Welcome to the opening matchup of Lent Madness 2023! If you’re a veteran Lent Madness participant, welcome back! If you're joining us for the first time, we’re delighted you’re along for this wild, saintly ride! And if you're just penitential-curious, check out the About Lent Madness tab on the website to find out what all the fuss is about.
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If you’re wondering when your favorite saint will be competing – in order to rally your friends and neighbors (creative campaigning is encouraged, voter fraud is not) – you can check out the 2023 Matchup Calendar. And if you'd like to see all 32 saints in this year's bracket represented in peg doll form, check out this AMAZING video from our friends at St. James Cathedral in South Bend, Indiana.
Things kick off with a matchup featuring two hippos - kind of - as Augustine of Hippo takes on Hippolytus of Rome.
Friends, it's time to cast your very first vote of Lent Madness 2023! We’re glad you’re all here. Now get to it!
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine, the fourth-century bishop of Hippo in North Africa, is perhaps the single most influential theologian of the Western church after Paul. For Augustine, in the life of a Christian, all is grace. Augustine himself experienced and embraced grace and went to pour much of himself, his spiritual journey, and his experiences into his work, as is memorably seen in his Confessions.
At first, Augustine did not appear to be on a path to sainthood. At a young age, he abandoned Christianity and studied rhetoric with hopes of becoming a lawyer. Augustine was soon taken with the study of philosophy and later, with a religion that was a chief rival to Christianity in North Africa, all while living a “free and unconstrained life.” For 15 years, he lived with a mistress who would give birth to his child; in moving from one teaching post to another, he would eventually abandon her to move to Rome and to Milan. It was there that Augustine met Ambrose, Milan’s bishop, and reached his own epiphany, which he describes at length in his Confessions: “You move us to delight in praising You; for You have formed us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in You.” In 387, Augustine was baptized on Easter Eve by Ambrose and found the rest in God for which his heart had so longed.
Augustine returned to North Africa, where he lived a quasi-monastic life until he was seized by the community around him and ordained as a priest against his will. Within four years, he was ordained to the episcopate, and he served as bishop until his death.
Augustine’s breadth of life experience, his profound intellect, and his prayerful demeanor are evident in his writing. Often seen as a scold by some, Augustine and his writings nevertheless counter some of the most strident tendencies in the church. He pushed against the insistence on the existence of a force in eternal opposition to God, instead affirming the goodness of the creation and understanding evil to ultimately be an absence of good. He defended the doctrine of the Trinity and asserted that the church is holy not because of the holiness of its individual members but because of the calling its members receive from God. Above all, Augustine’s theology has at its core a deep yearning and desire for God, the experience of grace for all people.
Collect for Augustine of Hippo
Lord God, the light of the minds that know you, the life of the souls that love you, and the strength of the hearts that serve you: Help us, following the example of your servant, Augustine of Hippo, so to know you that we may truly love you, and so to love you that we may fully serve you, whose service is perfect freedom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Hippolytus of Rome
Hippolytus of Rome was one of the most learned and influential theologians of the second and third centuries. He is described as a disciple of Irenaeus, and it is reported that a young Origen heard him speak and was so inspired that he decided to pursue his own illustrious career as a theologian and biblical scholar. Hippolytus’s work was wide ranging, exploring topics of apostolic succession, heresy, and biblical interpretation.
Hippolytus wrote in an educated form of Greek just as the Western Church was shifting toward Latin for their theologizing. As such, although the broad contours of his life and work are known (often through fragments and reports), much of his original work is lost, and his biography is shrouded in legend. (It does not help that there are several Hippolytuses in the church tradition, one of which was a notable martyr. The two are often conflated.)
