author
active 370-437 Saint Possidius
A close friend and disciple of Augustine of Hippo, this North African bishop is remembered for writing one of the earliest and most valuable accounts of Augustine’s life. His surviving work offers a rare firsthand glimpse of the late Roman church in North Africa.
1 Audiobook
Les confessions de saint Augustin, évêque d'Hippone: précédées de sa vie par S. Possidius, évêque de Calame... ; traduction nouvelle par L. Moreau
by Saint of Hippo Augustine, active 370-437 Saint Possidius
About the author
Little is known for certain about his early life, but Possidius was a bishop of Calama in Roman North Africa and a longtime companion of Augustine of Hippo. He lived during a turbulent period marked by religious conflict and political upheaval, and later sources note that he was still alive in exile in 437.
Possidius is best known as the author of Life of Augustine, an early biography written by someone who knew Augustine personally for many years. He also preserved a list of Augustine’s writings, which helped later generations understand the scale of Augustine’s work and influence.
For readers today, Possidius matters not only because he wrote about a famous saint, but because he wrote as an eyewitness. His work is simple, direct, and historically precious, giving a human picture of Augustine and the Christian communities of North Africa in the fifth century.