Dimissuri eum sumus sine spectaculo? (Aug. in Ps 39, 9) : Agostino e il teatro della predicazione

The “theatrical” dimension of Augustine's sermons is investigated, as a consequence of Augustine's being a conscious and skillful heir of ancient school rhetoric: as a matter of fact, contiguity between orator and actor pertains to the Graeco-Roman view of oratory and is apparent also in Christian homiletics. A penchant for theatre and for any kind of public show belongs to Augustine's Christian public; therefore, the bishop has to figure out strategies to render his preaching attractive, whenever he has to compete with profane shows, which often occur on the same days as Christian liturgies.

The bishop of Hippo takes advantage of two main “theatrical” strategies: on the one hand, he appropriates public shows to the Church, and lists the many spectacula Christiana that the Christians should enjoy and prefer to the pagan ones; on the other hand, he often hints at the scene (i.e., the physical location) of the homiletic performance, and, most importantly, sometimes he even acts as a movie director, arranging the scene for the display of God's mirabilia in front of his audience (e.g., serm. 320-323). [Publisher's text]