop Valerian, Saint Augustine took his place. During his 35 years as bishop, Saint Augustine wrote many works devoted to combating the Donatist, Manichaean and Pelagian heresies. Saint Augustine wrote many works (according to his student and biographer Possidias, the number approached 1030). Of his works the best known are: The City of God (De civitate Dei), The Confessions, 17 Books against the Pelagians and Handbook of Christian Knowledge (The Enchiridion).

Spending his final days in prayer and repentance, he requested the penitential Psalms of David be hung on his walls so he could read them, which led him to "[weep] freely and constantly" according to Possidius's biography. He died on 28 August 430. His feast day in the Orthodox Church is June 15. In the West, he is remembered on August 28. which was the day of his death in A.D. 430.