Saint Augustin et la crise pélagienne : le témoignage de la correspondance (Epistulae 186, 187 et 194)

Abstract

While studying St Augustine’s correspondence, the reader discovers a wide variety of often little-known texts, which allow us to discover the bishop of Hippo under an interesting and original light, as he appears not only as the famous ‘doctor gratiae’ (that we already know quite well through his polemical writings) but also as a bishop who must deal with the strategical problems encountered by the African Church, and as a friend who worries about his correspondents’ orthodoxy. Through the study of three letters which Augustine wrote at the very heart of the pelagian crisis (epistulae 186 to Paulinus of Nola, 187 to Dardanus and 194 to Sixtus), we would like to show that each epistle reveals, through its own original structure, tone and litterary style, how the bishop of Hippo intended to send letters carefully written to match their addressees’ needs and personal situation-and this seems to be the main interest of the correspondence, which shows that Augustine’s concern was first and foremost pastoral and practical, more than speculative and abstract.