For the Bishop of Hippo, Joseph was less a subject of interest than a source of problems. Sermon 51, delivered in Carthage in 403/404, is the only major synthesis of Augustine's writings on the father of Christ, in which he sets out to defend Joseph against the many accusations levelled at him by his opponents, foremost among them the Manichaeans. Is Joseph an unworthy fiancé? A false husband? A purely fictitious father? The bishop of Hippo is faced with a barrage of accusations, and the way he responds is characteristic of his oratorical art and his taste for paradox: far from remaining on the defensive, he vigorously counter-attacks and intends to prove to his audience that Joseph is a husband in the highest sense of the word, and a father par excellence.
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