Joi, 12 noiembrie 2026, ora 16:00, vă invităm la Turnul Croitorilor, la prelegerea intitulată „Dialogue with a Donatist?! Saint Augustine of Hippo against Gaudentius of Thamugadi”, susținută de dr. Alexander W. H. Evers, OESSH, istoric, scriitor și muzician de biserică la Roma, beneficiar al unui grant „International Advanced Fellowships 2026” în cadrul Rețelei STAR-UBB.
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Rezumatul prelegerii:
St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) and St. Jerome of Stridon (ca. 347-420) both viewed the unity of the Church as an essential, divine reality. Both Church Fathers agreed that being united within the One, Catholic and Apostolic Church is an absolute necessity for salvation – but they both emphasised different theological foundations to explain and defend that unity. In this lecture we will be exploring an intriguing episode in the history of Augustine’s native Roman North Africa. The development of the Christian Church in Roman Africa during the fourth and fifth centuries was greatly influenced by the issue of Donatism – a seemingly serious division within the Church. Studying in detail some of the treatises of Saint Augustine, as well as part of his correspondence (particularly with Saint Jerome), the specific purpose of this project is to unravel some of the discourse used by the Bishop of Hippo in his strive for unity within the Church of his time.
Parallel to Saint Augustine’s handling of the Donatist issue in the African provinces of the Roman Empire, another influential Christian priest, thinker, and writer – Saint Jerome of Stridon – was asked to produce a new, single, authoritative Latin translation of the Bible: the Vulgate (Vulgatus). One of its main purposes: to provide unity within the Church in the Latin West of the Roman Empire. Together we shall be looking at some of the many ways in which the Early Christian Church tried to define itself as One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church – indeed: as the One Body of Christ on earth, here and now… And failed!