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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture

Well, yes and no.  The most accurate way of labeling him up to 386 would have been as "a Christian catechumen" since he was not baptized and fundamentally, baptism is what made one a Christian (and Catholic).--at least according to Simplicianus as related by Augustine in Confessions bk 8.  However, in some sense, catechumens were considered to belong to the Church--if they died as martryrs, they were considered saints and as having been baptized in blood and in the "baptism of desire."

Even more accurate: a lapsed Catholic catechumen would be the way to describe Augustine as a young man.  The point is not unimportant.  Augustine was not pagan--he effectively had a Christian upbringing and had been close to being baptized.  But Christian, no, not yet.  That's one of the point of Simplicianus's exchange with Marius Victorinus in book 8.

Dennis Martin

>>> [log in to unmask] 08/27/01 06:37AM >>>
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture

From: Christopher Crockett <[log in to unmask]>

>Monica (d. 387)  ...At least to judge from Augustine's Confessions,
Monica made it the goal of her life to make him a Christian, especially
trying
to win him away from Manichaeism.

seems like he would have had to have been a "Christian" before he was
"won away from" Manichaeism.

Questio:  was A. an "orthodox" Christian after his winning away from
Manichaeism, or was he a "Catholic"?


Manichaeism was not a Christian heresy.  It was a form of Zoroastrianism
reformed by the prophet Mani in (I think) the second century AD.
Considering Augustine's later zeal in combatting other forms of
Christianity, I think it would be correct to label him a Catholic--a label
already in use.

JO Ann

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