The meaning and celebration of Easter according to Saint Augustine

Abstract

This dissertation aims at showing the development of the concept and celebration of Easter. It starts with an account of the concept of Easter, both in the Old and New Testaments and merges into different perceptions about this season, as viewed by the Fathers of the Church and by the Sacred Writers, in the first five centuries. At a later stage, it gives an analysis of St Augustine's exhortations on Easter, with special emphasis on Letters 54 and 55. It is hoped that enough proof has been presented to demonstrate that the Celebration of Easter is the feast par excellence, in the sense that it is the fulfilment of the Paschal Mystery in its fullness.