Unfriendly and polemical elements in Augustine’s correspondence with other clerics

Abstract

Nearly half of the letters written by Augustine were directed to other clerics. The paper analyses how polemical intentions could be hidden behind friendly formulas. Particular consideration is given to the correspondence between Augustine and Donatist clerics, whom he treated as his peers and brothers.<fnote> The research was funded by the Polish National Science Centre grants: “The Presbyters in the Late Antique West” (2013/10/E/HS3/00202) and “The History of the Donatist Schism” (2015/19/D/HS3/00626).</fnote>