Alypius and Possidius (4th century)

Biography

They come from the same region and lived at the same time. Both were born in the middle of the 4th century in Numidia, a Roman province located in the current territory of Algeria, and they died there at the end of the first third of the following century. His diverse social background opened up very different horizons before his eyes. But the meeting with Saint Augustine canceled the social barriers and ended up equalizing them and leading them along very similar paths. Both were disciples of Augustine, they lived with him in the monastery, shared pastoral cares and collaborated in his doctrinal controversies and in the reorganization of the African Church. Both were notable pastors and theologians, with a well-defined identity, but the closeness of Augustine enveloped them in a light that blurred the differences. History has inextricably intertwined his memory and has inextricably associated it with that of Augustine. Alypio has remained forever a dear friend, “the brother of my heart,” the saint would say; and the other, Possidius, as the most authoritative biographer. Without trying, his biography of Saint Augustine also draws a portrait of its author, always honest and modest.