The article offers a synopsis of the ecclesiological vision of Pope Francis, underlining the centrality of Charity that is what should guide the Evangelization of the Church within a secularized context. The role of the «missionary disciples» in this task, which is a work of mercy, is also pointed out. Later the article presents the illumination of the Augustinian doctrine to the encyclical Evangelii Gaudium, particularly concerning the preaching, as a service of charity, where the pastor gives voice to the message of God. The article also stresses S. Augusti­ne’s doctrine of the Interior Master in relationship with preaching.

The fracturing of language at Babel (Gn 11.1-9) is one of the defining events which, for Augustine, gives language its current fallen characteristics and limitations. But does the fallen state of language necessarily imply that language creates a chiasm rather than a bridge between the human and the divine? And if so, is language used in vain to invoke God? This paper addresses these questions through an analysis of the role of language in Augustine’s Ostia ascent narrative (conf. 9, 24). According to a first line of interpretation, language creates a chiasm rather than a bridge between the human and the divine in the ‘Ostia ascent’. According to a second line of interpretation, though fractured, language does not create a chiasm but rather a bridge between the human and the divine. By identifying and intertextually analyzing three facets of the function of language in conf. 9, 24, namely the grammatical, the ontological, and the modal, this paper aims at substantiating the second line of interpretation. Part one explores Augustine’s use of the expression per uerbum (Jn 1.1-15) to analyze the grammar of human and divine language. Part two analyzes the ontological function of language as a mechanism of mediation by showing that the ascent in conf. 9, 24 is similar to the structure of manifestation evident in the transition from forma dei to forma serui (Phil 2.6-7) in Augustine’s s. 264. Finally, part three shows that for Augustine, the conversion from the schola superbiae of rhetoric pride to the humility of the schola pectoris implicitly requires the mode of language as a precondition for ascent in conf. 9, 24. As such, this paper concludes, the three facets of language, namely the ontological, grammatical and modal, function in conf. 9, 24 to unite, mediate and transform the human experience of the divine.

The article presents, in its first part, a response to some scholars who criticize the eschatological conception of St. Augustine, as is the position of H. Arendt, M. Nussbaum, and G. Wehr who accuses St. Augustine of having neutralized the eschaton, to later present the purely theological character of the Augustinian concept of hope. It also describes the anthropological foundation of the actio-contemplatio, in which Augustine’s idea of hope has its roots.

The article is an Augustinian commentary of the encyclical Laudato Si’ of Pope Francis, to stress those points in which the Pontiff’s thought could have been illuminated with the ideas of Saint Augustine. The article discusses some of the ecological clues that St. Augustine develops in his own Works, trying to demonstrate that the thought of Saint Augustine is present in the absence in Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’.

The article offers an overview of the main bibliography on the subject of Saint Augustine and Ecology. After an overview, the article focuses on the work of Scott Dunham, Trinity and Creation in Augustine. An Ecological Analysis (2008) and subsequently the collective work edited by John Doody, Kim Paffenroth and Mark Smillie, Augustine and the Environment (2015).

In thais article, we have confronted the question of Augustinian preaching as a theological place and a crucible of expression and transmission of a certain spirituality that he draws from its source, which is Christ, the only Master who teaches both the preacher and the faithful. Our study allowed us to show the source of inspiration of the preacher of Hippo, which is precisely the study and meditation of the Holy Scriptures. We also highlighted the humility, the love and the ardent desire to be useful to the salvation of the faithful of which he was responsible, which characterizes the ministry of Saint Augustine. His prayer, his confessions, and his kindness in preaching, are elements that could always inspire preachers of all times.

The article aims to show in the first works of St. Augustine the convergence of philosophy and wisdom on Trinitarian knowledge, and how the latter, despite the small number of references, occupies an important place among the theoretical objectives of the neoconvert. Furthermore, it aims to look for gnoseological and epistemological guidelines of the trinitarian reflection. This implies an attentive analysis of the relationship between faith and reason, as it appears in the Dialogues, and therefore of the relationship between Christian faith and Neoplatonic philosophy, from the perspective of the young Augustine, rethought in the light of those recent studies that show their criticism about this relationship. The article follows a diachronic method, without ignoring where necessary, timely references to the works which St. Augustine wrote during his own maturity; and stresses the historical dimension of the argument discussed, revealing the sources of ancient, late antiquity and patristic thought, alluding to its developments in medieval thought. From the whole emerges the intellectual and spiritual profile of a Christian thinker characterized by a strong rationalist tension, and a philosophical project that culminates in the rational knowledge of the trinitarian dimension of God. And the latter, far from being understood according to the Plotinian or Porfirian metaphysical model, will appear in the Dialogues according to the Christian model, stressing particularly the topic of consubstantiality.

