What do Augustine�s letters to imperial officials reveal about the status of the Church in contemporary Roman society? Augustine was one of the most important church fathers from history. He was the architect of much of the church doctrine and much of his work that survives is his letters to his contemporaries. These included many letters to officials in the Roman Empire in secular positions. They provide an insight into the relations of Augustine with these people and the status that he, a prominent figure in the Church, had in reference to these people. The situation in Roman Africa was very different to the situation in twentieth century Britain and it is important to keep this in mind when considering this topic. This essay shall concentrate on a selection of his letters and the information they provide in reference to the title of this essay. �To Olympius, my excellent and justly distinguished Lord, and my son worthy of much honour in Christ, Augustine sends greeting in the Lord.� This opening to his letter provides a useful starting point. The duality of the language used to address the recipients of his letters is illuminating. He addresses them as his lords on the one hand and his sons in Christ on the other. He seems to recognise that he is of a lower status in some areas of social life (i.e. the secular regions) but he is the leader in the religious sphere. This is mainly just literary stylistics but does tell something about the status of the Church in Roman African society. This form of letter would only have come into existence if it had some basis in reality and so it has some degree of significance in dissecting the status of the Church in Roman Africa in Augustine�s time. This form is repeated in his letters to Donatus and Marcellinus. When Augustine wrote to Olympius to congratulate him on his promotion, he made reference to the previous letter that Olympius had written and that Augustine was now replying to. It is significant that Olympius had felt it necessary to reassure Augustine in his letter that he was committed to the church. This can be read from Augustine�s phrase: �That towards the Church of which we rejoice to know that you are truly a son, there was no other feeling in your mind than that which you have now made patent to us in your letter.� This is a clear indication of the status, which the Church enjoyed in Roman African society at this juncture. It was important to Olympius for Augustine to be aware of his situation. There might not have been a direct threat to his position and status from Augustine, but he felt it necessary to clarify his position and attempt to receive his approval. �I think that it is your duty to take measures, as could be easily done, on whatever opportunity may first arise, to make it understood by these vain men � that it was to the care, not of Stilicho, but of the son of Theodosius, that those laws which have been sent into Africa for the defense of the Church of Christ owed their promulgation.� Augustine wrote this to Olympius in this letter. It shows that his power as a bishop was limited and he required the assistance of those in positions of secular power to ensure that the laws regarding the banishment of idols were properly enforced. Augustine sends this entreaty to Olympius in the expectation that he will do as he asks and support the church. Augustine has the power to get those in secular positions of power to comply with the needs of the church and this is an example of him doing just this. Augustine is a supporter of the Roman Empire and he refers to the fact that these laws have come directly from the Emperor and as such they are to be obeyed with all due reverence. It is significant that he makes direct reference to this as it shows that the Church had a role in society with direct reference to the Empire and was a part of the hierarchy of the Roman Imperial system. Law supported the Church. It is not the practice of legal and justice systems to enforce laws that are of little direct benefit. It takes time and effort and for laws such as this, there has to be a strong sponsor of the law. The Church here had exerted pressure on the Emperor and his bureaucrats to ensure that idols were banned and that the laws were enforced. To have this sort of influence is directly indicative of the status that the Church enjoyed. It was justified by the Church stating that they were doing this to ensure salvation for those converted by the law. Augustine makes specific reference to this in his letter to Olympius: �We rejoice much in the firm and steadfast faith of some, and these not few in number, who by means of these laws have been converted to the Christian religion.� This is an indirect reference to the fact that the church had influence over the lawmakers and power brokers in Roman society. This was not Augustine�s intention at this point, but what was behind what Augustine wrote is useful to identify. Augustine�s letter to Donatus (number 100) has direct reference to the major controversy of Augustine�s career in Roman Africa. This controversy was the Donatists and the schism that was caused by their differing beliefs from the mainstream Catholics. This letter addresses the concern of how he is punishing those who have �fallen away from the path of the Lord�. He implores Donatus to limit his punishments of those who are enemies of the church to a moderation that is directly related to Christian forbearance. ] �It is not their death, but their deliverance from error, that we seek to accomplish by the help of the terror of judges and of laws.