Pelagianism: Encyclopedia II - Pelagianism - Pelagius

Pelagianism - Pelagius

Little or nothing is known about the life of the monk Pelagius. Augustine says that he lived in Rome "for a very long time," and that he was originally from Britain. (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 mankind through bad example, and that Christ’s good example offered us 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 Jerome, Pelagius' view essentially denied the work of the Messiah; he personally preferring “teacher” or “master” to any epithet implying divine power.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Pelagius", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki