E02818: Augustine of Hippo delivers a Latin sermon on the eve of the feast of *Cyprian (bishop and martyr of Carthage, S00411). Sermon 308A, preached in Carthage, in the Basilica Mappalia, over Cyprian's tomb, probably c. 397.
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posted on 2017-05-17, 00:00authored byrobert
Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 308A
[Habitus Carthagine in Mappalibus, id est in Basilica beati martyris Cypriani, per vigiliam natali eius
'Preached in Carthage in Mappalia, that is the basilica of the blessed martyr Cyprian, on the eve of his birthday']
In this sermon Augustine comments upon Psalm 132 without any reference to Cyprian.
Text: Morin 1930, 43. Translation and Summary: Robert Wiśniewski.
History
Evidence ID
E02818
Saint Name
Cyprian, bishop of Carthage (Africa) and martyr, ob. 258 : S00411
Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Ecclesiastics - bishops
Source
The sermon is tentatively dated to 397 on the basis of intertextual references and its place in the collection of Augustine's sermons.
Discussion
The feast of St Cyprian is named only in the lemma. However, since the sermon does not say anything about any martyr it is unlikely that it was attributed to the feast of St Cyprian, if it had not been really preached on this day. The Basilica of the Mappalia was certainly devoted to Cyprian. It was most probably the place when his body was deposited (see Ennabli 1997, 21-24).
Bibliography
Text:
Morin, G., Sancti Augustini Sermones post Maurinos reperti (Miscellanea Agostiniana, vol. 1; Rome: Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana, 1930).
Translation:
Hill, E., The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century, vol. III 9. Sermons 306-340A for the Saints (New York: New City Press, 1994).
Dating:
Kunzelmann, A., "Die Chronologie der sermones des hl. Augustinus," Miscellanea Agostiniana, vol. 2 (Rome: Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana, 1931), 417-452.
Further reading on the basilica Mappalia and the topography of Christian Carthage:
Ennabli, L., Carthage, une métropole chrétienne du IVe à la fin du VIIe siècle (Paris: CNRS Éditions, 1997).
Leone, A., Changing Townscapes in North Africa from Late Antiquity to the Arab Conquest (Bari: Edipuglia, 2007).