Abstract

Although it can be viewed as negative and restrictive in primarily juridical terms, disciplina appears to be an organizing principle in Augustine's ecclesiology and paradoxically makes the bishop one with the faithful. The bishop is not free to arbitrarily make up the rules; he too is subject to the Church's tradition as it has been faithfully handed down. The correspondence of Augustine is the most fruitful locus for an investigation of the role of discipline in Augustine's ministry because of its occasional nature reacting to concrete issues and difficulties.