St. Augustine

Introduction & Top Questions
Life overview
Life retold
Chief works
- Confessions
- The City of God
- Reconsiderations
Other works
- Christian Doctrine
- The Trinity
- Literal Commentary on Genesis
- Sermons
- Early writings
- Controversial writings
Augustine’s spirit and achievement
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Fresco by Sandro Botticelli showing Saint Augustine seated at a desk, holding a pen and book, with shelves of books and scientific instruments behind him.

Painting by Lippo Memmi of Saint Augustine of Hippo wearing a red bishop's robe and mitre, holding a crozier and a book, set against a gold background.

Christian bishop and theologian St. Augustine

Painting by Michael Pacher showing St. Augustine in bishop's robes holding a staff, confronted by a green, winged devil presenting an open book in a medieval town setting.

Sts. Norbert of Xanten and Augustine of Hippo

At a Glance

Saint Augustine summary

Quizzes

Holy week. Easter. Valladolid. Procession of Nazarenos carry a cross during the Semana Santa (Holy week before Easter) in Valladolid, Spain. Good Friday

Christianity Quiz

Agathon (centre) greeting guests in "Plato's Symposium" oil on canvas by Anselm Feuerbach, 1869; in the Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe, Germany.

Philosophy 101

History of Christianity Quiz

Saladin, the leader of Islamic forces during the Third Crusade; undated engraving.

Religion, Violence, and War Quiz

Related Questions

How did Neoplatonism influence St. Augustine’s Christian ideas?
How did St. Augustine reconcile human free will with God’s foreknowledge?
How did St. Augustine’s philosophy influence medieval thinkers such as Anselm of Canterbury and Thomas Aquinas?
How did St. Augustine’s writings contribute to later debates about free will and predestination?
How did The City of God respond to pagan criticism of Christianity?
How did the Council of Carthage in 411 affect the Donatist controversy?
How does The City of God describe the City of God and the City of Man?
How is St. Augustine’s Confessions structured?
How long was St. Augustine bishop of Hippo?
How many books and sermons did St. Augustine write?
How many books are in The City of God?
What did St. Augustine argue about the validity of sacraments during the Donatist controversy?
What did St. Augustine teach about the relationship between the body and the soul?
What guidance about interpreting the Bible did St. Augustine give in Christian Doctrine?
What happened in the Milan garden scene described in St. Augustine’s Confessions?
What happened to St. Augustine during the Vandal siege of Hippo?
What subject did St. Augustine teach in Carthage, Rome, and Milan?
What was Pelagianism, and why did St. Augustine oppose it?
When and by whom was St. Augustine baptized?
When and where did St. Augustine die?
When and where was St. Augustine born?
When did St. Augustine become bishop of Hippo?
When did St. Augustine write The City of God?
Where did St. Augustine serve as bishop?
Where did St. Augustine study before beginning his career?
Which modern Algerian cities correspond to Tagaste and Hippo Regius?
Which writings by St. Augustine have had the greatest influence?
Why did St. Augustine support limited government coercion against the Donatists?
Why did St. Augustine write The City of God after the sack of Rome?
Why is Confessions more than an autobiography?
Why is St. Augustine recognized as a doctor of the church in Roman Catholicism?
Why was St. Augustine known as a powerful preacher and rhetorician?
Who is St. Augustine?
What was St. Augustine’s impact on Christianity?
What is St. Augustine best known for?
Who was St. Isidore of Sevilla?
What is St. Isidore of Sevilla’s most notable work?
What is St. Isidore of Sevilla the patron saint of?
Who was St. Athanasius?
What were St. Athanasius’s major works?
What is the significance of St. Athanasius’s work Against the Heathen and The Incarnation of the Word of God?
Who was St. Gregory of Nazianzus?

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External Websites

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Biography of Saint Augustine
Villanova University - St. Augustine
UPSpace - Augustine and manichaeism: new discoveries, new perspectives (PDF)
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Augustine: Political and Social Philosophy
Great Thinkers - Augustine
World History Encyclopedia - Augustine of Hippo

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Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Augustine of Hippo - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

St. Augustine

Christian bishop and theologian

Also known as: Aurelius Augustinus, Saint Augustine of Hippo

Written by

James O'Donnell

University Librarian, Arizona State University Libraries. Former Provost, Georgetown University. Author of Augustine: A New Biography, Avatars of the Word: From Papyrus to Cyberspace,...

James O'Donnell

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 9, 2026 •History

St. Augustine (born November 13, 354, Tagaste, Numidia [now Souk Ahras, Algeria]—died August 28, 430, Hippo Regius [now Annaba, Algeria]; feast day August 28) was the bishop of Hippo from 396 to 430, one of the Latin Fathers of the Christian church, and perhaps the most significant Christian thinker after St. Paul. Augustine’s adaptation of classical thought to Christian teaching created a theological system of great power and lasting influence. His numerous written works, the...

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