THE OPTIMISM OF AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO ON THE SALVATION OF NON-CHRISTIANS

Abstract

The possibility of salvation outside the Church developed in various documents of the Church is inexhaustive without recourse to Augustine of Hippo. His literary journey, theological assiduity, and ecclesial leadership spanned over forty years. Within this period, he developed several doctrines that often overlap themselves. Cultured by the art of rhetoric, Christian faith and tradition, his love and classical interpretations of the Sacred Scripture were evident in his theological nuances. While struggling to promote Christian unity amidst heresy and schism, he applied the axiomatic principle of extra ecclesiam nulla salus est and ratified the impossibility of salvation outside the Church. But at his encounter with the African slaves in Rome as patronus plebis, he became optimistic that God would be merciful to those outside the Church through no fault of theirs - sine culpa ignorantes.