Caelestius

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Caelestius was a Christian theologian of the 5th century who, together with Julianus of Eclanum, represented the positions of Pelagianism named after Pelagius in the Pelagian dispute that broke out in North Africa in 411 .

Live and act

Caelestius came to North Africa around the year 411 after he and his teacher Pelagius had to flee from Rome, which was being stormed by the Goths. While Pelagius moved on to Syria, Caelestius applied for a presbytery in Carthage . Caelestius probably radicalized the views of his teacher and in any case challenged Augustine's contradiction , since Caelestius denied any corruption of man, human nature and his being. Because of his denial of the original sin , he was convicted at a synod in 411/412 . Furthermore, the following views of Caelestius were rejected:

  • Adam's fall only "wounded" Adam himself, but not all people;
  • newborn children are like Adam before the fall;
  • the law opens a way of salvation;
  • even before the coming of Christ there were sinless people.

In 417 Caelestius was condemned by the Roman bishop Innocent . Caelestius turned to his successor Zosimus with a request for examination and objection. To this end, he presented a testimony of his faith, which was positively assessed in Rome in 417. This suggests that a uniform doctrine on original sin was not yet available in Rome. Zosimus examined the condemnation and went to the revision of the judgment, but the subsequent protest from North Africa, in which Augustine of Hippo played an important role, prevented him. Zosimus was skeptical of the accusations and accusations from North Africa, however, he ordered the main accuser from North Africa, Paulinus of Milan , to Rome to explain his position (cf. Paredi).

Ultimately, the emperor's partisanship through a rescript from late autumn 417 in 418 led to a final condemnation of Caelestius together with Pelagius by Zosimus, against which Julian of Aeclanum protested.

Caelestius probably died after 431.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Caelestius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Christian theologian
DATE OF BIRTH before 411
DATE OF DEATH unsure: 431