Saint Augustine
Early Christian theologian and philosopher
Saint Augustine of Hippo was an early Christian theologian, philosopher and bishop. He wrote Confessions, regarded as the first Western autobiography.
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Roman Born AD 354 in Thagaste Died AD 430
About Saint Augustine
Augustine was born in 354 in Thagaste, in the Roman province of Numidia, and died in 430. As a young man he was drawn to Manichaeism and then to Neoplatonism, before he turned to Christianity. He later became bishop of Hippo, in present-day Algeria. Confessions is his autobiographical work, and it is regarded as the first Western autobiography. His other major writings include The City of God, in which he pictured the Church as a spiritual city set apart from the earthly one as the Western Roman Empire declined. He argued against the Donatists, wrote on grace and original sin, and is recognized for his contributions to just war theory. He is honored as a saint in the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican traditions.