Did St. Augustine Teach Eternal Security of Salvation or Once Saved, Always Saved?

St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

Most Protestants with a Calvinistic background always point out that St. Augustine, a doctor of the Church supports their belief in eternal security of salvation or once saved always saved. They make use of some passages from the books of St. Augustine to prove their point but these passages are often taken out of its context and given a different meaning by Protestants. If St. Augustine taught a doctrine that is not biblical who could have been excommunicated by the Church regardless of his popularity or influence. Origen once was a great defender of the Christian faith and taught apologetics in antiquity was not spared from excommunication when he taught that even demons will be saved and that the persons in the Holy Trinity are not equal with each other. The writings of St, Augustine was widely studied by the Catholic Church in fact there are scholars who specialized in the writing of St. Augustine.