Pelagius Totally Explained

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Pelagius (ca. 354 – ca. 420/440) was an ascetic monk and reformer who denied the doctrine of original sin, later developed by Augustine of Hippo, inherited from Adam and was declared a heretic by the Roman Catholic Church. His interpretation of a doctrine of free will became known as Pelagianism. He was well educated, fluent in both Greek and Latin, and learned in theology. He spent time as an ascetic, focusing on practical asceticism, which his teachings clearly reflect. He was not, however, a cleric. He was certainly well known in Rome, both for the harsh asceticism of his public life as well as the power and persuasiveness of his speech. His reputation in Rome earned him praise early in his career even from such pillars of the Church as Augustine, who referred to him as a "saintly man." However, he was later accused of lying about his own teachings in order to avoid public condemnation. Most of his later life was spent defending himself against other theologians and the Catholic Church.

Beginnings

Pelagius was born about 354. While his exact birthplace isn't known, the Encyclopedia of World Biography states that, "wide spread evidence indicates that he came originally from the British Isles." He was referred to as a "monk" by his contemporaries, though there's no evidence that he was associated with any monastic order (the idea of monastic communities was still quite new during his lifetime; solitary asceticism was more typical) or that he was ordained to the priesthood. He became better known c. 380 when he moved to Rome to write and teach about his ascetic practices. There, he wrote a number of his major works — "De fide Trinitatis libri III," "Eclogarum ex divinis Scripturis liber primus," and "Commentarii in epistolas S. Pauli," a commentary of Paul's epistles. Unfortunately, most of his work only survives in the quotations of his opponents.
   In Rome, Pelagius became concerned about the moral laxity of society. He blamed this laxity on the theology of divine grace preached by Augustine, among others.
   Around 405, it's said that Pelagius heard a quotation from Augustine's work Confessions, 'Give me what you command and command what you will.' This verse concerned Pelagius because it seemed from this verse that Augustine was teaching doctrine contrary to traditional Christian understandings of grace and free will, turning man into a mere automaton.
   When Alaric sacked Rome in 410, Pelagius and his close follower Caelestius fled to Carthage where he continued his work and briefly encountered St. Augustine in person. He is subsequently in Palestine as late as 418. He probably died in Palestine around 420, as reported by some. Others mention him living as many as twenty years later. The cause of his death is unknown, but it has been suggested that he was killed by his enemies in the Catholic Church.
His death didn't end his teachings, although those who followed him may have modified those teachings. Because little information remains with regard to Pelagius' actual teachings, it's possible that some of his doctrines were subject to revision and suppression by his enemies (followers of Augustine and the Church leadership as a whole at that time).
   Belief in Pelagianism and Semipelagianism was common for the next few centuries, especially in Britain, Palestine and North Africa.

Possible influences on Pelagius

It is likely that Pelagius and Pelagianism were influenced by both Pelagius's Celtic ancestry and his Greek styled learning. Greek thought emphasized punishment over guilt, as the Latin church did; thus Pelagius tried to hold humanity up to a greater responsibility for individual actions. Celtic paganism championed a human's ability to triumph even over the supernatural, which Pelagius may have applied to sin, to some extent. The Greek philosophy of Stoicism was said to be an influence leading to his ascetic lifestyle.

Pelagius in literature and film

In Hilaire Belloc's The Four Men, the Sailor leads his companions in the "Song of the Pelagian Heresy for the Strengthening of Men's Backs and the very Robust Out-thrusting of Doubtful Doctrine and the Uncertain Intellectual". The Pelagius Book by Paul Morgan is a historical novel that presents Pelagius as a gentle humanist emphasizing individual responsibility in contrast to Augustine's fierce fatalism.
   Pelagius is referred to in Stephen Lawhead's book, The Black Rood, and makes an appearance in Patrick where he's a discussion with the Hiberno-British saint.
   Pelagius is frequently referred to in Jack Whyte's series of books known as A Dream of Eagles, where a major character's belief in Pelagius' ideas of Free Will and the laxity of the Roman Catholic Church eventually cause him to come into conflict with Church representatives.
   The Saint Augustine/Pelagius debate is mockingly discussed in the novel by Flann O'Brien titled The Dalkey Archive, wherein Saint Augustine actually makes a ghostly appearance.
   The government of the English-Speaking Union (Enspun) in Anthony Burgess' The Wanting Seed is locked in a perpetual cycle, rotating between the 'Pel-Phase', named after Pelagius, and an Augustinian phase. The former is one of police and social services, the latter is characterized by martial law. Burgess took up the Augustine/Pelagius theme again in The Clockwork Testament.
   Pelagius features in the movie King Arthur. Although not a major character, he's portrayed as the mentor of young Lucius Artorius Castus, or Arthur. Upon hearing of Pelagius's murder in Rome, Arthur's affection for the monk leads him to break off loyalty with the Roman Empire and help the Britons fight the Saxon invaders.
   Pelagius is the subject of a poem by the Glasgow poet Edwin Morgan ('Cathures', Carcanet 2002) which imagines that Pelagius has returned to his native Glasgow ('Cathures') and that his Celtic name was 'Morgan'.

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