St. Augustine Of Hippo Research Paper

In order for one to attain the title of “Church Father, they must lead a life of holiness; dedicating their entire life to the Catholic church, protecting it and molding it towards the universally acknowledged faith it is today. Saint Augustine of Hippo, a powerful figure in the faith, was a church father. Known as Saint Austin, or Blessed Augustine, He was an acclaimed Christian theologian and philosopher, whose works influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western Philosophy. Upon Augustine reading Cicero’s Hortensius, it introduced him to philosophical questions that he would ponder all through his life. Augustine became the bishop of Hippo Regius (modern-day Annaba, Algeria), in Numidia (Roman province of Africa). Although he died roughly 1600
Saint Augustine was born in Thagaste, North Africa to a pagan father named Patricius and a Christian mother named Monica in the year 354. Augustine’s father ensured that he would give his son proper education for his son. At age twelve, he studied rhetoric in Madaura, a skill that was fundamental to any professional career, at the time. Before he dedicated his life to the church, Augustine was a promiscuous man who led an affair with a young woman in Carthage. He remained faithful to her for 15 years. After his affair, Augustine was introduced to Manichaeism; a religion following the teaching of Mani (216-277), a Persian religious leader who was crucified for claiming to be the Paraclete and restorer of the true teaching of Christ. Augustine believed in Manichaeism because he was attracted to the gnostic religious system it upheld based on a concept of the duality of light and darkness, all that was good belonged to the realm of light: knowledge, spirit and the soul. Evil was perceived through ignorance, materialistic values, the body and was attributed to darkness. During his time as a Manichean, Augustine read Cicero’s Hortensius, which awakened a strong desire for true