Aurelius of Carthage was a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

who died around 430. A friend of

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

, 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 at 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 member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, 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 classic ...

around 392 and led a number of ecclesiastical councils on

Christian doctrine Christian theology is the theology – the systematic study of the divine and religion – of Christianity, Christian belief and practice. It concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Ch ...

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 fall did not taint human nature and that humans by divine grace have free will to achieve human perfection. Pelagius (), an ascetic and philosopher from the British Isles, ta ...

. 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 List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

is July 20.

References

External links

Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina

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