Spirituality & Religious StudiesPelagius
He was a Christian theologian known as an ascetic monk & promoting a system of doctrines (termed Pelagianism by the Catholic Church), which emphasized human choice in salvation & denied original sin.
Pelagius was accused of heresy at the Synod of Diospolis in 415. His doctrines were harshly criticized by Augustine of Hippo, especially the Pelagian views about mankind’s good nature & individual responsibility for choosing asceticism. Pelagius especially stressed the freedom of human will.
Pelagius was active between circa 390 & 418. Pelagius was tall & portly in appearance. He was also highly educated, spoke, & wrote Latin & Greek with great fluency. He was well-versed in theology. Pelagius became better known around 380 when he moved to Rome. There, he enjoyed a reputation for austerity. When Alaric sacked Rome in 410, Pelagius & his follower, Caelestius, fled to Carthage, where he continued his work.
The view that mankind can avoid sinning, & that humans can freely choose to obey God’s commandments, is held to have stood at the core of Pelagian teaching. Pelagius stressed human autonomy & freedom of will. For Pelagius, grace consisted of the gift of free will, the Law of Moses, & the teachings of Jesus.
According to Augustine, Pelagius saw baptism of infants as useless because they had no sin. Celestius, who was a disciple of Pelagius, also denied original sin & the necessity of infant baptism for salvation. Seeking to undo his condemnation, Pelagius wrote a letter &statement of belief to Pope Zosimus, Pope Innocent I’s successor, arguing that he was orthodox.
In these, he articulated his beliefs so as not to contradict what the synods condemned. Pope Zosimus was persuaded by Celestius to reopen the case. But opposition from the African bishops & Emperor Honorius forced Pope Zosimus to condemn & excommunicate Celestius & Pelagius in 418. Pelagianism was condemned at the Council of Carthage in 418. Augustine, shocked that Pelagius & Celestius weren’t denounced as heretics, had called the Council of Carthage in 418.
After his condemnation, Pelagius was expelled from Jerusalem. St. Cyril of Alexandria allowed him to settle in Egypt. He’s not heard of afterwards.
His death didn’t end his teachings. Although those who followed him may have modified those teachings. Because little info actually remains concerning Pelagius’ actual teachings, some of his doctrines possibly were subject to revision & suppression by his enemies.
Pelagius & Caelestius were declared heretics by the First Council of Ephesus in 431.
Belief in Pelagianism & Semipelagianism was common for the next few centuries. Especially in Britain, Palestine,& North Africa. St. Germanus went to Britain to fight Pelagianism in or around 429 AD. In Wales, St. David was credited with convening the Synod of Brefi & the Synod of Victory against the followers of Pelagius in the 6th century.
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