15 Facts About Pelagius

Jerome apparently thought that Pelagius was Irish, suggesting that he was "stuffed with Irish porridge".

Pelagius was highly educated, spoke and wrote Latin and Greek with great fluency, and was well versed in theology.

Pelagius's name has traditionally been understood as a Graecized form of the Welsh name Morgan, or another Celtic equivalent.

Pelagius became better known around 380 when he moved to Rome.

Pelagius had criticized his commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians.

Pelagius explained to the synod that he did believe God was necessary for salvation because every human is created by God.

Pelagius claimed that many works of Celestius did not represent his own views.

Theologian Gerald Bonner felt that Pelagius's purported views were in part an "over-reaction" to Manicheanism.

Pelagius held that everything created by God was good, therefore, he "could not see" how God had made humans fallen creatures.

Pelagius stressed human autonomy and freedom of the will; an illustration of Pelagius' views on man's "moral ability" not to sin can be found in his Letter to Demetrias.

For Pelagius, "grace" consisted of the gift of free will, the Law of Moses, and the teachings of Jesus.

Celestius, who was a disciple of Pelagius, was to have denied original sin and the necessity of infant baptism for salvation.

Pelagius's name has been used as an epithet for centuries by both Protestants and Catholics, and he has had few defenders.

Pelagius's fault was in exaggerated emphasis, but in the final form his philosophy took, after necessary and proper modifications as a result of criticism, it is not certain that any statement of his is totally irreconcilable with the Christian faith or indefensible in terms of the New Testament.

Only in the past century have works attributable to Pelagius been identified as such.