In this article, some parallels between the Soliloquia and Confessiones are revealed, particularly as concerning the self-knowledge (nouerim me) and the knowledge of God, two elements that the article links to the augustinian concept of confessio, in its different meanings, such as confessio laudis, confessio fidei, confessio peccatorum, confessio amoris, as well as the implications that this confessio has with other elements, such as the petitio considerationis, that is, the request made by Saint Augustine to God to be heard. The presence of the petitio considerationis has been analyzed not only in the text of the Soliloquia, but also within the text of the Confessiones, following its traces through four psalms where this petitio considerationis has left its marks, to indicate the various elements in which St. Augustine invites us to reflect, and highlighting, in particular, the importance that the Sacred Scripture has for St. Augustine. Finally, the presentation of the reading strategies and the implicit readers that St. Augustine presents both within the Soliloquia and within the Confessions is discussed.

The subject if this article is a brief discussion of the concept of «bad conscience» (mala conscientia) as opposed to «good conscience’ (bona conscientia) in the Works of Augustine, with specific reference to Augustine’s theology of grace. The article considers Augustine’s use of the concept in a wide range of his Works, especially in some sermons and also compares this use with the meaning of the earliest occurrences of the Word suneídhsiç /conscientia and related forms in ancient Greek literature. One of the findings of this comparison is that Augustine’s basic understanding of conscientia in the moral sense was remarkably similar to those early occurrences.

The article presents in the first part, a approach to the passio of Perpetua and Felicitas, making a synthesis of the main essays on it. In the second part, the article focuses on Augustine’s Sermones de Sanctis, particularly the sermons in which the Bishop of Hippo comments on the passio of Perpetua and Felicitas, namely ss. 280, 281, and 283 auct. (Erfurt 1). The article presents the discussion of the common elements which are in them. Subsequently, it is focused on the characteristics which are peculiar to each of these sermons. The passio of Perpetua and Felicitas is also analized within Augustine’s en. Ps. 47.

My article investigates Catholic councils of the North African Church during the 390s, when it was struggling against its formidable rival, Donatism. I shall demonstrate that the delegates’ concern over the Donatist Church’s strength played a larger role in the formulation of canons during that decade than scholars have previously suspected. I shall argue that despite Augustine ‘s rudimentary grasp of Donatist theology ca. 391- 395, he recognized the significant threat posed by the dissident church and successfully maneuvered behind the scenes (together with Aurelius, primate of Carthage), crafting several canons that are not overtly anti-Donatist but in essence are directed against Donatist encroachment upon Catholic hearts and minds. My article will commence with a brief overview of the Council of 390, presided over by Genethlius, primate of Carthage. Historians have dismissed Genethlius as ineffective against the Donatists, but I shall argue that several canons enacted in 390 paved the way for Augustine’s and Aurelius’ reforms. I shall then examine canons from the Council of Hippo (393 CE), Augustine’s and Aurelíus’ inaugural conclave that ushered in their ambitious programme to rejuvenate the Catholic Church in Africa. Liturgical canons will receive special attention. I believe that they provide clues to heterodox behavior by Donatists during their celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Though the council fathers targeted Arianism as well in 393, Donatist practices spurred them lo promulgate canons forfending against questionable rites that might be adopted unwittingly by Catholic congregations.

The article deals with the notion of human nature based on what Saint Augustine exposes in De immortalitate animae, following Varron’s footsteps on the unity of the soul and body, and the prima naturae, as they appear in his work De Philosophia. It is also pointed out that St. Augustine separates himself from the Varronian thought in regard to the highest good of the human being, since for him it is placed in the soul, as it appears in De moribus ecclesiae catholicae. On the other hand, the Augustinian basic ethical principle regarding goods is developed, presenting the distinction between the things that have to be loved propter se and those that have to be loved propter aliud, to subsequently make a presentation of the concept of uti and frui, as both are developed in De Doctrina Christiana and in the De Ciuitate Dei. It also stresses the innovative value of amor sui, where Saint Augustine modifies the stoic concept of oikéiosis, following the idea of the two loves as pondus, both caritatis and cupiditatis. As a deepening of the same concept of oikéiosis, the psychological process of the free act is analyzed, comparing the Augustinian process with the process described by Aristotle in his Ethica Nicomachea.

