Fr. Andrew Hofer explores the origins of the Christian just war tradition through Augustine’s anti-Manichean writings, examining the theological debates around violence, authority, and moral law within early Christianity.

This lecture was given on June 11th, 2024, at Dominican House of Studies.

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About the Speakers:

Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P., (Ph.D. Notre Dame) is professor of patristics and ancient languages at the Pontifical Faculty of the Dominican House of Studies where he serves as the director of the doctoral program. He authored Christ in the Life and Teaching of Gregory of Nazianzus (Oxford University Press, 2013) and The Power of Patristic Preaching: The Word in Our Flesh (Catholic University of America, 2023). He co-authored A Living Sacrifice: Guidance for Men Discerning Religious Life (Vianney Vocations, 2019). Editor-in-chief of the academic journal The Thomist, Hofer is editor or co-editor of several volumes including The Oxford Handbook of Deification, The Cambridge Companion to Augustine's Sermons, and Thomas Aquinas and the Greek Fathers. He enjoys speaking with students about their theological and spiritual questions.

Keywords: Augustine of Hippo, Augustinian Ethics, Christian Just War Tradition, Ethics of Violence, Against Faustus, Manichaeism, Moral Law, Pacifism, De Libero Arbitrio, Theology

Origins of the Christian 'Just War' Tradition in Augustine's Anti-Manichean Works I Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P.

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