The Church of Sant’Agostino

Rule of Saint Augustine

The Rule of Saint Augustine is a compendium of rules and regulations aimed at orienting and organizing monastic life. It was not a treatise of spiritual formation but an established code of laws that, despite its practical aspect, hid a rich spiritual doctrine.
From the beginning Augustine made clear the principal purpose of monastic life: “The main purpose for your having come together is to live harmoniously in your house, intent upon God in oneness of mind and heart” (Regula 1:2)
For him, the monastery was not a school of Christian perfection but a place where the monks could give concrete form to an experience of ecclesial communion.
It is difficult to demonstrate that Augustine himself drew up the rules, while it seems more probable that they were the product of the desire of some African monks who, coming from the environment he created, later moved to southern Italy.