In 418, the Italian bishop of Eclanum (Aeclanum: Mirabella-Eclano), Julian (380-454), engaged Augustine of Hippo (354-430) in an extensive debate about three key issues of the Catholic faith, all of which are essentially grounded in sound philosophy and can be proven by reason. These are: the state of nature after sin, the authority of law (legis auctoritate), and the free will of rational beings (libertas arbitrii), the last of which remains vigorously debated today in response to the early concept of determinism. These three issues, in particular, preoccupied Augustine’s thoughts and writings up until his death.

How to characterize the scriptural exegesis that Augustine of Hippo develops in the Sermons on Scripture? The interpretations of the pericope of the act of faith of the centurion (Matth. 8:5-13) allow, by comparison, to provide elements of answer to this question. Only two continuous commentaries of it are preserved in the works of Augustine: the Sermon 62 (Carthage, 399) and the Sermon Morin 6 (409). It is, however, the subject of some sixty mentions, covering all genres (letters, exegetical treatises, polemics) and almost all chronological and polemical contexts (Manicheism, Donatism, Pelagianism). With this pericope, Augustine reminds both the Manicheans that Scripture must be received with faith, and the Donatists that members of the Church come from the east and the west. The accents are very different in the two sermons: the clearly theological perspective in the Sermo Morin 6 is colored in the Sermo 62 of a discrete and complex rhetorical use which aims to prepare the exhortation not to go to the banquets of the idols that form the second part of this sermon. Augustine’s homiletic exegesis enters into full consonance with the double inscription of the sermon in its liturgical and historical contexts: the first involves developing the faith of the faithful to unify the Body of Christ and the second to lead them to put into practice the requirements of this faith in the concrete circumstances of their lives. The themes of homiletic exegesis then con- tribute to making the sermon one of the mediations of grace in the work in the liturgy.

How to characterize the scriptural exegesis that Augustine of Hippo develops in the Sermons on Scripture? The interpretations of the pericope of the act of faith of the centurion (Matth. 8:5-13) allow, by comparison, to provide elements of answer to this question. Only two continuous commentaries of it are preserved in the works of Augustine: the Sermon 62 (Carthage, 399) and the Sermon Morin 6 (409). It is, however, the subject of some sixty mentions, covering all genres (letters, exegetical treatises, polemics) and almost all chronological and polemical contexts (Manicheism, Donatism, Pelagianism). With this pericope, Augustine reminds both the Manicheans that Scripture must be received with faith, and the Donatists that members of the Church come from the east and the west. The accents are very different in the two sermons: the clearly theological perspective in the Sermo Morin 6 is colored in the Sermo 62 of a discrete and complex rhetorical use which aims to prepare the exhortation not to go to the banquets of the idols that form the second part of this sermon. Augustine’s homiletic exegesis enters into full consonance with the double inscription of the sermon in its liturgical and historical contexts: the first involves developing the faith of the faithful to unify the Body of Christ and the second to lead them to put into practice the requirements of this faith in the concrete circumstances of their lives. The themes of homiletic exegesis then contribute to making the sermon one of the mediations of grace in the work in the liturgy.

Augustine’s emphasis on groaning in Enarrationes in Psalmos reflects his eschatological frame for the earthly life. Augustine exhorts believers to cultivate a disposition of world-weariness appropriate to their status as pilgrims and exiles in this life, expressed by groans of suffering in earthly need and longing for heavenly fulfillment. This world-weary disposition has both an ethical and aesthetic character in that it con- tributes to the ordering of believers’ loves to a vision of heavenly beauty and enjoins an active response of solidarity with the suffering on earth.

The article presents the criteria according to which one person can be considered «Father of the Church» and who are the Fathers of the Church. It also presents the main characteristics of the Fathers of the Church and the reasons to consider St. Augustine a Father of the Church. Within this argument, his loyalty to the Church is stressed, and also his ability to transmit and to make an interpretation of the Gospel, according to the tradition of the Catholic Church.