Alipius, St.
ALIPIUS, ST.
Bishop, b. Tagaste, North Africa, c. 360; d. after 429. Alipius (or Alypius) was a student and close friend of st. augustine and a fellow Manichean, who pursued a law career at his parents' wish. He joined Augustine at Rome in 383 and journeyed with him in 384 to Milan, where they were baptized by ambrose of Milan in 387. Returning to Africa (388) Alipius spent three years at Tagaste in prayer and penance before going to Hippo to be ordained a priest. On a pilgrimage to Palestine he met Jerome and was instrumental in fostering a relationship between Jerome and Augustine. Upon his return to Africa, Alipius became bishop of Tagaste (c. 394) and struggled against the Pelagians and the Donatists. He visited Italy again in 419 and 428, on business for the Church and the government. During much of his life, he served as Augustine's assistant in his public activities. Augustine, writing in 429, called him old; and Alipius seems not to have survived long after that.
Feast: Aug. 15 or 18.
Bibliography: Acta Sanctorum Aug. 3:201–208. augustine, Conf. 6, 8, 9. s. le nain de tillemont, Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire ecclésiastique des six premiers siècles (Paris 1693–1712) 12:565–580. a. p. frutaz, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner (Freiburg 1957–65) 1:410. f. mourret, A History of the Catholic Church, tr. n. thompson, v. 2 (St. Louis 1935) 416.
[r. k. poetzel]