Theological Term of the Week: Pelagius

Pelagius
A British monk who came to Rome in about 383. “His ardent zeal for holy living was wedded to a rather unorthodox theology.”1  He was active from 383 until 417.

• From 2000 Years of Christ’s Power by N. H. Needham, page 251: 

Although [Pelagius’s] doctrine of God was Catholic enough (he believed in the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity), his beliefs about human nature sparked off a storm of controversy which ended with his condemnation for heresy. Pelagius held that all human beings were born into the world as sinless as Adam was before he fell; the apostasy of Adam had not corrupted humanity’s nature, but had merely set a fatally bad example, which most of Adam’s sons and daughters had freely followed. However, there were some people (according to Pelagius) who had managed to remain sinless throughout their lives by a proper use of their free-will, e.g. some Old Testament saints like Daniel. In fact, anyone could become sinlessly perfect if only he tried hard enough. 

Learn more:

1. Got Questions: Who was Pelagius?
2. 5 Minutes in Church History: Who Was Pelagious?
3. Crossway: 10 Things You Should Know about Pelagius and Pelagianism
4. Challies.com: The False Teachers: Pelagius

Related terms:

• Ambrose of Milan
• Athanasius
• Augustine of Hippo
• Basil of Caesarea
• Cappadocian fathers
• Gregory of Nanzianzus
• Gregory of Nyssa
• Hilary of Poitiers
• Irenaeus of Lyons
• Jerome
• John Chrysostom
• Justin Martyr
• Monica
• Origen
• Sabellius
• Tertullian

Filed under Christian History

1From 2000 Years of Christ’s Power by N. R. Needham.

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