Why it Matters that St Augustine was Likely Black
St Augustine of Hippo was a Bishop in the 6th century and a Church Father. Many consider him one of the most influential figures in Christianity, who lay the groundwork for much of our theology today. There are all kinds of lessons to learn from St Augustine’s writings, as well as his personal life. But what has been standing out to me in more recent years is that St Augustine was North African, and scholars and religious leaders have started considering the possibility that he could have been black.
Since this Saint has been depicted as white in centuries of artwork, the president of the Catholic university Villanova, who is an Augustinian Father, had an icon of St Augustine commissioned in which he is depicted as a black man (and bishop) with a glowing halo, holding a heart in front of his chest, with flames dancing out of the top. This icon, painted by Vernon Adams, opened up a conversation about what it means that one of the greatest treasures of Christianity came from Africa, and one of our most formative thinkers and theologians could very well have had very dark skin.
As someone who studied St Augustine in multiple theology classes in seminary, I was surprised that all of this surprised me! Similar to what I shared in my sermon about how we perceive the historical Jesus, why had I always related to St Augustine from my own life experience as white and western? I had made assumptions about who he is without welcoming the more textured parts of his story…the parts that are different than mine and therefore have the most to teach me. It was like St Augustine had been standing right in front of me, and I didn’t even know him.
In John’s Gospel (14:8-18) Phillip says to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father and we will be satisfied.” Jesus responds, “Have I been with you all this time and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” Phillip is missing the divine presence in the person of Jesus standing right in front of him. At times we too are missing the divine presence being made known to us in every person—including people who have a different skin color or ethnicity, culture, country, or language—because our lens is too small and limiting. And, ultimately, this limits how we relate to and perceive God. Have I made God white and western, just like me, too?
The reminder that St Augustine was African, and the possibility that he was black, challenges me to not be satisfied with a small portion of the divine from my small corner of the world. But, to keep seeking after God, pulled forward by an insatiable desire to know this expansive and diverse and multi-faceted presence.
In his memoir The Confessions of St Augustine he says: “You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.” Our glimpses of God are not meant to satisfy us, but ignite a hunger and thirst in us to hear and see and know God more. God’s touch does not just sooth us, but makes us burn for God’s wholeness, being made manifest in the whole of creation—through black voices, on eastern continents, and within myriad cultures.
As St Augustine famously said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” May my heart be restless in staying within my white and western experience, until it can return to its pure essence, resting in union with all God created, and transcends.
Why it matters if St Augustine was African and black:
De-centers the white, western experience from the formation and spread of Christianity
Gives tremendous authority to theology coming from the black, eastern experience
Illuminates the influence a black voice has had in the thought and lives of white, western people
Helps white, western people visually see black people as integral players in the Christian narrative
Enables people who are black to see themselves more clearly in the divine image
Empowers people who are black to be channels of the divine, theologians, thought leaders, priests and bishops, authors, history makers, and culture changers
Encourages westerners to explore eastern thought, and white people to read black theologians
Returns ownership of a great religious treasure to Africa, when so much has been stolen from her through the slave trade and colonialism
Challenges us all to recognize the divine presence being made manifest through all types of voices, cultures, contexts, continents, and orientations
Ignites a hunger in us to encounter God in more and unconsidered ways, taking us beyond our limited experiences so we can know more facets of the divine