"In Dialogue With Augustine" is an intensive seminar on the thought and impact of Augustine of Hippo. This seminar is designed for graduate credit, continuing education units, audit, non-credit enrichment; a preparatory reading list will be supplied.

For credit, along with the ten class sessions, requirements will include two evening sessions and a research paper to be completed within three months. For further information, contact Karen Cunningham, Theology / Religious Studies Department, Villanova University, Villanova, PA 19085 (610) 519-4730 or The Augustinian Institute, Villanova University, anna.misticoni@villanova.edu.

2008 Seminar -- July 21-28, 2008

How Augustine Reads the Old Testament
Michael Cameron, University of Portland

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Augustine and Paul
Thomas F. Martin, O.S.A., Villanova University

Description:  This seminar will be a concise overview of Augustine’s Paulinism: his reading and interpretation of the writings of the Apostle Paul; the theological impact of Paul upon Augustine, especially as reflected in his controversies with the Manichees, the Donatists, and the Pelagians; Augustine’s encounter with Paul as a model of grace, conversion, and Christian living; Augustine’s preaching on the Apostle Paul; and finally, the lasting impact, often controversial, that “Augustine’s Paul’ has had on Western Christianity.
 
Augustine’s engagement with the Apostle Paul spans the entire corpus of his writings, from his very first writing to come down to us, the Contra Academicos, to the final work left unfinished by his death, the Contra Iulianum opus imperfectum. In the 5 million+ words that Augustine has left behind, the presence of Paul as both writer and model is pervasive. Rarely, however, is this Pauline presence isolated from a host of other scriptural texts, complex theological questions and controversies, pastoral concerns and the widest possible perspective that is Augustine’s vision of the Christian life. Except for three specific early attempts at commentaries on Pauline Letters, Romans and Galatians to be exact, it is no exaggeration to say that Paul is virtually everywhere—and this is the challenge in studying Augustine’s Paulinism. In order to appreciate the impact of Paul upon Augustine a range of his writings along with important Pauline topics will be considered. At the end of the seminar some attention will be given to the reception of Augustine’s Paulinism over the centuries.

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