Pelagianism

 

(pəlā'jənĭzəm) , Christian heretical sect that rose in the 5th cent. challenging St. Augustine's conceptions of grace and predestination. The doctrine was advanced by the celebrated monk and theologian Pelagius (c.355–c.425). He was probably born in Britain. After studying Roman law and rhetoric and later theology in England and Rome, he preached in Africa and Palestine, attracting able followers, such as Celestius and Julian of Eclannum. Pelagius thought that St. Augustine was excessively pessimistic in his view that humanity is sinful by nature and must rely totally upon grace for salvation. Instead Pelagius taught that human beings have a natural capacity to reject evil and seek God, that Christ's admonition, “Be ye perfect,” presupposes this capacity, and that grace is the natural ability given by God to seek and to serve God. Pelagius rejected the doctrine of original sin; he taught that children are born innocent of the sin of Adam. Baptism, accordingly, ceased to be interpreted as a regenerative sacrament. Pelagius challenged the very function of the church, claiming that the law as well as the gospel can lead one to heaven and that pagans had been able to enter heaven by virtue of their moral actions before the coming of Christ. The church fought Pelagianism from the time that Celestius was denied ordination in 411. In 415, Augustine warned St. Jerome in Palestine that Pelagius was propagating a dangerous heresy there, and Jerome acted to prevent its spread in the East. Pelagianism was condemned by East and West at the Council of Ephesus (431). A compromise doctrine, Semi-Pelagianism, became popular in the 5th and 6th cent. in France, Britain, and Ireland. Semi-Pelagians taught that although grace was necessary for salvation, men could, apart from grace, desire the gift of salvation, and that they could, of themselves, freely accept and persevere in grace. Semi-Pelagians also rejected the Augustinian doctrine of predestination and held that God willed the salvation of all men equally. At the instance of St. Caesarius of Arles, Semi-Pelagianism was condemned at the Council of Orange (529). By the end of the 6th cent., Pelagianism disappeared as an organized heresy, but the questions of free will, predestination, and grace raised by Pelagianism have been the subject of theological controversy ever since (see Molina, Luis; Arminius, Jacobus). Pelagius' Expositions of Thirteen Epistles of St. Paul was edited in English by Alexander Souter (3 vol., 1922–31).

Bibliography

See J. E. Chisholm, The Pseudo-Augustinian Hypomnesticon against the Pelagians and Celestinans (Vol. I, 1967); J. Pelikan, The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (1971).

Pelagianism is a theological theory named after Pelagius. It is the belief that original sin did not taint human nature (which, being created from God, was divine), and that mortal will is still capable of choosing good or evil without Divine aid. Thus, Adam's sin was "to set a bad example" for his progeny, but his actions did not have the other consequences imputed to Original Sin. Pelagianism views the role of Jesus as "setting a good example" for the rest of humanity (thus counteracting Adam's bad example). In short, humanity has full control, and thus full responsibility, for its own salvation in addition to full responsibility for every sin (the latter insisted upon by both proponents and opponents of Pelagianism). According to Pelagian doctrine, since humanity is no longer in need of any of God's graces beyond the creation of will,^[1] Jesus' sacrifice is devoid of its redemptive quality.

History

Pelagianism was opposed by Augustine of Hippo, who taught that a person's salvation comes solely through the grace of God. Augustine also believed in predestination. Crucially, he taught that no person could save himself by his works, and that salvation was a free gift of God's grace. This led to Pelagianism's condemnation as a heresy at several local synods, including the Council of Diospolis^[2]. It was condemned in 416 and 418 at the Councils of Carthage.^[3] These condemnations were summarily ratified at the Council of Ephesus in 431, although it was not considered a major act of that council. His strict moral teaching were influential in southern Italy and Sicily, where Pelagianism was openly preached until the death of his follower Julian of Eclanum in 455.^[4] Pelagianism as a structured heretical movement ceased to exist after the 6th century but its essential ideas continued to cause dispute.^[5]

Thomas Bradwardine in De causa Dei contra Pelagium et de virtute causarum denounced Pelagians in the 14th century and Gabriel Biel did the same in the 15th century.^[6]

Pelagius

Main article: Pelagius

Little or nothing is known about the life of Pelagius. Although he is frequently referred to as a monk, it is by no means certain that he was one. Augustine says that he lived in Rome "for a very long time," and that he was originally from the British Isles. (St. Jerome suggests he was Scottish or perhaps from Ireland.) He was certainly well known in the Roman province, both for the harsh asceticism of his public life, as well as the power and persuasiveness of his speech. Until his more radical ideas saw daylight, even such pillars of the Church as Augustine referred to him as “saintly.”

Pelagius taught that the human will, tempered in good deeds and rigorous asceticism, was sufficient to live a sinless life. He told his followers that right action on the part of human beings was all that was necessary for salvation. To him, the grace of God was only an added advantage; helpful, but in no way essential. Pelagius disbelieved in original sin, but said that Adam had condemned humankind through bad example, and that Christ’s good example offered humanity a path to salvation, not through sacrifice, but through instruction of the will. Jerome emerged as one of the chief critics of Pelagianism, because, according to Jerome, Pelagius' view essentially denied the work of the Messiah; he personally preferring 'teacher' or 'master' to any epithet implying divine power.

See also

• Semipelagianism
• Pelagius
• Julian of Eclanum
• Charles Finney
• Erasmus
• The Fall of Man
• Original Sin
• Meister Eckhart

Writings By Pelagius

• Letters of Pelagius: To A Presbyter, Augustine of Hippo, and Pope Innocent I
• On Nature
• Defense Of The Freedom Of The Will
• Expositions on Paul’s Epistle
• Epistle to Demetrias
• Confession of Faith
• Chapters
• Written Anathema

External links

• Canons From The Council Of Carthage Against Pelagianism, May 1, 418
• CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pelagius and Pelagianism
• Pelagians, Donatists, Monks, Anabaptists and other Perfectionists - a sympathetic look at Pelagianism and similar 'perfectionist' movements
• Pelagius Library: Online site dedicated to the study of Pelagius
• Pelagianism: The Religion of Natural Man - a critical look at Pelagianism

Notes

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