Conference. Matthew Alan Gaumer. Dealing with the Donatist Church: Augustine of Hippo’s nuanced claim to the authority of Cyprian of Carthage.
The last years and dying days of Augustine are ones that are well recalled by historians and theologians. Perhaps the most central recounting is Peter Brown‟s still-magisterial biography of the Bishop of Hippo wherein he vivified the near-certain anxiety Augustine likely felt not only in terms of the lingering threat of the Vandals outside the walls of his limnal city but undeniably the concern over the value of his work and legacy in dealing with one of the greatest challenges he encountered in his ministerial life: the Donatist controversy.1 Altogether, from his ordination as presbyter and then bishop shortly after in the 390s to his eventual passing, few years came and went without some entanglement or conflict with the influential group. Indeed, Augustine‟s resilience year after year in engaging and defying the stand as a testament to the bishop‟s audacity and tenacious conviction.
MATTHEW ALAN GAUMER
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
(Belgium)Cyprianica Neerlandica (Late Antiquity History and Religion Series)
Cyprianussymposium voor Cyprianus’ 1750ste sterfdaglocation:Amsterdam
date:12 september 2008
