The purpose of this handbook is to convey a general picture of Augustine and to describe the various historical, theological and philosophical approaches to him.

This volume is part of Mohr Siebeck's handbook series. The works in this series focus on central theological figures to begin with and will later deal with various periods in church history. Their purpose is to provide an overall view of the pertinent research in a manner which is intelligible to everybody, is up-to-date and which encourages the readers to increase their knowledge on their own. There is a wide range of research on Augustine, and much of it is highly specialized. The well-known authors of this book, all of them experts on Augustine, have written articles on various aspects of Augustine's life and works. The purpose of this handbook is to convey a general picture of Augustine and to describe the various historical, theological and philosophical approaches to him. The authors deal with the condition of the texts, Augustine's historical surroundings, those areas which had a positive or negative influence on him, fields in which he was active (for example Augustine as a bishop or a liturgist) and also provide a selection of the main works and subjects. The work concludes with a section on the important stations of the reception of Augustine in history.