What can be known somewhat confidently is that Hippolytus’s intellectual rigor was matched by his moral rigor. Early in his career, both of these led to conflict with the bishop of Rome. Hippolytus accused Bishop Callixtus of the heresy of modalism (an idea that emphasized the unity of God at the expense of denying the three persons of the Trinity). Hippolytus also wrote against the leniency of the bishop in welcoming back heretics and Christians with moral failings who had repented. In the wake of this conflict, Hippolytus was elected as a competing bishop of Rome, making him the first anti-pope. (It should be noted that this designation is anachronistic as there did not exist a papacy as we know it this early in the Christian tradition.)
When Emperor Maximus Thrax began persecuting the church, Hippolytus and one of Callixtus’s successors were exiled to Sardinia where Hippolytus died as a martyr in 235. Some report that he was killed by drowning in a deep well. Later legends say that he, like his Greek mythological counterpart, was dragged to death by horses (thus making him the patron saint of horses). His body was returned to Rome and interred in a Christian cemetery. This and his later treatment as a martyr of the church suggests that he had been reconciled before his death and was no longer considered a schismatic. His feast day is celebrated on August 13.
Collect for Hippolytus of Rome
Almighty God, you gave to your servant Hippolytus special gifts of grace to understand and teach the truth as it is in Christ Jesus: Grant that by this teaching we may know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Augustine of Hippo: Sandro Botticelli, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Hippolytus: Ancient Roman sculpture, found in 1551 at Via Tiburtina, Rome, and now at the Vatican Library. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
219 comments on “Augustine of Hippo v. Hippolytus of Rome”
I'm for the patron saint of horses, Hippolytus!
I find this exercise inspiring.
I hope A of Hippo did not completely abandon his child. How sad if that were known to be true.
Yes.
Just as many 'seekers of God' struggle with an understanding of evil and sin, I, too, waiver when it comes to defining negative behavior. So when I read the Augustine understood "...evil to ultimately be the absence of good." he had my vote! Every year I look forward to Lent and the return of Lent Madness as a time I can engage with my brothers and sisters in Christ in a conversation of theology and spiritual stimulation. So good to be together again.
My first devotional received at confirmation in 1967, at age 17, was St Augustine’s Prayer Book. A “go-to” for comfort, hope, inspiration along the way. Majored in Classical Studies (Cal-State Fullerton) and read The Confessions as part of the Roman and Byzantine Empire classes! Not a favorite read then but a slow growing appreciation through the years!
In the true spirit of Lent Madness, Augustine got my vote because the emblem on the back of his gloved hand looks like the spoked B of a Bruins uniform. That is all.
Augustine’s emphasis on the positive(denying a devil and the like) and focusing on God’s Grace won my vote.
a fun way to learn!
There are so many Davids in the contemporary church! Is it David the Apostate or David the Blessed Martyr of Outer Campostia for whose candidate I am voting today? Well, regardless of the saint for whom I voted, thank you to both Davids today for stellar write-ups. I always read the collects very carefully in the first round, and I thank both of you for your sincere, thoughtful offerings. I nearly forgot about the first day of Lent Madness, given the massive snowfall we endured yesterday; I am snowed in again today. Thank goodness for the Miracle of the Ones and Zeroes! How to vote? for the Schismatic or for the Guy who Kicked his Wife to the Curb? (nothing says "bishop material" quite like abandoning your wife because your mother doesn't think she's good enough for you). I voted for the dawn of philosophy and theology within Christianity, the effort to marry the mind with the heart and grapple with difficult concepts, something we the People of the Quadrilateral know a lot about, given that we ourselves are Schismatic Divorcers of Roman authority, and are still struggling to define "Anglican Communion" in a world that often views "women priests" and "gay marriage" as fighting words. So far all theologians and spiritual masters working to build an edifice of heart-thought, stone by stone, upon the somewhat sand-y foundation of Cranmer, today's battle of the river horses is for you. Have a great Lent Madness, everybody!
That should be *for* all theologians . . .
Still no "edit" button.
