c. 325 – 636 AD

Augustine of Hippo

354 – 430 AD

Hippo (modern Annaba, Algeria)

Overview

The most influential theologian in Western history. Defined the doctrines of Original Sin, Grace, and Predestination.

Wrote Confessions (first autobiography) and City of God (philosophy of history).

Spiritual autobiography.

A Christian philosophy of history.

His major theological treatise.

Guide to interpreting Scripture.

Arguments against Pelagianism.

If The City of God is too long (1,000+ pages), read this. The only time Augustine summarized his entire theology into a short, pocket-sized handbook.

Written when he was young, this book contains his famous solution to the 'Problem of Evil' (i.e., God is not the author of sin; free will is).

The shapers of Western Catholicism and Protestantism.

11 Church Fathers in this era

Part of The Golden Age: Latin (Western) Fathers