On this day, June 15 according to the Julian Calendar (June 28 civil calendar), the Georgian Orthodox Church commemorates Blessed Augustine of Hippo.
Blessed Augustine of Hippo (354–430) is one of the most influential theologians and Church Fathers in the history of Christianity. Born in Tagaste in North Africa (modern Algeria) to a pagan father and a Christian mother, Saint Monica, Augustine spent his youth in philosophical searching, moral struggle, and adherence to Manichaeism.
After years of intellectual restlessness, he encountered the preaching of Saint Ambrose of Milan, which profoundly moved him. His famous conversion, recounted in his Confessions, came in a garden in Milan in 386, when he heard a child’s voice saying “Take and read” — and opening the Scriptures, he found the passage that transformed his heart.
Baptized by Saint Ambrose, Augustine returned to North Africa, where he was ordained a priest and later consecrated Bishop of Hippo. For thirty-four years he served his flock while producing an extraordinary body of theological writing. His major works include the Confessions, The City of God, On the Trinity, and hundreds of sermons and letters.
Augustine’s theology shaped Christian thought on grace, free will, original sin, and the nature of the Church. Though some aspects of his theology developed differently in Western and Eastern Christianity, the Orthodox Church honors him as a blessed father whose life of repentance, prayer, and tireless service to truth exemplifies the Christian calling.
May the intercessions of Blessed Augustine of Hippo be with us all.