Augustine of Hippo (354–430 CE) was a theologian and philosopher who served as the bishop of Hippo Regius in Roman North Africa. Born in Thagaste (modernday Algeria), he was raised by his devout Christian mother Monica and pagan father Patricius. His intellectual journey led him through Manichaeism before his famous conversion to Christianity in 386 CE.
Augustine’s autobiographical Confessions and his monumental City of God remain foundational texts in Western philosophy and Christian theology. His adaptation of classical thought to Christian teaching created a theological system of great power and lasting influence, helping to lay the foundation for much of medieval and modern Christian thought.
He was canonized by popular acclamation and declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Boniface VIII in 1298. His ideas on grace, free will, and original sin have profoundly shaped Christian doctrine, and his philosophical investigations into time, memory, and the nature of evil continue to resonate with thinkers today.