� Augustine is clearly making the point that the point of using the law is to aid in the religious situation of the citizens of the Roman Empire. This is the use of a secular body to enforce the rules as required by the religious sector of society. This shows the overlap between the secular and spiritual spheres in this period. This would have a direct influence on the status of the Church in Roman society. They had to be involved with all spheres due to the overlap that was prevalent in all strata of life. This was how the status of the church is indicated in this part of this letter. �We beg you, � to forget that you have tim power of capital punishment� This is a reminder that the church had the power of capital punishment and that it was not afraid to use it. Augustine has to beg Donatus not to use it and this shows that the Church used it. To be an institution within the Roman society with the power of capital punishment shows a high status afforded to the Church. Augustine provides another hint as to where the position of the Church is in the hierarchy of society with this sentence. Augustine knew his place in society and the power, which his post held in society. He makes this plain in his letters and explicitly states it in his letter to Marcellinus: �It becomes you to hearken to me as a bishop commanding with authority.� He clearly feels that he has the authority to recommend the correct course of action to a judge of the people, as Marcellinus is. Augustine�s is a position of considerable influence and power, and he recognises this. Augustine�s position is in the Church and so this shows that the Church was a body with some power and influence. The word �commanding� is very indicative of the self-awareness possessed by the bishopric. The direct reference to his role as a bishop in such proximity to the word commanding is interesting in that it is not just Augustine with an unusually high position of power; it is the post of bishop that has this power. Boniface was a general in the Roman Army who was directly concerned with repelling the Barbarian invasions that were a constant source of concern to the citizens of Roman Africa. The Barbarians had run rampant over much of the Western Roman Empire and the Romans left in Africa were very much concerned with this threat. Boniface was a Christian who had been widowed from his wife. He had then, much to the chagrin of Augustine, married another woman. This woman was a heretic before she married. She had converted to be a Catholic before the marriage, but Augustine worries about the fact that the air of heresy pervades all through the household and Marcellinus� daughter was baptized by these heretics. Part of the reason that Augustine was so angry with Marcellinus was that he had gone back on his earlier decision to remain chaste and pursue an ascetic lifestyle: �Resolving at the same time for your own part to seek no more from this world than would suffice for the support of yourself and those dependent on you.� Marcellinus was a general and as such was very important in Roman Africa. He was of high status in society and yet Augustine, a bishop, writes to him and rebukes him for his actions. This is strongly indicative of just how high a status that the Church enjoyed. Augustine directly accuses Marcellinus of being the cause of evil: �What shall I say regarding these evils -- so patent to all, and so great in magnitude as well as number -- of which you have been, directly or indirectly, the cause since the time of your being married?� This is a very harsh reprimand and not one to be issued to a general unless you are assured of your place in society and the rights afforded to you by your status. This letter provides ample evidence of the status of the Church. It also provides an indication as to how pervasive the fear of barbarian invasion. Augustine was really concerned about the condition of Marcellinus� practices for fear of it affecting the ability of the army to defend itself against possible barbarian invasion: �But what shall I say of the devastation of Africa at this hour by hordes of African barbarians, to whom no resistance is offered, while you are engrossed with such embarrassments in your own circumstances, and are taking no measures for averting this calamity?� Modern thinking would immediately assume that this is of no direct concern to the Church, but Augustine addresses it as a prominent authority figure in the Church. This shows one of the areas in which the status of the Church was such that it had considerable influence. In conclusion, Augustine�s letters reveal much about the position and status of the Church in contemporary Roman society. From being a persecuted sect of a minority religion, Christianity had grown over four centuries to being the official religion of the Roman Empire and its leaders being afforded considerable power and prestige. They exerted much influence and conversed with the most powerful people in the secular sphere of society. The spiritual sphere and the secular sphere overlapped and interacted so much that the status of a bishop was very high. Bibliography: Letters of St. Augustine no 97, 100, 133, 220. Publishers www.newadvent.org
