Augustine of Hippo

In the port city of Annaba, Algiers is a large archeological site with remnants of a once flourishing cathedral. The remains of a mosaic floor, wall foundations and bases to support enormous columns are still clearly visible. A semi-circular chancel at the front is also evident, where the preacher delivered the sermon. There were no pews in those days since everyone stood for worship. Men stood on one side and women to the other side. Keep in mind a worship service could last two hours or longer. (I listened to people fuss if we stood for ten minutes to sing in worship!) This cathedral in ancient Hippo was where Augustine of Hippo (354-430) preached eight thousand sermons during his thirty-five-year ministry. Augustine’s conversion to Christ led to a most remarkable transformation which he chronicled in Confessions. He had been a teacher of rhetoric in Italy when he travelled to Hippo in 389 to encourage a friend to join a new monastic community that Augustine envisioned. His friend invited him to worship at the cathedral where Bishop Valerius was preaching. The elderly Valerius recognized Augustine in the crowd and altered his message to lobby for a new priest to serve the parish. All eyes turned to Augustine (whose conversion and change of life had already created quite a sensation). People shouted his name and prevailed on him to become their priest. “I was grabbed” was the way Augustine remembered it and the bishop ordained him on the spot. He cared for this congregation of dock workers, farmers, and local merchants for thirty-five years. Of his five hundred surviving sermons, Sermon #189 was delivered on Christmas Day. A scribe recorded what he said: