Vincent of Lérins

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Vinzenz von Lérins , also Vincenz, Vincent, Vincentius; Lerin, Lerinum; Latin: Vincentius Lerinensis , (* unknown; † between 434 and 450, probably in Lérins ), saint, was a monk and church father .

Vincent is famous for his motto (Greek-Latin canon ) that “what has been believed by everyone everywhere, always” is really Catholic . In Vaticanum I his “second canon” on the progress of doctrine - its unfolding in history - was used to legitimize the dogmatic definitions of 1854 and 1870 .

Life

Little is known about the life of Vincent de Lérins, most of it is based on vague conclusions. What is certain is that he wrote a work entitled Commonitorium in 434 under the pseudonym Peregrinus (pilgrim) . Gennadius tells us this in his catalog of writers. He also describes Vincent as a profane and religiously well-educated man who was a priest "at the Lérins monastery ". He gives his date of death with the reigns of the emperors Theodosius II and Valentinian III. on, d. H. between 425 and 450 . In the Commonitorium there is also a reference to the Council of Ephesus , which took place “three years ago”. Consequently, the time of writing around 434 and Vincent must have been alive. Adolf Jülicher wanted to conclude from some places with Vincent's brother Eucherius von Lyon that Vincent must have still been alive in 445 . However, only a few authors share this view.

In the Commonitorium itself there are some autobiographical information in the first chapter. Due to the very flowery language, these are difficult to interpret. The most likely interpretation of the passages is that Vincent led a very worldly life before he had a conversion experience and became a monk. It is very unlikely that he was a soldier, as the wording initially suggests. However, concrete details cannot be deduced.

From the passages already mentioned in Eucherius, however, it can be concluded with some certainty that Vincent was a "biological brother" ( germanus ) of Lupus of Troyes . If this were the case, Vincent came from a noble family in Northern Gaul, more precisely today's Lorraine or its neighboring areas. Friedrich Prinz put forward the thesis that Lérins Monastery was a "refugee monastery". Due to barbarian invasions, which in turn were caused by the Huns, the Roman Empire had become very insecure at the external borders, which also led to the relocation of the imperial residence from Trier to today's Provence. Many nobles followed the emperor and came to southern Gaul. There Honoratus von Arles , himself from Northern Gaul, founded the Lérins monastery, which in the following years offered many refugees a new home. This thesis can also apply to Vincent in so far as he clearly shows a classical education in the Commonitorium. Among other things, there are reminiscences of ancient authors like Cicero in a number and clarity like hardly any of his contemporaries.

It is unclear whether Vincent stayed in Lérins until the end of his life, but at least one can assume. In any case, unlike many of his famous confreres, he never became a bishop.

In the period from the 17th to the middle of the 20th century, it was assumed that Vincent belonged to the Semipelagians . Some passages in the Commonitorium seem to suggest such an interpretation. In addition, Vincent were assigned the clearly semipelagian Obiectiones Vincentianae . The longer this thesis existed, the more convincingly it was justified. In 1963 , however, a dissertation by William O'Connor was published, which dealt exclusively with these justifications and refuted them one after the other. Certain arguments could be contradicted in detail. However, this dissertation shows that it cannot be considered certain that Vincent was a Semipelagian. O'Connor's main argument is a work found in 1940, which with a probability bordering on certainty must be attributed to Vincent. According to their title, the excerpta consist primarily of excerpts from Augustine's writings . Since the Semipelagians were primarily directed against the Augustinian doctrine of grace, Vincent could not cite Augustine as a reference without violating his rules set up in the commonitorium - even if he only touched on the doctrine of grace in the Excerpta . O'Connor's thesis that Vincent was actually an Augustinian is not nearly as convincing. The question must still be considered unsolved.

Vincent was venerated as a saint soon after his death in Lérins and later also in Rome. His feast day is May 24th .

The so-called canon

Vincent is best known for his definition of the Catholic tradition. This is usually shortened to the “canon” that one can believe, “quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum est” (Commonitorium II, 5). Since the Romantic era , a common citation error has crept in, which draws the “semper” over the “ubique”. The whole paragraph (Commonitorium II, 5-6) reads:

“[5] In that very Catholic Church itself, the greatest care must be taken to ensure that we keep whatever, whatever, whatever has been believed by everyone. Because that is really and truly Catholic , which, as the name and reason of the matter explain, embraces everyone as a whole. [6] But this rule we will obey if we follow universality, age, conformity. But we follow universality accordingly when we confess that the one faith which the entire Church confesses in the whole world is true; but so to the age if we do not deviate in any way from the opinions which our holy predecessors and fathers have established; the agreement, in the same way, if in that antiquity [meaning the time of the predecessors and fathers] we adhere to the definitions and opinions of all or at least almost all priests and teachers. "

Apart from the wording, there is nothing here that has not already been worked out by Irenaeus von Lyon and Tertullian . Vincent's independent achievement, on the other hand, consists in working out a principle of progress (cf. theology).

From the orthodox point of view, the West has arbitrarily rejected the principle of Vincent, that is Catholic, "what has been believed everywhere, always, by everyone", since he added " Filioque " to the Church's creed of Nicea and Constantinople ( Nicano-Constantinopolitanum ) inserted. From an orthodox point of view, this means that he has lost his catholicity .

theology

Vincent was not very original as a theologian. His main interest lay in the defense against heresies in the doctrine of the Trinity and Christology. He only marginally touches upon the doctrine of grace with the condemnation of Pelagius . He places particular emphasis on the refutation of his contemporary Nestorius , who was already condemned in Ephesus . This interest is already evident in the middle section of the Commonitorium ; the Excerpta deal exclusively with these topics.

The actual content of the Commonitorium , however, is the question of tradition. How can one safely decide which of two contradicting teachings is the right one? Vincent gives a multi-part answer: First of all, of course, it is the Holy Scriptures, which is completely sufficient in itself. But it has been shown that it is precisely the false teachers who want to substantiate their heresies with a multitude of scriptural quotations by interpreting them in their own way. Therefore, the church tradition of interpretation must be added to Scripture. How this is to be determined is the actual content of the Commonitory , namely that only that is really Catholic (not in the denominational sense of the word), "what has been believed everywhere, always and by everyone". If there is no doctrinal difference in a question at the present time, this doctrine is to be firmly believed (everywhere). Likewise, we must firmly believe what is controversial today, but was (always) believed in one and the same way through all the centuries before objections were raised. But if there were differences in earlier times, the decrees of an ecumenical council should be used - if they existed . If this does not exist, all that remains is the arduous work of questioning all the church fathers and then believing what everyone, or at least almost everyone, has unanimously acknowledged.

In this point, too, it is not a separate achievement of Vincent. Rather, he is heavily dependent on Irenaeus and above all on Tertullian ( De praescriptione haereticorum ). His real merit lies in the catchy formulation and the execution of the tripartite division. However, he does not consistently maintain this until the end of his work. It can therefore be assumed that the division into three was made for purely rhetorical reasons (cf. Scherlass: conversio). Thus it must be assumed that the criterion for Vincent was the correspondence between the present and the origin, between which there could be no real difference.

This assumption is also supported by the 23rd chapter, in which Vincent pursues the question of the extent to which progress is then possible in religion. There are no traditional historical forerunners for this, so it must be Vincent's very own thoughts. This is also likely insofar as the idea of ​​progress appears very imperfect. The essential element is the comparison with organic growth, in which something changes and yet retains the same identity. This idea became central in the context of historical research in the 19th century for John Henry Newman and was incorporated into the Constitution Dei Filius of the First Vatican . In return, a group with the help of the “first canon” rejected the Constitution Pastor Aeternus , in which the infallibility and the primacy of jurisdiction of the Pope were defined. The Old Catholic Church soon emerged from this group .

Remembrance day

Memorial day in the Catholic and Orthodox Church is May 24th .

Works

  • Commonitorium (Vinzenz von Lérins) (Latin edition in: CCSL , t.LXIV: Foebadivs, Victricius, Leporivs, Vincentivs Lerinensis, Evagrivs, Rvricivs; Brepols: Turnhout, 1985, edited by Roland Demeulenaere. - German translation by Gerhard Rauschen: Des Saint Vincent von Lerin Commonitorium; in: Library of the Church Fathers, New Series, t.XX; Kösel et al: Kempten, 1914.)
  • Excerpta (latest Latin edition in: CCSL , t.LXIV; see above)
  • possibly also: Obiectiones Vincentianae

literature

There is little current literature on Vincent:

Older literature:

  • Friedrich Prinz : Early monasticism in the Franconian Empire. Culture and society in Gaul, the Rhineland and Bavaria using the example of monastic development ; Oldenbourg: Munich 1965; 2nd edition reviewed and supplemented by a supplement: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft: Darmstadt 1988, ISBN 3-486-45602-4 .
  • William O'Connor: Saint Vincent of Lerins and Saint Augustine. Was the Commonitorium of Saint Vincent of Lerins Intended as A Polemic Treatise Against Saint Augustine And His Doctrine on Predestination? ; in: Doctor Communis 16 (1963), 123-257.
  • Hubert Kremser: The importance of Vincenz von Lerinum for the Roman Catholic valuation of tradition ; Diss. Mach. Hamburg 1959.
  • Adolf Jülicher : Vincenz of Lerinum. Commonitorium pro catholicae fidei antiquitate et universitate adversus profanas omnium haereticorum novitates ; Mohr: Freiburg u. a. (1) 1895 or Tübingen (2nd, reviewed and revised edition) 1925.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Vincent of Lérins
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Vincenz; Vincent; Vincentius; Lerin; Lerinum; Vincentius Lerinensis (Latin)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Monk and church father
DATE OF BIRTH 4th century or 5th century
DATE OF DEATH between 434 and 450
Place of death uncertain: Lérins