Portrait of Blessed Augustine of Hippo
Philippe de Champaigne, Saint Augustine, c. 1645–1650 (public domain)

Blessed (Western Father)

Blessed Augustine of Hippo

354–430 5th c. 49 works

Blessed Augustine of Hippo (c. 354–430) was bishop of Hippo Regius in Roman North Africa and the most influential of the Latin Fathers of the Church. A theologian, preacher, and prolific writer, he adapted classical philosophy to Christian teaching, shaping the course of Western theology for centuries. Reckoned among the greatest of the Western Fathers, he is venerated in the Orthodox Church as “Blessed Augustine.”

Born at Thagaste in Numidia to the pagan Patricius and the Christian Monica, Augustine studied rhetoric at Carthage and for about a decade adhered to Manichaeism. Teaching rhetoric brought him to Milan, where, under the influence of Bishop Ambrose, he turned to Christianity and was baptized in 387. He returned to Africa, was ordained priest at Hippo in 391 and consecrated bishop there about 395. As bishop he led prolonged controversies against the Donatists and the Pelagians.

Of the more than one hundred works attributed to him, the best known are the Confessions, an introspective account of his early life and conversion, and the City of God, written to restore Christian confidence after the fall of Rome. Also widely read are his treatises On the Trinity and On Christian Doctrine, which shaped biblical interpretation and theological method.

Augustine died at Hippo in 430, while a Vandal army besieged the city; his relics are now kept at Pavia in Italy. He is venerated as a saint in the West and honored in the Orthodox Church as Blessed Augustine, whose commemoration falls on 15 June.

Sources: Orthodox Church in America — Blessed Augustine of Hippo Encyclopædia Britannica — St. Augustine

Available works

Classic translation

Against Lying

Blessed Augustine of Hippo5th c.1h 35m read

A 5th c. polemical work by Blessed Augustine of Hippo.

Read

Classic translation

City of God

Blessed Augustine of Hippo5th c.37h 51m read

A 5th c. apologetic work by Blessed Augustine of Hippo.

Read

Classic translation

Of Holy Virginity

Blessed Augustine of Hippo5th c.1h 40m read

A 5th c. pastoral work by Blessed Augustine of Hippo.

Read

Classic translation

Of the Work of Monks

Blessed Augustine of Hippo5th c.1h 42m read

A 5th c. spiritual work by Blessed Augustine of Hippo.

Read

Classic translation

On Christian Doctrine

Blessed Augustine of Hippo5th c.5h 54m read

A 5th c. dogmatic work by Blessed Augustine of Hippo.

Read

Classic translation

On Continence

Blessed Augustine of Hippo5th c.1h 8m read

A 5th c. pastoral work by Blessed Augustine of Hippo.

Read

Classic translation

On Lying

Blessed Augustine of Hippo5th c.1h 38m read

A 5th c. pastoral work by Blessed Augustine of Hippo.

Read

Classic translation

On Patience

Blessed Augustine of Hippo5th c.42m read

A 5th c. pastoral work by Blessed Augustine of Hippo.

Read

Classic translation

On the Creed

Blessed Augustine of Hippo5th c.29m read

A 5th c. dogmatic work by Blessed Augustine of Hippo.

Read

Classic translation

On the Holy Trinity

Blessed Augustine of Hippo5th c.17h 1m read

A 5th c. dogmatic work by Blessed Augustine of Hippo.

Read

Classic translation

The Confessions

Blessed Augustine of Hippo5th c.14h 34m read

A 5th c. spiritual work by Blessed Augustine of Hippo.

Read

Classic translation

The Enchiridion

Blessed Augustine of Hippo5th c.3h 1m read

A 5th c. dogmatic work by Blessed Augustine of Hippo.

Read

Free ebooks by Blessed Augustine of Hippo

Every work below is free to read online and free to download — no account, no paywall. Browse all free ebooks.

Known works

Complete known works in the Clavis catalog — 1 of 32 are in the archive (✓). The catalog is drawn from Wikidata and the Patristic Text Archive, and covers only part of the printed Clavis.

  • Retractationes · not yet in the archive
  • Confessions · not yet in the archive
  • Soliloquies of Augustine · not yet in the archive
  • Against the Academics · not yet in the archive
  • De beata vita · not yet in the archive
  • De ordine · not yet in the archive
  • De immortalitate animae · not yet in the archive
  • De musica · not yet in the archive
  • De magistro · not yet in the archive
  • De libero arbitrio · not yet in the archive
  • De doctrina Christiana · not yet in the archive
  • De vera religione · not yet in the archive
  • Harmony of the Gospels · not yet in the archive
  • CPL 284 · not yet in the archive
  • De diversis quaestionibus ad Simplicianum · not yet in the archive
  • De fide et symbolo · not yet in the archive
  • Enchiridion of Augustine · not yet in the archive
  • CPL 296 · not yet in the archive
  • De catechizandis rudibus · not yet in the archive
  • On Lying
  • CPL 304 · not yet in the archive
  • The City of God · not yet in the archive
  • Adversus Iudaeos · not yet in the archive
  • CPL 320 · not yet in the archive
  • Contra Faustum Manichaeum · not yet in the archive
  • On the Trinity · not yet in the archive
  • Contra epistulam Parmeniani · not yet in the archive
  • On Baptism · not yet in the archive
  • De spiritu et littera · not yet in the archive
  • De gratia et libero arbitrio · not yet in the archive
  • CPL 353 · not yet in the archive
  • De dialectica · not yet in the archive

Canon data: Wikidata (CC0) and the Patristic Text Archive / BBAW (CC BY-SA 4.0).