Aurelius of Carthage was a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

who died around 430. A friend of

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

, he was bishop of Carthage from about 391 until his death.

Life

Not much is known about his life outside of his ecclesiastical activities. At the time when

returned to Africa in 388, Aurelius was a deacon. Aurelius served as a patron to Augustine when Augustine was a priest in Hippo. Augustine sought the establishment of a monastic community – for which space was granted by bishop Valerius – and was funded by Aurelius. Aurelius provided the monastery with new members for the purpose of episcopal training, effectively turning the monastery into a sort of early episcopal seminary. Augustine admired Aurelius, and a number of letters from Augustine to Aurelius have survived. Aurelius became

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

around 392 and led a number of ecclesiastical councils on

Christian doctrine Christian theology is the theology of Christian belief and practice. Such study concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theologians use biblical exeg ...

and clerical discipline, including the important Council of 419 which codified "The Code of Canons of the African Church". Aurelius was one of the first Bishops to denounce

Pelagianism Pelagianism is a Christian theological position that holds that the original sin did not taint human nature and that humans by divine grace have free will to achieve human perfection. Pelagius ( – AD), an ascetic and philosopher from t ...

. He encouraged veneration of the martyrs, and introduced the feast day of Saint Cyprian.Geerlings, Wilhelm, "Aurelius, of Carthage (Saint)", ''Religion Past and Present''
2006, Aurelius's feast day in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

is July 20.

References

External links

OrthodoxWiki on Aurelius of Carthage

Santi Beati: Sant' Aurelio di Cartagine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aurelius 4th-century births 430 deaths Saints from Roman Africa (province) 4th-century Romans 5th-century Romans 5th-century Christian saints 4th-century bishops of Carthage 5th-century bishops of Carthage Aurelii