Augustine of Hippo

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Augustine of Hippo : biography

13 November 354 – 28 August 430

The sin of Adam is inherited by all human beings. Already in his pre-Pelagian writings, Augustine taught that Original Sin was transmitted by concupiscence,Augustine of Hippo, Imperfectum Opus contra Iulianum, II, 218 which he regarded as the passion of both, soul and body,In 393 or 394 he commented: Moreover, if unbelief is fornication, and idolatry unbelief, and covetousness idolatry, it is not to be doubted that covetousness also is fornication. Who, then, in that case can rightly separate any unlawful lust whatever from the category of fornication, if covetousness is fornication? And from this we perceive, that because of unlawful lusts, not only those of which one is guilty in acts of uncleanness with another’s husband or wife, but any unlawful lusts whatever, which cause the soul making a bad use of the body to wander from the law of God, and to be ruinously and basely corrupted, a man may, without crime, put away his wife, and a wife her husband, because the Lord makes the cause of fornication an exception; which fornication, in accordance with the above considerations, we are compelled to understand as being general and universal ("", De sermone Domini in monte, 1:16:46; CCL 35, 52) making humanity a massa damnata (mass of perdition, condemned crowd) and much enfeebling, though not destroying, the freedom of the will.

Augustine’s formulation of the doctrine of original sin was confirmed at numerous councils, i.e. Carthage (418), Ephesus (431), Orange (529), Trent (1546) and by popes, i.e. Pope Innocent I (401–417) and Pope Zosimus (417–418). Anselm of Canterbury established in his Cur Deus Homo the definition that was followed by the great Schoolmen, namely that Original Sin is the "privation of the righteousness which every man ought to possess", thus interpreting concupiscence as something more than mere sexual lust, with which some of Augustine’s disciples had defined it as later did Luther and Calvin, a doctrine condemned in 1567 by Pope Pius V.

Augustine taught that some people are predestined by God to salvation by an eternal, sovereign decree which is not based on man’s merit or will. The saving grace which God bestows is irresistible and unfailingly results in conversion. God also grants those whom he saves with the gift of perseverance so that none of those whom God has chosen may conceivably fall away.

The Catholic Church considers Augustine’s teaching to be consistent with free will. He often said that any can be saved if they wish. While God knows who will be saved and who will not, with no possibility that one destined to be lost will be saved, this knowledge represents God’s perfect knowledge of how humans will freely choose their destinies.Portalié, Eugène. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company (1907). Retrieved 30 September 2011

Sacramental theology

Also in reaction against the Donatists, Augustine developed a distinction between the "regularity" and "validity" of the sacraments. Regular sacraments are performed by clergy of the Catholic Church while sacraments performed by schismatics are considered irregular. Nevertheless, the validity of the sacraments do not depend upon the holiness of the priests who perform them (ex opere operato); therefore, irregular sacraments are still accepted as valid provided they are done in the name of Christ and in the manner prescribed by the Church. On this point Augustine departs from the earlier teaching of Cyprian, who taught that converts from schismatic movements must be re-baptised. Augustine taught that sacraments administered outside the Catholic Church, though true sacraments, avail nothing. However, he also stated that baptism, while it does not confer any grace when done outside the Church, does confer grace as soon as one is received into the Catholic Church. Augustine upheld the early Christian understanding of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, saying that Christ’s statement, "This is my body" referred to the bread he carried in his hands,Augustine of Hippo, Explanations of the Psalms 33:1:10 [405]Augustine of Hippo, Sermons 227 [411] and that Christians must have faith that the bread and wine are in fact the body and blood of Christ, despite what they see with their eyes.Augustine of Hippo, Sermons 272