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The City of God · Character

Jesus Christ

The mediator whose kingdom has foundations no earthly empire can claim, the figure Augustine sets against Rome's dazzling and now shattered splendour.

major

Also known as Christ, the Lord Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus, Jesus, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Man Christ Jesus, Man, Christ Jesus, the Saviour, Saviour, the same Mediator

First appearance: on the city of god against the pagans

As a major figure in The City of God, Jesus Christ is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Founder of the City of God, whose name and sanctuaries provided refuge during the sack of Rome.
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Christ stands at the center of Augustine's counter-history: not a rival emperor but the founder of a city whose builder is God, growing silently alongside the kingdoms of this world. Against pagan philosophers' contradictory theorizings and Rome's unhinged morals, Augustine points to this city's superior morality and heavenly origin as the true cause of history's unfolding. The whole arc of the work, from creation and the fall to the last judgment, is arranged to show why Christ's kingdom endures when empires do not.

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Character Web

77 connections

A slice of how Jesus Christ sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

SHShemMEMethuselahJUJupiterFEFelicityJOJohnJCJesus Christ

Relationship types

  • Rivalry
  • Friendship
  • Other

Character groups

  • Protagonist
  • Noah's Descendants
  • Diverse Historical and Biblical Figures
  • Patriarchs and Pagan Figures

+72 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

SetupEscalationAftermathClimax
  • Setup
  • Escalation
  • Breaking point
  • Aftermath
  • Closing

This chapter is the dramatic climax because it marks the irreversible psychological and spiritual turning poin…

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Relationships

Relationship notes

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See Jesus Christ in on the city of god against the pagans

In the story

Jesus Christ appears across 217 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Chapter companion notes

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See Jesus Christ in on the city of god against the pagans