Standing Under Suffering

​In his City of God, St. Augustine offers a uniquely influential reading of the most important headline of the early fifth century A.D.—the sack of Rome. The Bishop of Hippo consoles those who suffered the horror of living through a military siege, reflecting at length on questions of the integrity of victims, the nature of consent, the discipline of deprivation, and the realities of suicide to avoid shame as a Christian descendant of classical Rome. The lecture will illustrate how Augustine embodies a deep appreciation of the Hebrew Psalms, drawing together three continents as he offers counsel on the complexity and hard beauty of suffering and human interiority.

​Grant Holbrook (VCU class of 2006) is a teacher of Theology, Rhetoric, and Hebrew at Veritas School. A longtime Richmonder, Dr. Holbrook’s graduate work at Union Presbyterian Seminary focused on the Hebrew Bible, particularly the Hebrew poetry of the Psalms. Teaching Christian Scripture and Theology, he has filled the past nine years reading St. Augustine’s Confessions and City of God with high school students. Currently, he is writing a book on the life and insight that spring up from teaching City of God to high school seniors. He and his family live happily on Richmond’s north side.