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Glorious things are spoken of you,
O city of our God.
I count Egypt and Babylon among those who know me;
behold Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia:
in Zion were they born.
Of Zion it shall be said, "Everyone was born in her,
and the Most High himself shall sustain her."
The LORD will record as he enrolls the peoples,
"These also were born there."
The singers and the dancers will say,
"All my fresh springs are in you."
From the Great Cloud of Witnesses:
Augustine of Hippo (354 - 430) is regarded as one of the greatest theologians of the Christian Church. He was born and raised in North Africa by a pagan father and a devout Christian mother, Monica. He received the best education available in the Roman Empire and by the age of thirty he attain the position of Professor of Rhetoric at the University of Milan, one of the most prestigious posts of the time. Within two years of his arrival in Milan, he was converted to Christianity, resigned his post and sought a contemplative life of prayer and writing. "Our hearts are restless," he wrote, "until they find their rest in You." However, upon his return to North Africa, he became the Bishop of Hippo, a position he held until his death.
Confessions, the autobiographical account of his conversion and faith, was the first autobiography written in the western world. Augustine wrote numerous books, essays and apologetic works. His influence in the Christian church cannot be overstated, Martin Luther was an Augustinian monk and John Calvin based many of his writings concerning grace and faith on the writings of Augustine.
Confessions is available in both hard copy and online, as are most of his writings. For further information see:
http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/jod/augustine/
Collect:
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