Fides in Augustine’s Sermones ad Populum. A Unique Representation and Thematisation of Gratia

Abstract

In his anti-Pelagian writings, Augustine asserts that the initium fidei, the growth of faith and the perseuerantia in faith are the result of God’s predestined grace. The present article studies whether the topic of the predestined grace of faith is likewise present in the sermones ad populum preached during the Pelagian controversy. Sermons are meant to exhort the listeners to actively engage in the Christian faith. At first sight it thus does not seem ‘ tactic’ for the preacher to stress that only divine grace has a role to play in the human fides. Our research revealed that despite the fact that Augustine does not deny the grace of faith in his sermones (this topic is even, although scarcely explicit, present), the bishop of Hippo pays more attention to the human role in the faith process. This preference is probably caused by the specific exhortative genre of the sermons. As such, the sermones show that Augustine’s doctrine of grace is somewhat more balanced than sometimes is presumed.