Augustine is known as the founder of theology. After the fall of the Holy Roman Empire, he defended the tenets of Christianity and rationalized history in Christian terms. He first conceived of the separation of church and state.
Born in Thagaste, North Africa, he is a major Christian philosopher and theologian and the key figure in the transition from pagan to specifically Christian philosophy. He had a pagan father and a Christian mother, and had a rather innocent childhood.
Before his mother, St. Monica, persuaded him to become a Christian, Augustine had an illegitimate child. At the age of 31, his conversion to Christianity gave him the answers that philosophy never did. In 395 he was appointed assistant of Bishop Valerius. One year later, Augustine became bishop of Hippo.
Augustine Online