Possidius of Calama

Hermanowicz analyzes Possidius' episcopal career and the biography of his life-long friend St. Augustine, the Vita Augustini She challenges the widely-held view of Augustine dominating the theological landscape of North Africa, demonstrating how often his position was isolated on key matters of law, coercion and diplomacy.

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Possidius, the bishop of Calama, was a life-long friend of St. Augustine's and best known for writing a biography of the bishop of Hippo, the Vita Augustini. Hermanowicz analyzes both the biography and the legally-oriented career of Possidius to illustrate how active Augustine's colleagues were in soliciting imperial support against their religious competitors and to show just how often Augustine's close friends disagreed with him on important matters of law, coercion and diplomacy. It is still widely asserted by scholars that St. Augustine dominated the theological landscape of North Africa, but this engaging study demonstrates how often he was, in fact, singular and isolated in his beliefs.