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The Foundation of the Order This section addresses the decisive shift toward mendicant life in medieval Europe and situates the Augustinian Order within this broader movement. The emergence of mendicantism is contrasted with earlier monastic forms, highlighting the new pastoral, urban, and apostolic emphases that defined the thirteenth century. Comparisons will be drawn between the Augustinians and contemporary mendicant orders, particularly the Franciscans and Dominicans. Attention will also be given to earlier hermitical and semi-eremitical groups, such as: the Bonites, Williamites, and Brittinians, including their founders, and the distinct spiritual charisms they embodied. These disparate movements ultimately converged through a series of papal interventions, leading to the formal establishment of the Augustinian Order. The section culminates in an analysis of the key papal documents that unified these groups, notably Incumbit Nobis (the “Little Union”) and, a decade later, the “Grand Union” under Cum Quaedam Salubria, which definitively constituted the Order as a single mendicant body. Meet the Moderator: D. P. Curtin Dr. D.P. Curtin is an Irish-American psychologist, translator, and theologian. He holds degrees from Villanova University, Chestnut Hill College, and Chatham University. His work has appeared in First Things, Real Clear Religion, the Irish Catholic, Public Orthodoxy, Where Peter Is, and Catholic Exchange. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the Scriptorium Project.

The Embryonic Form of the Order. Building upon the foundations of the first section, this portion explores how the Augustinian tradition gradually differentiated itself from other monastic rules and movements of the early medieval period, such as the Benedictine and Columban traditions. The discussion includes the transmission of Augustinian ideas into the early Irish Church and the broader Latin West, highlighting the adaptability of St. Augustine’s thought to diverse ecclesial contexts. Central to this section is an examination of the so-called Ordo Antiquus and the earliest structured applications of Augustine’s life and works during the Carolingian Reforms. Key moments, including the Synod of Aachen, will be discussed, particularly in relation to renewed interest in clerical discipline, communal life, and episcopal authority. The Carolingian appropriation of Augustinian theology—especially the use of The City of God in shaping Frankish political and ecclesiastical ideology will receive special attention. Overall, this period is characterized more by transmission, consolidation, and standardization than by innovation, culminating in the Gregorian Reforms of the eleventh century, which sought to regularize clerical life and establish uniform, papally sanctioned religious communities. Meet the Moderator: D.P. Curtin Dr. D.P. Curtin is an Irish-American psychologist, translator, and theologian. He holds degrees from Villanova University, Chestnut Hill College, and Chatham University. His work has appeared in First Things, Real Clear Religion, the Irish Catholic, Public Orthodoxy, Where Peter Is, and Catholic Exchange. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the Scriptorium Project.

Community as Known to St. Augustine The first section of this series examines the immediate world of St. Augustine and the generations that followed him. It explores St. Augustine’s own understanding of Christian community, as expressed in his friendships, correspondence, sermons, and monastic writings, with particular focus on the Rule and its early applications. This section situates Augustine within the political, cultural, and social realities of late Roman North Africa, addressing events such as the Vandal conquest and the eventual collapse of the African Church. As the African Christian world declined, Augustine’s intellectual and spiritual legacy found new life elsewhere. Attention will be given to how his works and ideals were received in Rome and southern Gaul during the early Middle Ages, where they contributed to emerging forms of clerical and monastic life. Special emphasis is placed on the formation of early communal structures inspired by St. Augustine, and on clearly distinguishing these early communities and the Canons Regular of St. Augustine from later, more formalized Augustinian movements. ABOUT THE SERIES: Learn about the history of the Order of St. Augustine and the development of Augustinianism from the death of St. Augustine in the fifth century to approximately the close of the fifteenth century, when the Order reached the height of its theological, intellectual, and cultural influence. Rather than treating the Order as a static institution, the series emphasizes a continuous historical narrative, tracing how Augustinian ideals were received, adapted, and institutionalized across changing social, political, and ecclesial contexts. Particular attention will be given to the antecedents inherited from late antiquity, the gradual formation of Augustinian life as a mendicant order, the conditions that allowed Augustinianism to flourish, and a series of sentinel events and foundational documents that have come to serve as touchstones for the Order’s identity. Meet the Moderator: D. P. Curtin Dr. D.P. Curtin is an Irish-American psychologist, translator, and theologian. He holds degrees from Villanova University, Chestnut Hill College, and Chatham University. His work has appeared in First Things, Real Clear Religion, the Irish Catholic, Public Orthodoxy, Where Peter Is, and Catholic Exchange. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the Scriptorium Project.

Join us for a Lay Augustinian journey through the great love story of salvation history. Guided by St. Augustine’s insight that “the New Testament lies hidden in the Old, and the Old is revealed in the New,” we will explore the covenants of God from Adam to Christ and discover how Scripture captures the restless heart of our Catholic faith.