In 411 Pelagius passed over to North Africa, in com- pany with his disciple and admirer Coelestius. The name of Coelestius now becomes prominently mixed up with the controversy which soon began to agitate the whole Church. He was probably a native of Scotland. JMcrcator says of him, " Pelagio adha^sit Coelestius, no- bilis natu qnidem, et illius temporis auditorialis scho- lasticus." On reaching Carthage, Pelagius wrote a re- spectful letter to Augustine, who was bishop of Hippo, and received from him a friendly reply. He does not seem to have given prominence to his peculiar opinions, and he escaped at this time all suspicions of heresy. After a short time Pelagius proceeded to Palestine, where he was warml}' welcomed by Jerome, then resid- ing at Bethlehem as the head of a theological school of great repute. IMeanwhile Crelestius, whom he had left behind him in Carthage, came under the particular notice of the Church there. He gave himself forth as a candidate for the oflice of presbj'ter, and his doctrinal opinions were therefore narrowly inquired into. Pau- linus, a deacon of IMilan, challenged them as heretical. A council of the Church of Carthage was convened (412), presided over by bishop Aurelius, to investigate the accusations of unsoundness in the faith that had been laid against him. Marius Mercator, in his Com- monitorium adrer-sus hceresin Pelagii et Ccelestii, pub- lished in 429, records the charges brought against Cce- lestius on this occasion by Paulinus. They are the following, as quoted by AVorter: "1. That Adam was created mortal, and would have died whether he had sinned or not. 2. That Adam's sin injured himself
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alone, and not the Imman race. 3. That new-born in- fants are in tlie .same condition in wliicli Adam was be- fore liis transgression. 4. That since neither by the death nor transgression of Adam the whole hnman race dies, so neitlicr will the whole human race rise again from the dead on account of Christ's resurrection. 5. That the law guides into the kingdom of heaven as well as the Gospel. G. That there were men who lived without sin (impeccah'des, i. e. sine peccato) before the ad- vent of our Lord." Thus far quoting Mercator, Wiir- ter continues : " If we add, 7. That the grace of God is not absolutely necessary to lead men to holiness ; and, 8. That grace is given to men in proportion to their merit, we will then have a pretty complete summary of the doctrines taught by Pelagius and his followers."
Ccelestius, in his defence, endeavored to argue that the points of difference between him and his accusers were quite unimportant, and, therefore, that he ought not to be condemned for his opinions. The council, how- ever, judged differently. They would make no compro- mise. They unanimously declared the opinions of Coj- lestius to be heretical; and. on his refusing to retract his errors, excommunicated him. This is the Jiist of a succession of ecclesiastical decisions come to by differ- ent synods and councils of the Church of that age on the great Pelagian controversy.
Up to this time the controversies that had been car- ried on within the Church had reference mainly to the doctrines of the person of Christ and of the Holy Trin- ity, as the Arian, the Nestorian, the Eutychian, and the Monophysite controversies. But now, for a number of years, the whole energies of the Church were concen- trated on the discussion of the doctrines of sin and of grace in connection with the Pelagian controversy. The controversy did not terminate with Pelagius and his immediate associates. Others arose after them. The forms and aspects of the controversy gradually changed. In some respects, indeed, that controversy may be said to be continued to the present day; for it is the old opposition to the doctrine of the sovereignty of divine grace, the old overestimating of the value of human effort, which lies at the root of many of the doc- trinal controversies of modern times. But still, in its first, and what may be called its grossest form, Pela- gianism rose to its maturity, and again sunk from view in the time of Pelagius himself.
At the time of the meeting of this synod at Carthage, by which Ccelestius was condemned, Orosius, a young Spanish ecclesiastic, happened to be in that city with the view of consulting Augustine regarding the errors of the Priscillianists. He afterwards went, by the ad- vice of Augustine, to study theology under Jerome at Bethlehem. On his arrival there he reported what had occurred at Carthage in the matter of Ccelestius and his doctrines. The report of Orosius at once gave rise to suspicions regarding the orthodoxy of Pelagius, whose friend and disciple Ccelestius was known to be. At a synod assembled in Jerusalem, under the presidency of the bishop John, these suspicions were examined into. Orosius appeared as his accuser. The president was inclined to slielter I'elagius. The presbyters who were assembled there were, for the most part, inclined to adopt the opinions of John, and hence the accuser of Pelagius was received with little favor. When Orosius quoted the opinion of Augustine, whose name was an authority in the Western Church, as ojiposed to that of Pelagius, the latter replied, "And what is Augustine to meV" (ct quii est mild AiiguKlimix). Tliis was a bold Baying; yet it pleased the Orientals, who had not yet learned to venerate the name of the great bishop" of Hip|)o. The doctrinal iioints having been gone into, nnd explanations given by Pelagius, his judges declared themselves quite satisfied with his orthodoxy. In the same year (41.')) another council, consisting of fourteen presbyters, was held at Diospolis (Lydda) in Palestine — Jerome styles it a "miserable synod" — under the presidency of Eulogius, metropolitan of Ciesarea, before