Augustine of Hippo

Augustine is the most consequential theologian the Western church has produced, and also one of its most searching writers about the interior life. Born in Roman North Africa, educated in rhetoric, and drawn through Manichaeism and Neoplatonism before his conversion in Milan in 386, he brought to Christian thought both the restlessness of a genuine seeker and the precision of a trained philosopher. As Bishop of Hippo from 395 until his death, he wrote voluminously — on grace, free will, the Trinity, scripture, and the destiny of the earthly city — often in direct response to controversy. But he is most personally present in the Confessions, an extended address to God that remains one of the few ancient texts a modern reader can approach without scholarly preparation and find themselves unexpectedly met.