Dr Augustin Sokolovski
In the Orthodox Church, we celebrate Saint Augustine on June 28. This date is not directly connected to an event in his life. It was probably chosen because, on the same day, we also commemorate Saint Jerome, his friend and correspondent.
Today, we can ask a simple question: what would our faith be without Saint Augustine?
The answer is important. Without Saint Augustine, the Church would most likely have had much greater difficulty understanding the baptism of children. And it is even possible that, without him, children would not have been baptized as they are today, or at least it would not have been understood as a grace given to everyone, young and old alike. This would have profoundly changed the life of the Church.
We also owe him many other things: a deeper understanding of time, of the human person, of conversion, and of the confession of sins. His influence is very great throughout Christian thought.
In 2026, his commemoration falls on a Sunday, and on this Sunday, the fourth Sunday after Pentecost, we hear precisely the Gospel of the healing of the servant of the centurion of Capernaum (Mt 8:5-13). The centurion believes that Jesus can heal with a single word, without even entering his house. It is an example of faith and humility.
Saint Augustine lived something similar. Listening to Saint Ambrose of Milan, he gradually came to faith. He wanted to meet him, but he did not dare enter his house. In humility, he remained at a distance. And it was this humility that opened his heart to the grace of God.
After his death, his relics were transferred to Pavia in northern Italy. Pavia is not far from Milan, so the two saints rest close to one another after their death. And this is a clear sign of divine grace.
We do not know what happens in Heaven. The course of things there is unknown to us. But let us suppose that, knowing the extraordinary veneration his works receive in Western Christianity, Saint Augustine asked God that he not be known in Orthodoxy. If this slightly close to the truth, the humility of the saints knows no bounds.