Well, I anticipated Augustine being overrated and I'd only vaguely remembered Hippolytus from my school days... but nothing about him inspired me whereas Augustine's "restless until" and his view of "absence of good" vs an eternal oppositional verse and "experience of grace for all people" did. Especially after reading some comments that better contextualize some of his family drama (which I'd forgotten about.)
Besides, this may be as close as I can get to voting for a mime! 😛
"So I would toss my arms and legs about and make noises, hoping that such few signs as I could make would show my meaning, though they were quite unlike what they were meant to mime." St. Augustine
HOW can one be "ordained a priest against his will"? This is what makes these ancient contenders so disatisfying.
What happened to the button for seeing how the votes are leaning? Sometimes when I'm torn i vote for the underdog. Now I'm deprived of that. Oh bother!
Well this was a real Hobson’s choice-what an unappealing pair up! I had forgotten how much I enjoyed John Cabot’s limericks!
I am surprised that the author didn't mention the view St. Augustine had of women.
Augustine also gave us the doctrine of original sin. Another bad one.
For 15 years, he lived with a mistress who would give birth to his child; in moving from one teaching post to another, he would eventually abandon her to move to Rome and to Milan.
Hippolytus also wrote against the leniency of the bishop in welcoming back heretics and Christians with moral failings who had repented.
Beginning with a very difficult choice. I say neither!
Given the greater written history and background of Hippolytus of Rome and many records of his contributions to the philosophical underpinnings of Christianity I voted for him. The fact that he lived a hedonistic life but later found and lived a life of grace also impacted my vote.
Another correction to Augustine's biography. Augustine did not "abandon Christianity" as a youth. He was deeply attracted to the Manichean community, which Augustine (and probably most North African Christians) saw as a form of rigorous Christianity. Augustine tells us that he sought out the Manichees because he thought they had a better and more comprehensive understanding of the Apostle Paul than did the institutional church. His return to the church began, in many ways, when he realized that the catholic branch of Christianity had a better explanation of astronomical phenomena (like eclipses) than Manicheaism.
Abandoning your child is not acceptable in my world.so I did not vote for Augustine.
Augustine’s Confessions are beautiful to read. What was still more beautiful was a book I once read by Augustine that was meant for new believers who were preparing for baptism. I believe it may have been titled The Love of God, but I am not sure. For sure, reflections on the love of God were on every page.
How can I see the current vote tally without voting? I already voted on a different device that I don't have access to now, and I don't want to vote twice! But I don't see a way to see the tally without voting.
Gotta go with a man who understands wild living and grace. I've had enough of harsh preachers for a lifetime and am still undoing the theological scars they left me with. Augustine understands the rest of us.
I hate to vote for the author of original sin, just war, and woman's place on her knees, but I set those aside in favor of so much more influence. As for Augustine's family, I am glad I read the many comments first. I am now convinced that neither common-law wife nor son were really abandoned, and I suppose filial obedience was more a thing then than now (his reason for breaking up his family).
Just can’t accept original sin as doctrine.
Pretty bad matchup here.
Both seem Hippo-critical; not fond of either. Held my nose and voted Augustine
A little ditty for my pic, Augustine, who was hip in Hippo, but made up for it later.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPzt3A4Se_U
Both Hippos had their lapses.
My vote for Hippolytus is because his willingness to challenge excesses in the church of his day.
His less-than-clear embrace of modalism may have been contextual rather than flawed theological thinking.
Augustine's defense of the Trinity is admirable, as was his (brilliant) and pastoral adjudication of the Donatists.
In the end, however, I think Augustine's notion of original sin was/is historically, logically, and theologically flawed.
And, too, his notion of predestination is cringeworthy.
Starting off with the A’s is a very good place to start. Is the Saint Aug the HBCU in NC is named for? Their music program is our Outreach for Black History Month.
Para 4 on Hippolytus references an “Emperor Maximus Thrax.”
That would be a sloppy use of an epithet that wasn’t an agnomen even if it had been applied to the right person. The ruler in question Gaius Julius Verus MaximINus.