People can't believe that I really do think that Pelagius was a Christian, and that I admire him. Yes, it is true that he was twice condemned by Church synods as a heretic. Actually, it was three times, not just twice. But did you know that Pelagius was also three times declared orthodox? Well, here is why I admire Pelagius, and you won't hear any Calvinists telling you the truth behind how he was declared a heretic.
Strike One - Ticking off Augustine
First of all, Pelagius stood up to Augustine. As I detailed in another article, Augustine may have been a popular teacher, but because of his background, he brought great heresy into the Church. Pelagius would not be bullied by great reputation and bad doctrine.
Pelagius, by all accounts, was godly man, who was appalled at Augustine's teaching on Original Sin, and taught different than Augustine, thus earning Augustine's enmity.
Strike Two - Ticking off Jerome
Pelagius also merited the anger of another so-called Father of the Church, Jerome. It was Jerome who translated the Bible into Latin, creating the Latin Vulgate, which was to be the dominant translation of the Scriptures for a thousand years, as imposed by the Roman Catholic Church. Jerome was also a miserable soul who attacked anyone who disagreed with his teachings, including the idea that priestly celibacy was the only acceptable norm for priests, that the marriage relationship was sin for priests.
It seems that there was a monk, whose name was Jovinian, who taught that it was alright for priests to marry, that there was no great virtue in remaining celibate. Jerome, who also taught that married saints were of a lesser class than celibate saints, was a vicious man. He was known for his disgusting attacks on opponents, and his characterization of Jovinian was no different, depicting this saint as a Bacchanalian orgyist. Pelagius took Jerome to task for such a rotten manner of arguing, thus earning the hatred of Jerome.
Strike Three - Ticking off the Emperor
Finally, Pelagius was a holiness preacher. Living in Rome, he condemned the loose morals of the Emperor's court, thus earning the enmity of Emperor Honorius. Nuff said.
Orthodox or Heretic?
As many did, when it looked like the barbarians might overwhelm Rome, Pelagius fled Rome and arrived in Palestine. Several of Augustine's followers in Palestine brought charges of heresy against Pelagius while he was in Palestine, and Jerome was only too happy to join in the accusations.
Orthdox!
There were two trials/synods held in Palestine, and at both of these examinations, Pelagius was declared to be orthodox. He was present to defend himself and explain what he taught.
Heretic!
Augustine was not happy, and so had two other trials/synods held to "examine" Pelagius' teachings, both in North Africa, in Augustine's home town. To everyone's great surprise (yeah, right), Pelagius was declared a heretic. Mind you, these two trials were held in North Africa, under Augustine's direction, and without Pelagius there to defend his teachings. Can you spell K-A-N-G-A-R-O-O C-O-U-R-T?
The verdicts of these four trials were sent to Pope Innocent of Rome, who sided with Augustine. But the problem was that Innocent had been lobbied hard by Augustine ahead of time, and Pelagius had not had a chance to defend his teachings. Pope Innocent declared him a heretic without even giving him a chance to explain what he taught.
Orthodox?
Now, here is the rub. Innocent died, and a new pope was selected, Zosimus. He received Pelagius' written defense, who had sent it to defend his teachings before Pope Innocent, who had already declared him a heretic. When Zosimus read Pelagius' defense, he decided to re-opened the case, and after examining both sides, declared that Pelagius and his teachings were orthodox. He ordered Augustine to get over his bad self, and make up.
Appeal to the Final Arbiter of Truth
This gave Augustine and his party fits, so they decided to enlist a little more help. They decided to have the Emperor join the fray. A fellow bishop of Augustine's, Alypius, sent a bribe of 80 stallions to Honorius, requesting a little help in theological matters.
And guess what happened? The following year, bowing to Imperial pressure, Zosimus declared Pelagius a heretic. What a surprise, huh?
The church, after the death of Augustine and Pelagius, and under the goad of Imperial pressure and Jerome's hatred, went on to declare all of Pelagius' teachings heretical and all of Augustine's teachings orthodox.
That is the story behind the declaring of Pelagius a heretic. Bare knuckles hatred and political power, not Biblical examination.
So, why do I admire Pelagius? Because he taught Christian truth, did it in love, and did his best to make sure that what he taught was Biblical. His history goes to show that while truth may not always triumph, it is still true, no matter how many "saints" lie about it.
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