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A work on the proceedings of pelagius

Chapter 25.--The Pelagians Falsely Pretended that the Eastern Churches Were on Their Side.

Now, by reason of these questions, and the very contentious assertions of these tenets, which are everywhere accompanied with heated feelings, many weak brethren were disturbed. We have accordingly, in the anxiety of that love which it becomes us to feel towards the Church of Christ through His grace, and out of regard to Marcellinus of blessed memory (who was extremely vexed day by day by these disputers, and who asked my advice by letter), been obliged to write on some of these questions, and especially on the baptism of infants. On this same subject also I afterwards, at your request, and assisted by your prayers, delivered an earnest address, to the best of my ability, in the church of the Majores, ¹ holding in my hands an epistle of the most glorious martyr Cyprian, and reading therefrom and applying his words on the very matter, in order to remove this dangerous error out of the hearts of sundry persons, who had been persuaded to take up with the opinions which, as we see, were condemned in these proceedings. These opinions it has been attempted by their promoters to force upon the minds of some of the brethren, by threatening, as if from the Eastern Churches, that unless they adopted the said opinions, they would be formally condemned by those Churches. Observe, however, that no less than fourteen bishops of the Eastern Church, ² assembled in synod in the land where the Lord manifested His presence in the days of His flesh, refused to acquit Pelagius unless he condemned these opinions as opposed to the Catholic faith. Since, therefore, he was then acquitted because he anathematized such views, it follows beyond a doubt that the said opinions were condemned. This, indeed, will appear more clearly still, and on still stronger evidence, in the sequel.

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Des actes du procès de Pélage

25.

Or, ces questions, ces assertions vivement débattues de part et d'autre jetaient le trouble dans la conscience trop faible d'un grand nombre de nos frères. Pressé par l'ardente charité que la grâce de Jésus-Christ nous inspire pour l'Eglise, désireux de répondre aux voeux de l'évêque Marcellin, de bienheureuse femme, qui chaque jour était témoin de ces discussions acerbes et me consultait par lettres, je crus devoir traiter quelques-unes de ces questions et surtout celle du baptême des enfants. Vous n'avez pas oublié que sur vos ordres j'ai"dû traiter de nouveau cette question dans la basilique des anciens. Portant dans mes mains la lettre du glorieux martyr Cyprien, j'ai cité de cette lettre de nombreux- passages que j'ai ensuite commentés. Enfin, puissamment aidé, par vos prières, je n'ai rien négligé pour dissiper les ténèbres et arracher aux séductions de l'erreur tous ceux qui étaient imbus de ces doctrines que le procès a solennellement condamnées. N'essayait-on pas de persuader à quelques-uns de nos frères que, en refusant d'accepter ces doctrines, ils s'exposaient aux anathèmes des églises orientales? Et voici que quatorze évêques de cette église orientale, dans les lieux mêmes que le Sauveur a sillonnés de ses pas, ont menacé Pélage de lui refuser l'absolution, s'il ne condamnait pas ces doctrines, comme contraires à la foi catholique. S'il a été absous, c'est donc parce qu'il les a .anathématisées. Ces doctrines sont donc condamnées; du reste,,je le prouverai plus clairement et plus abondamment encore dans la suite de cet ouvrage.