Two Cities

religious concept

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July 16, 2026

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The concept of "Two Cities" originates from Saint Augustine's philosophical treatise, The City of God. Written around 413-426 CE, this work was a response to pagan claims that Rome's fall was due to the decline of paganism. Augustine countered that Christianity had actually saved the city from complete destruction and that Rome's downfall was a result of its own moral decay.1

He proposed two symbolic societies: "The City of God," representing the elect, and "The City of Man," representing the damned. These two cities symbolize the eternal struggle between faith and unbelief, which are intertwined on Earth until the end of time. Augustine interpreted human history as linear and predestined, beginning with Creation and culminating in the Second Coming of Christ. This work profoundly influenced medieval thought and church-state relations.1

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millennialism
Patristic and medieval millennialism
…the notion of the “Two Cities.” There was a “heavenly city,” the celestial Jerusalem where the millennium was already manifest, and an “earthly city,” the terrestrial Babylon where the millennium was not visible. These two cities would coexist as a corpus permixtum (“mixed body”) in every man and in…
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…the notion of the “Two Cities.” There was a “heavenly city,” the celestial Jerusalem where the millennium was already manifest, and an “earthly city,” the terrestrial Babylon where the millennium was not visible. These two cities would coexist as a corpus permixtum (“mixed body”) in every man and in…
Read More