PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN TEACHING ABOUT MAN IN THE “CONFESSIONS” OF SAINT AUGUSTINE

Abstract

The article discusses Saint Augustine’s principles of the Christian doctrine of man in his autobiographical work, «Confessions». The story of the experience of the cultural and religious formation of the man personality contains a profound analysis of the author’s inner world; it reveals the practice of engaging in dialogue with oneself, akin to conversing with another person, and the journey of self-creation, all under the sign of dialogue with God. Through his own experiences as a person searching for the meaning of life, Augustine illustrated that this meaning is found in knowing God and living in relationship with Him.In the «Confessions of St. Augustine», everything passes through man. Augustine of Hippo defined man’s existence as imago Dei, similar to many other early Christian writers. However, he understood man somewhat differently. He viewed man not only as the most vivid image of the Creator, but also as the dwelling place of God, which must be sought within the human soul. In Augustine’s teachings, man serves as the central theme, the most obvious, to which he devoted the greatest place in his reflection. The Bishop of Hippo examined this theme thoroughly and interpreted it as a foundation for understanding both the world around him and the existence of God. At the same time, he did not confine his interpretation solely to the intellectual, methodological aspect, although he devoted a lot of attention to the problem of cognition. Personal experiences and the events associated with its played a huge role in his description of man`s existence, even when he did not analyse them in passing, making specific conclusions and decisions. He offered insightful assessments and made necessary corrections to his well-founded reflections whenever he recognized the need for them; his concepts were verified by everyday life.Augustine constantly included man among the values, highlighting the importance of the human mind in understanding truth as a cause of happiness, the reason for which is union with God. As an integral element of the rational nature of man, he also pointed to free will, conceptualizing it ontologically and distinguishing it from freedom as the internal autonomy of the human spirit, which is given to man. Among all created beings, man holds a special place, associated with his development and dynamism, but always in close connection with the Creator.